Many student loan lenders prey on students who are probably too young to understand the consequences of borrowing from the future.

By: Jeena Cho

When I was in law school, they opened a Starbucks in the student union. Instantly, I was addicted. Every break between classes, I would wonder over and order a venti soy Mocha Frappuccino. It was just the “cool” thing to do. After about a month of this bad behavior, I noticed two things. 1. I didn’t have money for groceries and 2. I was craving more Frappuccino. Initially, I thought someone had stolen money out of my account because the bank balance was much lower than where it should have been. After a little investigation, I was horrified at the fact that I had wasted my precious grocery money at Starbucks! Even at 2 cups a day at $4.75, that’s $285 a month!

I spent the next month tracking every dime I spent. Not just money I spent on Starbucks but on food, eating out, entertainment, clothing, Continue Reading »

By: Jeena Cho

Just in the last 2 weeks, I’ve received at least a dozen or so inquiries from home owners, realtors and others about loan modification. We don’t do loan modification and most San Francisco loan modification attorneys I know has  stopped doing them since new Civil Code Section 2944.7(a)(1) went into effect. In short, the law prohibits receiving money upfront to do loan modification. If anyone requires money upfront to do a loan modification, they are violating this law.

It is unfortunate that the banks seem more willing to take the loss on a foreclosure then to work with the homeowners and work out a loan modification. One solution that has been proposed is to give authority to the bankruptcy judges to modify the mortgage. This legislation has been shot down. It is one of the great ironies that bankruptcy judges can change the terms Continue Reading »

by Brandi Bernazzani

Have you always wanted to be a saver but could never find the extra money?

If that describes you or your family, you are the RULE and not the exception in America.  Most people pay their major bills first and then spend as they need to and want to.  For the most part, unless people are in the habit of saving, they spend what’s in their account and sometimes more, regardless of how much they make.

If the idea of savings makes you cringe you’ve got to put a plan in place that automates the savings and removes the money from “your fingers” before you get a chance to find it a new home.

Here’s the solution in 3 easy steps:

1. Go to the web and find a reputable online savings account that offers these benefits and set up a new account:

a.      No fees to open or maintain an account
b.      Continue Reading »