Victim of debts..

I recently watched the 20/20 episode
about debt and debt collection,
and I was shocked.
Especially the part of where some debt collectors
were really very nasty, openly breaking the
Fair Debt Collection Act.
They were breaking FEDERAL LAWS!
It is sickening. Luckily, we haven't had
anything threatening or anyone cussing at as,
but we have had persistant calls before.
Sometimes for awhile it may be everyday
and even sometimes a day.
Well, I want people to be informed of the right
of how they are supposed to be treated
when a debt collector calls you.
If someone ever is harrased you have
the right to sue for that abysmal treatment.
Especially if someone tells you you will go to jail,
that is ILLEGAL! DO NOT BE A VICTIM!

Here is the link to the website that lays out
the Federal guidelines for the fair practice
of debt collecting :

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.


Here are a couple of items to help you
figure out if you are financially sound
and what you should be stocking away
not judt for you but for your family
you leave behind. -

Add up all your monthly debt payments
including your :
Mortgage, Rent
Credit Cards, Car Loans
Other
If that totals more than 1/3 of
your monthly pre-tax earnings
well my friend, you are in trouble.

Now, take your age and divide by 2,
and that is the percentage of
income you SHOULD be saving!
Most people dont. Are you doing it?

NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS

A friend of mine sent me this cute email,
I liked what it said so I am posting it here.
A new year begins, and everything starts anew.
Be kind, Keep your health, and just live.


A group of alumni, highly established in their careers,
got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversations soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen
and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -
porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking,
some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help
themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand,
he said : "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups
were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.
While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves,
that can be the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.
In most cases it is just more expensive
and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup,
but you consciously went for the best cups.......
...And then you began eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this:
Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain life,
and the type of cup we have does not define,
nor change the quality of life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup,
we fail to enjoy the coffee provided us.
Enjoy your coffee!
The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything.

Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

Have a Peaceful New year.