Preferred Financial Services

Andover, Massachusetts August 18^th, 2010 – Stuck in debt? Always wondering how you ended up in the financial situation you are in? If you answered yes to these questions then most likely you do not have a budget for yourself. A budget is the foundation from which all your other financial decisions are based on. If you have the will power to follow your own budget then there is no reason why you can’t live a happy and debt free life. But, as this recession has shown us, the majority of Americans are not living with a budget and are using credit to finance extravagant lifestyles. Celebrity stories about “millionaires” with thousands in credit card debt are all to obvious reminders that a budget is only as good as the person who devised it. If you can’t follow your budget then it is basically useless. So, follow the steps below to create your personal budget and find a way to stick with it. Maybe you need a mentor or someone with whom you can share the frustrations and limits that a budget imposes on you. Whatever it takes, don’t give up, the hardships and frustrations will be worth it!

1. The first step in any budget process is an inventory of your income and the average expenses you have each month. Go back and look at a few months worth of utility bills, credit card bills, ATM receipts, etc. to see just how much money you spend on average each month. Compare this to your income and if your number is positive, then move on to step 2, if its negative your expenses need to be cut or your income needs to rise to prevent you from falling further into debt.
2. Ok, so you’re not spending more than you make so you’re all set right? Wrong! The typical household is neglecting many items every month by just living paycheck to paycheck. Have you thought about retirement saving, emergency funds, college savings, taxes, car expenses etc? These are all items that should be funded each year that will not show up on your credit card bill.
3. Paying yourself should always be done before the regular bills are paid. This means in an ideal situation that you would be contributing a maximum of 20% of your gross income to retirement savings as well as fully funding a 3-6 month emergency fund. After taking your home and transportation expenses into account your income could already be 80%+ gone.
4. Ideally, once regular and important expenses are considered you will realize that to really become debt free that your expenses will need to drop each month. Review your regular non essential expenses such as communication, entertainment, clothing, fitness, etc. and see just which services and goods you really do need and which you can downgrade or eliminate entirely.

Becoming debt free is not easy, but creating a budget is. Once you have a plan in place make sure you stick to it. While it may be convenient to forego a few months of retirement saving to go on vacation it isn’t a good idea. You will lose the power of compounding interest in your retirement account which will hurt you when you are getting ready to retire. Instead, save up for every large purchase so you can pay for it in cash without having to dip into other essential areas of your budget. Good Luck!

Readers, do you have a budget? Are you paying yourself first or just surviving at this point? Have you had difficulty following through on your budget?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 17^th, 2010 – After a rush of increasingly dire economic data over the past few weeks, the markets opened up higher this morning as new data indicates that the Doom Scenario being forecasted by many economists and politicians might be a bit premature. The data released this morning covers everything from industrial output to housing and stock prices. But is this data enough to inject the market with confidence and prevent a double dip recession? I’m not sure and it seems as if even most experts really don’t know where we are headed, which is not doing anything to raise the confidence of average Americans fighting to stay afloat.

A consistent worry over the past few weeks has been the threat of deflation or long term inflation. Wholesale prices had not risen since March until last month when they increased by .2%. This is very good news for the economy as it momentarily eases the threat of deflation which could dramatically impact and hurt the US economy. Economists had predicted a .1% rise so this greater than expected jump is a big reason why the stock markets opened so positively today. Another area of the economy that grew in July was industrial production. The nations factories, mines and utilities have seen little to no growth in output over the past 6 months and today’s announcement that industrial output grew by 1% was very encouraging as it is double the estimated growth. This growth indicates that while domestic demand remains weak the export sector of our economy is ramping up as demand in other parts of the world supports and in some cases replaces domestic and European demand for industrial goods.

Meanwhile, home sales and construction data continues to be up and down. New home and apartment construction grew by 1.7% in July but permits for future buildings dropped by 3.1%. This drop in future activity indicates that the housing market still has a long way to go before it is out of the danger zone. Home building has suffered considerably since the end of the home buyer tax credit in April so even though the long term picture remains bleak the short term increase was positive news for the markets.   

The news coming out of Wall Street and Washington continues to be up and down every week. Not a week goes by without some positive news coming out followed a few days later by a spate of negative data. This is part of the reason why consumers, economists, and Washington continue to be pessimistic about the state of the economy. While the threat of a double dip recession is certainly weaker than it was even a few weeks ago, the lack of consistently positive data means that we are still a long way away from returning to our pre recession economic levels.

Readers, what’s your opinion on where our economy is headed? Can politicians do anything more or should we just let the market works its way out of this mess?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 16^th, 2010 – The recent recession has brought a new spotlight on personal finance and more specifically the mistakes that have been made by millions nationwide. Every family and individual in this country has some “fat” that can be cut from their everyday lives that would improve their financial situation over time. Not only is there a lot of money being wasted but many Americans never even learned what the wrong moves were when it came to personal finance. Preferred Financial Services, in an ongoing quest to educate their clients and the public on personal finance has compiled this list of mistakes that are being made everyday without much fanfare….

1. Monthly Payments = I can Afford it : Ever go into a furniture store or car showroom and noticed that the actual retail price is not the number that is emphasized  but instead the monthly payment? This is because retailers know that they can make a lot more money if they allow consumers to purchase goods on credit over time. A car dealer would rather sell you a car for $30,000 today and make $35,000 after 5 years of payment than just having you pay cash for it. Interest, finance charges, and other fees all add more money into their pocket and less into yours. Not only that, but basing your budget on monthly payments almost guarantees that you will purchase more than you should. Credit cards and payment plans have allowed millions of Americans to get expensive goods now without paying for them in full. The result is the recession we are in now. All it takes is one jobless or illness to force you into a situation where you cant afford to make your payments on all the items you purchased on credit. The fix? If at all possible wait to purchase large consumer goods until you can do so in cash. It will help your pocketbook and give you time to really figure out if you need that new 50 inch TV.
2. Paying to Much on your Mortgage: For most Americans their home mortgage is the largest liability they will ever have in their lives. Typically housing expenses can consumer up to 40% of ones income every month so it is important to get the most bang for buck in this department. Your monthly payment is determined by your length and interest rate associated with the mortgage. Lets take a look at a basic example. A $200,000 mortgage at 5% for 30 years would leave you with a $1073 payment per month. If that rate was 4%, it would only be $954. Multiply that by 360 months and the difference between the two is a stunning $42,840. What could you do with over $40,000? Probably something better than paying it in interest to your bank.
3. Not Paying the Right Amount of Taxes: There is one constant in life even in these tough times and that is taxes. Every working American has to pay their taxes each year, so why not make sure that you pay the lowest amount possible. This isn’t a tip about fudging your numbers or cheating the system but simply about making sure that the correct amount is withheld from your paycheck each pay period. Many Americans look forward to a huge tax refund check each year but this is in fact the opposite of what they should be looking for. A refund means that you have paid too much each pay period and thus the government needs to refund the money. But this refund does not include interest on that money, so in essence, you have loaned the federal government your money at 0% interest. Ideally you would try to get the smallest refund check possible each and every year.
4. Minimum Monthly Payments on your Credit Cards: The most obvious mistake but also the hardest to break if you are currently paying the minimum. For most Americans this isn’t a choice but a requirement because their balances are so high they can’t afford to pay much more than the minimum. If this is you, make sure you are taking the steps necessary to eventually being debt free, whether this means tightening your budget or enrolling in a debt relief program such as those offered by Preferred Financial Services. If you are doing this by choice or ignorance then stop immediately. Even low interest credit cards are more mostly than taking out a personal loan from a bank or credit union. To make sure you never pay another dime more than you should follow the number one rule to being debt free, don’t spend more than you can pay each month! Carrying a card with a zero balance will allow you to fulfill your other dreams and goals without having to worry about making next months payment.

Readers, are you currently making any of these mistakes or have you in the past? What tips do you have for those that can’t seem to find a way out of their financial mess?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 13^th, 2010 – As the economy continues to drag on through the dog days of summer Credit Card Debt in the US continues to fall. Consumers began their sharp cutback in 2008 as the recession really hit and have continued their purging of credit card balances ever since. The latest data released by the Federal Reserve is for June and it shows another $4.5 billion drop to $826.5 billion. This is encouraging news for economists who have insisted since 2008 that Americans needed to readjust and balance their financial lives and rely less on Credit Cards to make ends meet. It has not been easy as many families built up an extravagant lifestyle over the past 10 years financed largely by credit cards and home equity.

While this news was positive, there was some underlying data which indicates the pace of frugality and the willingness of Americans to slow down their spending is fading since its peak late last year. Total Consumer credit, which includes all consumer loans outstanding other than mortgages and other debt secured by real estate fell by only $1.3 billion in June, much less than the $5.3 billion that analysts had expected. This follows in the wake of a revision in the May decline from $9.1 billion to $5.3 billion. What this data indicates is that while credit card debt continues to drop other forms of consumer debt is not dropping as quickly and is in fact slowing down. In fact, loans for cars, education, and other uses actually increased in June by $3.2 billion.

What does this data all mean? Clearly consumers have realized that credit cards are one of the most expensive ways to finance a lifestyle. This realization is long overdue but is a positive development for the country moving forward. The rise in education loans is to be expected as the entire education sector continues to grow and expenses continue to rise. The fact that car loans also increased could be an indicator that consumers have been delaying their purchases since the recession began two years ago and have now finally decided to upgrade.

Readers, what do you think? Have consumers really figured out how to live within their means or is the rise in car loans a leading indicator that the American consumer will be making a comeback shortly? And if so, is that good news? I know our economy is dependent on consumer spending but isn’t that exact spending a reason why so many American families are currently in deep financial trouble?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 13^th, 2010 – Just like everything in life, practice makes perfect when it comes to personal finance. Young people just starting out their independent lives and even older Americans that never learned the good from the bad tend to make huge mistakes when it comes to their own finances that can cost them thousands over the span of their lives. How do you know your making a mistake with your finances? Well a good place to start is to understand how banks and other creditors judge your credit worthiness and the factors that go into this judgment.

While the term credit score has entered the popular vocabulary over the last few years the majority of Americans still have no idea just how the score is calculated and how big of an impact this simple 3 digit number can have on their lives and pocketbooks. Your credit score is based upon the information that is included in your credit report which has among other things your payment histories, personal information, and any public records that are connected to your finances. Whenever you open a new line of credit the creditor reports this to one of the three main credit report agencies in the US, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. These are private firms that collect and verify the credit information for anyone living in this country.

Your score is then calculated using an equation that takes into account 5 factors, each with a varying degree of impact….

1. The largest factor is an individual’s payment history. If you are always on time with your bills then this should be an easy factor to control. Unfortunately, it is quite common for people to forget to pay their bills by accident which then hurts them for the foreseeable future with a lower credit score. This might not be relevant if your score is 800, but if you drop from 620 to 595 because you were late on a bill then it could prevent you from even getting a line of credit.
2. The 2^nd factor is the amount of debt you owe in relation to your available credit. Credit Bureaus look for a ratio below 30%, so if you carry a balance of $8,000 per month on a card with a $10,000 limit your score will drop even if you pay the bill each month in full and on time.
3. The 3rd factor that determines your credit score is your credit history. The longer your history with credit is, the better your score will be because the bureaus will have an idea of how you handle your finances. 
4.  The 4^th and 5^th factor are similar and both account for around 10% of your score. They deal with the types and amount of new and existing lines of credit you have. If you have 10 credit cards or recently opened 4 lines of credit then your score will fall. Banks like to see a variety of different lines with no excessive amounts. So a consumer with a car loan, home mortgage, and 4 credit cards would receive a better score than a consumer with 3 car loans, 2 home mortgages, and 7 credit cards.

Remember, if you don’t know how your score is calculated, how can you ever get around to improving it? Next time you enter a Department Store and are offered a store card think about what it will do to your score and you just might end up walking out of there with one less card in your wallet! And please don’t fall for the catchy jingles that credit report services use to get you to enroll in a credit protection plan. The only authorized and completely FREE source for your credit report (not score) is www. Annualcreditreport.com . This is an official government website that was created by the 3 reporting agencies and the US government to ensure that consumers have access to their own reports.

Readers, did you know what factors made up your score? Were you like me and always opened up a new card in stores that offered 10% off the purchase?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 12, 2010 – The Labor Department reported today that new jobless claims rose to a 6 month high of 484,000 last week, 2,000 more than the week before and only 6,000 less than the high point for the year. While Wall Street continues to weather the storm and post large profits Main Street continues to tumble.

This newest report is on top of a week of bad news for the economy and could be a leading indicator that companies are still worried that we may be heading for a double dip recession and more belt tightening by the American consumer. It’s a vicious cycle as the less companies hire the less consumers can spend which then in turn hurts the profits of the companies. How and when will it end? Not even the Federal Reserve Chairman knows for sure, and the options he has left to fix the economy continue to dwindle. The US growth forecast has already been revised down and interest rates can not go any lower. From a monetary policy stand point the country is at a dead end with the only options left likely leading to inflation in the future. However, the countries fiscal policy is still up in the air. Can we afford another round of stimulus? Did the last round even provide any benefits for the economy? Should taxes be cut or raised? All of these issues are still up in the air and with elections coming in the fall the chances of anything getting done from a financial policy standpoint look very dim.

Readers, where do you see us going leading up to the elections? Will a Republican victory allow for new ideas to be proposed or will it just make Mr. Obama a lame duck president for the remainder of his presidency?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 10^th, 2010 – With all the recent disappointing news from the Labor Department the economy has been waiting for any kind of good news. Today the labor department released its quarterly productivity report for the US economy and the news gave hope of an increase in hiring in the near future. Employee productivity dropped for the first time since 2008 by .9% between April and June. What does this mean in the bigger picture?

For the past two years employers have been cutting jobs almost every month trying to shed costs to stay competitive in a global market or in some cases just to survive. This has led to a historically large increase in labor productivity as workers were asked to do more with less help. In 2009 alone the productivity of US workers rose by 3.5%. Work that used to be done by 3 workers was being consolidated into 1 to save labor costs and increase the profitability of the company. This is why Wall Street has been seeing record profits and huge profit margins while Main Street has been suffering under high unemployment and low wage growth. While this is great news for companies there are limits to how much each worker can accomplish. At a certain level productivity will not increase and companies will be forced to hire more workers so that they can continue to expand and meet their customers’ needs.

Today’s drop indicates that companies have finally reached the point where their employees are being asked to do too much. The average work week has increased along with productivity over the last two years to a recent high of over 35 hours. Typically a drop in productivity would harm our economy as our goods would become more expensive on the open market as labor costs increase. However, this drop could indicate that firms are nearing the point where hiring will be necessary to grow. If this is the case the US economy can expect to start adding workers again that have been shed to the count of over 8 million in the past 2 years. An increase in hiring would lead to more income being generated by workers which they can then begin spending again. More openings will also lead to higher wages as companies will be fighting to get rehire the best of the unemployed. As has been mentioned many times before, the key to an economic recovery is jobs. If Americans are secure with their employment they will return to spending at pre recession levels. This would mark the final end to the recession and a return to growth for the US economy as consumer spending account for over 70% of our countries GDP.

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

Readers, is this the news we have been waiting for or just a temporary drop? Have you been asked to take over tasks at work that used to be done by someone else?

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 9^th, 2010 – As American consumers continue to struggle with their debt payments, Credit Card Companies are increasing their efforts to collect their full balances. Credit Card Companies have been greatly impacted by the recession of the past 2 years. Late payments, non payments, and delinquencies are all at record highs. As these companies are generally publicly traded corporations they are responsible to their shareholders who want to see the company make a profit, and a substantial one at that. To overcome the rise in delinquencies and non payments Credit Card Companies are attacking the programs meant to help consumers escape debt.

Once a consumer decides or realizes that continuing to make the minimum payments will never have them debt free they start to look for some way to settle or reduce their debt load once and for all. Obviously the Credit Card Companies discourage this at all costs as it only chips away at their profits even more. A consumer who enrolls in a debt settlement program can expect the Credit Card Company to do anything and say anything to get them to start making minimum payments again. This has really increased in recent months as debt settlement becomes more and more popular and credit card profits continue to drop. Recent flyers being sent out to consumers who are late on their payments are meant to scare the consumer into making monthly payments again.

If a consumer wants to become debt free in a fast time period, making minimum payments is not the way to go. Debt Settlement firms are legally allowed to settle your debt for you, and any creditor who says they do not work with a debt settlement firm is either lying or stretching the truth. Certain companies have always said they do not work with debt settlement firms, but their Recovery Departments do. It is important for consumers to realize that Credit Card Companies are not their friends; they are a business just like the gas station that sells you gas and the super market that sells you groceries. The sooner Americans realize this, the less effective these scare tactics will be. Debt Settlement can help consumers eliminate their debt faster and for greater savings than any debt management or credit counseling service could. Of course there are bad actors in our industry, just like there are in every industry. If you decide to go the debt settlement route, research the firms you are interested in, look for a long history of greater than 3 years (the entire industry has seen huge growth over the past few years, largely from unregulated and unethical firms) and be patient. Every negotiation takes time, but in the end the goal of being debt free will be reached!

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News, Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 6^th, 2010 – Another month gone by, another disappointing jobs report from the Labor Department. After releasing poor weekly results yesterday, the monthly report for July did nothing to calm investor fears of a double dip recession and continued slow economic growth. While the numbers were impacted by seasonal factors and the end of the census operation, the overall trend in private sector hiring continues to be worrying.

For the month of July the US economy cut 131,000 jobs which did not affect the unemployment rate as it stayed at 9.5%. Analysts were expecting cuts of 65,000 which is why the stock market has taken quite a stumble in early trading today. These numbers are a bit inflated because of the huge drop in census workers over the last month. Thousands were laid off during the month and are now back to looking for work. While government numbers are harder to calculate because of these issues, the private sector numbers are easier to figure out and a better indicator of where the economy is going. This is why economists were more focused on these compared to the overall numbers. Private employers added over 71,000 jobs in July, and while this number is positive it is well below the 90,000 that was expected. This data was preceded today by the revision of private sector job numbers for the month of June. Originally the Labor Department said 83,000 private sector jobs were created in June but today that number was revised down to 31,000. So, over the last 2 months the US economy has trailed projected numbers by 71,000 jobs. What this data indicates is that while Wall Street continues to see strong corporate earnings it is not the result of actual growth but instead increased productivity gains and cost cutting. Consumers continue to keep their wallets shut as their job security remains uncertain or non existent.

Until the employment landscape improves America can expect to see continued weakness on Main Street and more jitters on Wall Street. Readers, where do you see job numbers going for August? My instinct tells me we should see a strong rebound due to seasonal factors as well as an increase in overall activity and spending by the consumer for the “Back to School” season. Do you agree?

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 5^th, 2010 – New Labor Department Data on unemployment released today shows a continued uncertainty in the job market which indicates companies are still worried/hesitant to expand their operations and payroll. New initial jobless claims rose last week by 19,000, the second time in 3 weeks that they have gone up. The weekly total now stands at a seasonally adjusted 479,000, well above the 400,000 limit that is required to produce consistent job growth and a lower unemployment rate.

Last weeks increase was not expected by analysts and is another indicator that the economy is struggling to turn the corner and expand consistently again. Consumers continue to save their income due to the uncertainty in the economy and this is having a ripple effect throughout the country. Economists agree that until consumer spending increases and the uncertainty begins to fade, the economy will continue to see an abnormally high unemployment rate for a non recession period. Stay tuned for the July jobs report that will be coming out this Friday as this will show a more complete picture. Analysts are not expecting rosy numbers as the census operation has ended and over 150,000 Americans are back to looking for work. While government employment may have dropped, the real number to keep an eye out for is the private sector jobs report.

Are we out of the woods? Or do you expect tomorrow’s jobs report to show a continued weakness in the job market? What more can or should be done to help workers find a job? What do you think readers; your input is always welcome!

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

Share on Facebook

Financial News