Is there a blog in your future

There is, if you click on the links in this blog post.

Here’s the great news!

My friend, Traci Knoppe at Genesis Blogging is launching a “Beginning Blogger” 4week e-course Monday, June 1, 2009.

This is a great opportunity for you to learn how to blog.

Before Bankruptcy, Try These

If you’ve been reading the newspaper or watching the news in recent weeks, you know more and more people are losing their jobs, others are faced with having to take bankruptcy.

Perhaps you’re one of them!

If you currently have unbearable debts and are thinking of wiping them from your life by declaring bankruptcy, just hold off on your decision for a while.

Other options may be available.

Try to improve your situation before you investigate the bankruptcy option. And no matter which way you go, evaluate the 5 steps below to see if you could avoid taking that drastic step.

1. Make a list of all your debts

First, look at all your secured debts, such as mortgage and car loan. How much is the repayment for each month? What are the interest rates?

Then, list all of your fixed expenses, such as electric/gas, phone, insurance, food, etc. What are the total costs for these expenses?

Follow these expenses by examining your credit card debts. Take out all your credit card statements, and write down the amount you owe for each card and the interest rate.

Finally, write down all your other expandable expenses; these are your optional expenses such as entertainment, gym, memberships, dinners at restaurant, and other impulsive purchases.

2. Eliminate the unnecessary expenses

Now you should have a better idea where your money goes. Make a diet plan on your cash; In your Cash Diet Plan, list all your savings from the elimination of the optional expenses. You will be surprised how much money you can save by carefully controlling your expenses. The money you save can be used to pay down your debts.

3. Involve your family by working as a team

Don't do it alone because under such stressful conditions, you may be out of control and may not think and plan with a clear mind; get your family together to let them know about your financial problem, and have them work together to control the household spending and to eliminate unnecessary expenses.

4. Cash out with your assets

If you have equity, you are in a better situation because you could refinance or get a secured loan to pay off your debts. If you are looking for bankruptcy as your debt relief option, you may not have any equity at hand. But equity is not the only asset; many people tend to forget about things that have cash value, but not sentimental value. Think antiques, old clothes or collectibles.

List all the assets you own that you can sell and cash out.

Check your closets, the garage, and storage locker. Find out what you can live without. Then, cash them out through garage sales, eBay or consignment shops. Use the money to pay down your debts as much as possible.

5. Go for consumer counseling

Arrange an appointment with a credit counseling agency and let the counselor draft a budget for you. Review the debt management plan proposed for you before you enroll in the plan.

If possible, contact one or two other credit counseling agencies for comparison. Choose the one that best suits your current financial needs. Although a debt-management plan can have a negative impact on your credit, it's better than bankruptcy.

6. Get A second or part time job

Utilize your out-of-work time on a second, or part-time, job. Although you may not earn much in your part-time job, a little money coming in can keep a bad financial situation from getting worse.

7. Summary

Bankruptcy may seem like your easy way out from debt, but the consequences may follow you for 7 to 10 years. Always look for other alternatives and counsel before choosing this dramatic option.

OIVAC News

If you read here regularly, you know we’ve recently posted often about the upcoming Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC)

Unfortunately, today we are relaying a bit of unfortunate news regarding status of this month’s Convention.

The Steering Committee of the OIVAC has made the decision to postpone the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC) until October, as this year we have not received the same high level of registrations as previously experienced. As we can see no logical reason for this, we are putting it down as yet another statistic of the economy.

The new date for the convention is 1 – 3 October, 2009, and we will continue to market the event during the coming months to ensure increased attendance is achieved.

We will not let the economy damper deter our efforts to recognize VAs and the celebration of our contributions to businesses located around the world. As a result, we will conduct the International Virtual Assistants Day (IVAD) celebration, on Friday, May 15, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. EDT, as previously planned. This is OUR annual day of recognition, and we encourage VAs from around the globe to continue to participate in this celebration.

The Thomas Leonard Virtual Assistant of Distinction and Janet Jordan Award winners will be announced, and we will be providing tons of FREE giveaways to attendees.

The link to the meeting room for this gala event will be distributed next week. So please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

In addition, we will host several FREE pre-event activities between now and October, so look for future announcements about these dates.

Thanks again for supporting us and we are sorry for the inconvenience. Having said that, we are extremely excited to now be working towards a more positive and energetic convention in October once the “doom and gloom” of the economy has eased.

Kind regards,

Sharon Williams
and the OIVAC Steering Committee