iPod, iLife - Slashed!

Apple announced today that they will be slicing prices on the full iPod line in order to compete with Zune and of course sell more product. Meanwhile, people are getting deeper and deeper in debt and are unable to resolve their lawsuits with creditors.

I realize that this sounds like a broken record, but come on, isn't it time for us to stop listening to songs and start fixing our lives?

Halloween might not be the scariest thing this October.

This October, while all the kids will be going trick or treating, the adults will wonder just how much of their candy purchases should they put on the already full credit card. The scariest part about this holiday is that the fun must go on, but someone will have to pay.

In the past few weeks I actually heard consumers telling me that they cannot settle with their creditors because they must spend money on Halloween celebration. I cannot seem but to wonder, if this is what's happening in October, just what kind of a holiday season do we have to look forward to November and December?

Couple of days ago when mediating a Discover Bank case for over $19,000 I discovered that the creditors also use the same excuse. They did not want to cut the costs due to the approaching holiday, citing the need for more cash flow due to the exponential loss of settlement. Don't even ask about stipulated judgments, apperently no one trust each other anymore - period.

So, boo! And I hope your Halloween goes debt free.

I thought mediation is...

It seem s that everyday someone will have somehow misunderstand as to what mediation really is. Day in and day out I have to come up with a easier to understand layman's term, which with every revision gets dumber and dumber.

People seem to think that mediators are their to serve as a debt negotiator - no matter the case. Every time I get into heated negotiations over a debt, for instance, and a client will say, "Well, I thought mediation is when you get me a much better deal." They seem to forget that mediating a litigated case means helping them settle outside of the courtroom. This, in turn, forces me to tell both sides to consider the alternatives and realize what it will cost (since that's the only thing that matter to them) if they do not settle. Garnishments, liens or levies mean nothing; all they care about is how big of a reduction can you get me.

People, I am telling you right now. You have to look at the big picture. This is why as human beings we can see in 3D, so that every aspect of a problem is very clear to us. You should start thinking in 3D as well. And remember, we are here to help you; not to get you off scot free.

For more information, please visit: What to Expect from Mediation?

The Good, The Bad and The Debt.

Over the past few months I spent a good amount of my mediation time concentrating on settling collection cases. These cases varied from simple credit card companies trying to collect from their debtors to complex B2B cases and everything in between. This is a short summary of my observations:

The Good
People and companies are extremely receptive to settling their cases without resorting to the adversarial alternative of going to court.

The Bad
The economical state of our nation has degraded to a point where individuals in debt are unable to come up with the funds necessary for settlement; regardless of the terms of the settlements, such as a structured payment plan or a lump-sum resolution.

The Debt
The Catch 22 becomes that individuals which are unable to settle will have their wages garnished due to a judgment granted against them, thus having many of these consumers loose their homes, etc. These conditions force individuals to choose the lesser of two evils and in turn having to have to borrow money from third-party sources in order to keep their salaries and settle their lawsuits. Of course, doing so, gets them deeper into debt.

Solution?
...open to comments.

Consumer Confidence Plunges in March

The AP wire had this headline today, "Consumer confidence sinks to lowest level in five years." What they are talking about is the fact that the consumers stopped spending money, thus sending our economy on a very quick downfall. Meanwhile, President Bush had issued a $600 check to be sent along with the tax returns - for who ever qualifies, but in fact, in the above referenced article, that would be everyone. So what would happen is that you will receive a separate check in your name for six-hundred dollars, which you may deposit to your account and spend anyway you can. The government wants us to spend this money on buying you things and raising our economy in the process, but I bet that we will use this money pay off; partially pay off our over inflated credit card balances and try to reduce the amount of debt we are in.

You see, if this was my idea and I would want the consumers to spend more money, I would never send a check. I would simply send a VISA gift card, thus forcing consumers to spend and even though some would say that this is not fair, I say that desperate times call for for desperate measures.

Forgetfulness - One of The Deadly Sins

It has been quite a long time since my last Blog entry. Is it because I had nothing to say? Is it because I did not want to say anything? Or is it because I forgot? Yes, forgot. I always wondered how people could forget to take care of something important, something that seems impossible to neglect. Paying your bills, picking up your kid from school, going to an interview or getting legal help. How can you forget? It is only recently that I found my self in these forgetful situations.

My business takes up a large part of my life and I try to remember everything I need to do, which incidentally, includes this Blog. Everyday I remember the tasks I need to perform for the day, my calendar reminds me of important phone calls and appoints, my BlackBerry notifies me of an email and my girlfriend of our anniversary. These are the things I try to keep in my mind and not to forget, but how about the other things, the secondary things, why do we forget?

I wondered about that question for a good few days and realized that it is all a matter of prioritizing. Not to say that your kid is not important enough to pick up form school, but let's face it sometimes our priorities are misplaced. So when it comes to taking care of a recently served and received court summons most people's priorities are definitely misplaced. As a mater effect it is so bad, that most of the people do not even read the summons until it is too late to respond. I realize that getting legal help is not something we do everyday and it is not as easily replicated on regular bases as let's say brushing your teeth. However, I am still a firm believer that even though there is not a lot of places to get legal help in resolving your dispute the resources are out there.

I am going to stop here or otherwise I will go into all of the benefits of mediation which I talk about every time, but from this moment on I will try to make it a habit to blog more often and you should make it a habit to re -prioritize according to situations and remember to use all the resources available to you in dispute resolution - especially in our economy.