Chances are, that you either know someone who plays poker at someone’s home, or underground gambling club, or you have done this yourself. With the state of the economy now, its likely that there is more money being made now in the underground economy through illegal card games than ever. Most cities have literally countless illegal gambling dens, just like back in the days of the Wild West. Although most people only likely walk away with beer money for the week, the people hosting underground card games make, in some cases, millions from the “rake”, or fee, which is usually a percentage of the winnings. When you factor all these sorts of activities occur in everything from ethnic social clubs to after hours private clubs, to uncle Charlie’s basement, it all adds up to a huge sector of what is the underground economy.

Typically, unless there is a complaint, or some other sort of illicit activity to draw the attention of law enforcement, nobody really bothers them. In most cases, there are strict rules about drugs being consumed or sold on the premises.

Most States in the US and provinces in Canada have some sort of regulatory body - a “gaming commission”. So, say you like in Utah, only poker games specifically sanctioned by the Utah Gaming Commission are legal. Along with Utah, Missouri, Indiana, New Jersey and New York have punitive and archaic gambling laws. Canada, with its typically paternalistic nanny-state, it gets much worse; nearly all forms of gambling not sanctioned by government are illegal. In Ontario, Canada, the “Ontario Lottery Corporation” is an entity set up to look like a government body, when in reality it is actually a corporate monopoly, protected by government. However the reality in Canada’s biggest city is that there is a growth in the underground economy
in illegal gambling dens.

In states where home card games are legal, its only really legal for the players alone to make money. Anytime there is a fee, percentage or rake involved, where the person hosting the game makes money, its likely illegal. Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado and even Texas have laws explicitly stating that no person can make money for operating a game, with the exception of players. This also applies to liquor sales, which are usually governed by other statutes. There are other states where home gambling is legal to some extent, calling it “social gambling”. Some states such as Alaska, Alabama and Louisiana are some examples where that home poker game is legal. There is a complete list here of states where home poker games are legal.

How People Make Cash from Home Card Games

Like anything else, there is a big of a learning curve. First off, one has to learn not just how to play poker, and more importantly, how to run a game. There is the issue of learning the finer points and the dexterity of how to deal cards properly. One has to learn how to collect a rake from the pot. A good way to “cut your teeth” is to simply talk to people you know who play poker, and/or find some underground clubs near you and play around a while until you are more experienced and also gain some trust among others. If you “get in” with some of the regulars, or owners, you can discretely being to offer to deal for them if they need someone (that would be gold, as it could net you maybe a couple of hundred bucks a night - cash in your pocket!). Youtube and similar sites have no shortage of tutorials on subjects like, how to deal, etc. As well as there is no shortage of good poker tutorials online.

The other, equally prudent strategy is for one to get their own club up and running. The space is cheap, as one can use their home or a part of it, or their business. Dealers are relatively inexpensive (in case you never got too proficient at learning how to deal!), as they just collect tips or a percentage as any service sector employee would.

How to Make Money off of Rake Per Hand

On average, a rake could make you from a few hundred to a couple of grand a night. A typical plan would be to offer $1/2 no limit, with the rake taking 10% of the pot up to $5-$7 (most private/ethnic clubs and similar gambling dens can charge up to $10 or more)

So, for example, say if you deal 20 hands an hour, collecting an average of $5/hand, running 3 tables, creating a rake of $300/hr, 6 hours gives you $1800. Some things to keep in mind are: while prosecution comes with a low risk, you cannot merely just assume that your home poker game is legal in your jurisdiction, and even if it is legal, you still face the problem of being able to collect your money if you win and are not paid - or if people owe you for whatever reason (the latter is where the real problems begin: when people try to collect gambling debts. You can bet the long arm of the law is not far behind).

*Disclaimer: working and intentionally not declaring income is, in most cases, a federal offense. Livesafely.org in no way endorses tax evasion. The preceding information is for information and entertainment purposes only.

We’ve seen it all before in the movies: there is a big heist and the crooks get away from the long arm of the law to some international safe haven. But, is there such a thing? Can you really live on the lam, like a fugitive in the movies or is this purely make-believe?

The objective truth is, if Uncle Sam wants you bad enough, you will be found. With the real-time connectedness of the Internet, GPS and mobile phone technology, the world has certainly become a much smaller place. Anyone can, from anywhere, read the news of the world - which could include wanted posters, and just maybe a story about your escapades. This whole business, from a legal standpoint, is called “extradition” and the laws vary greatly between countries. The particulars of US extradition law are covered thoroughly in the US Code: Title 18, Section 209.

Extradition to the USA

Some things to consider include the fact that since fighting the US on a particular extradition case is very expensive and thus most countries will not automatically fight an extradition order to the USA unless the defendant is a citizen. There is also this business of “dual criminality” which means that if you are accused of a crime in the USA and the same offence is a crime in your new country in which you are a citizen, you could fight the whole extradition by allowing yourself to be tried for the crime in the same country you are being extradited from. Also, if you being under an extradition order (and you are a citizen of the country you are being extradited from back to the USA), you most likely will not have grounds to fight if the crime in the USA is said to have taken place before taking up citizenship in the nation you are being extradited from.

Grounds to Fight Extradition Back to the USA

• The extraditee can claim that the USA has no more authority over them as they are no longer a citizen or a resident.
• One could also claim that they are likely to not get a fair trial due to relevant aspects of the US legal system with regards to the particular offense.
• One could argue that they face human rights discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
• With many States in the US still having capital punishment on the books, one could argue that they might face cruel and unusual punishment.
• One could argue hardship on financial grounds, that they might not be able to afford a legal defense in USA.
• Another angle is that the extraditee may have medical issues that might be worsened by extradition.

Like most if not all legal matters, it is all very subjective. The more one can “muddy the waters” by raising as many arguments as fit, the better off one is. It also concerns international relations and politics with the nature of the relationship between the two nations (ie, the so-called “mutual legal assistance treaty” which may or may not exist between the nations), the nature of what you face trial for and the assertions against your extradition. If the crime in question is not equally punishable in both jurisdictions, you may well be in luck.

Where to be an International Fugitive

Countries without any extradition treaties with USA. In these countries, there is no legal means to extradite you: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome e Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, USSR, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Yemen South, Zaire, Zimbabwe.

Countries that have no extradition treaties with USA but have some degree of diplomatic relations. In the following list of countries, although there is no formal extradition treaty, it all depends on foreign affairs and how well they get along. It’s pretty much a coin toss with these countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bophuthatswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Ciskei, The Comors, Cote d’ Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Jordan, South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Maldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Philippines, Principe and San Tome, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Samoa.

Countries with both no extradition treaties *and* no diplomatic relations whatsoever with the USA. If you are in one of these nations, you will have the lowest risk of being extradited: Andorra, Angola, Bantu Homelands, Bhutan, Bosnia, Cambodia, Ciskei, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Maldives, Serbia, Somalia, Taiwan, Transkei, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

Lack of Extradition Treaty May Still Not Guarantee Safety From Extradition

Again, this all depends on what you are accused of having done. If its something like fraud, theft or some other non-violent crime, you really stand a good chance at not being extradited, whereas if you are accused of having done something really bad, the local authorities may not want you around. If the nation has a terrible relation with the USA, it wouldn’t be surprising if no-one was willing to co-operate with the FBI or Interpol. With the current authoritarian trend with the US Government’s behavior, they could well try to stretch it and brand you a threat to national security, which sure seems to be the catch-all tool to undermine civil liberties these days. Again, the big key is getting citizenship in at least one other nation and also several passports so that you have more than one back door.

In the post-Sept 11th world that we live in, its admittedly more difficult to do many things we once used to and took for granted. One of these things is our ability to travel without Big Brother noting our whereabouts, you know, in the interest of “national security”. (as I write this in late 2011, the US is planning to have Homeland Security place monitoring technology in our streetlights, which include surveillance cameras and loud speakers) A time honored mode of travel, with an exciting and vibrant history, is the practice known as “freight train hopping”, or simply as “train hopping”.

When we think of such things, age-old stereotypes, such as the lovable hobos in “Grapes of Wrath” come to mind. But looking at this critically, there are many things to be aware of when considering this anachronistic mode of travel, likely, the last truly anonymous one left.

When we speak of freighthopping, we are talking about secretly hopping on a railroad freight car. During the Great Depression, this became a standard mode of travel, as many Americans simply did not have train fare to travel by rail in search of a better life. Those riding the rails became known as “hobos”. Over the course of the 20th century, states began passing laws against the practice. But the fact that its illegal, doesn’t stop people from “catching out”, train-hopping.

Hobo Living - Freight Train Hopping in America - Freighthopping

Safety Concerns

Without sounding like captain obvious here, lets be clear, train hopping could get you killed or dismembered. This is especially so if one is doing this while intoxicated, overtired or in bad physical shape. It is otherwise every easy to get seriously injured. There are some things to watch out for and not to do:

• Watch out for the railroad security (aka, “the bull”). If you have ever seen the film, “Emperor of the North“, Ernest Borgnine played a mean one in the character “Shack”. (This film is worth seeing, both for reference and for entertainment). Watch for flashlights and listen to footsteps. Also keep an eye out for vehicles.
• Take extra precaution when train hopping in the winter. Ice and snow can exponentiate the danger.
• Be careful while walking. Don’t walk on the tracks or cross under freight cars (thus crossing the tracks). A train can start rolling abruptly and get you caught.
• Be careful of who you talk to and associate with. There are well-known gangs who ride the rails, many of whom are fugitives. One such organization is the FTRA.

What to Take With You

• A cell phone. Make sure you have a camera on the phone and also have something like Qik.com, a free service that allows you to stream events such as this wherever they happen using your mobile phone. This could come in handy if there is trouble.
• Dark, warm, water/weatherproof clothing.
• Gloves, and a hat (maybe a good waterproof one like a Tilley).
• Good footwear with an excellent sole. You need to se 100% sure of your footing when freight hopping.
• Flashlight, lighter, candle - anything that helps you see and keep warm.
• A sleeping bag, if possible. You might be on a trip that could take you at great speeds across the country.
• Some non-perishable high protein snacks/foods. Protein bars, canned fish, peanut butter, beef jerky, meat sticks, anything like this can keep you nourished. Also bring bottled water.
• A leatherman or similar multi-tool. Handy for eating, opening food packaging etc.
• A GPS or a map.

Where to Hop A Freight Train

Jumping on a train takes some planning and forethought. Your best bet is to get a hold of and study a map, which shows the rail lines, interstate. Often the best place is to jump a train as it is coming out of the yard, just past where security can see. The tricky part is how fast they are going at that point. You typically want to jump on a train when it is not moving, or hardly moving. Do not attempt to jump on one that you think is moving slow, as it might be faster than you think. Be careful when trying to hop a plug door or intermodal car, as they are usually locked. If you get into one which is open on a stopped train, you may be locked in. If you can pass as a student or someone doing “research” you could ask some of the workers in the yard where the trains are coming from and headed to. If they tell you, ask them, naively, how they know. They just might tell you how the tracks in the yard are organized as far as routing goes.

The safest bet by far is to try to catch out a ride in open boxcars, in the spaces between flatbeds carrying cargo shipping containers. Do not ride a loaded flatcar or a loaded grainer, hopper or gondola. Also avoid tankers or any car carrying a load which could shift and injure you.

Again, whatever you do, please be careful and think before you act.

*Disclaimer: In most states and jurisdictions, doing this is considered against the law. This article is provided for purely entertainment and nostalgic purposes only.

more reading:

• Boxcar Killer
• Riding the Rails: PBS documentary about riding the rails in 1930s America
• Letters From Boxcar Boys And Girls Of The Great Depression
• YouTube - Trainsurfing Videos
• Freight Train Hopping In The USA

When we think of such things, age-old stereotypes, such as the lovable hobos in A cell phone. Make sure you have a camera on the phone and also have something like Qik.com, a free service that allows you to stream events such as this wherever they happen using your mobile phone. This could come in handy if there is trouble.

With the steady downward trend in the economy, it is becoming insanely hard to find work of any kind. “Looking for a job” leaves you, ultimately, at the mercy of others. The best solutions for many of us is to find ways to freelance at jobs that pay cash. Each one of us has something special to offer others; exchange value is the basis of a free market economy. The trick is to take an honest, hard look at our experiences and skill sets and make a list of things which we are highly knowledgeable about, and then find the best way to deliver these skills in the form of goods or services to others. Again, the economic model here usually is a cash exchange, but it needn’t be limited to that, as even barter works.

One of the best ways to deliver your skills to others is to write. This could be in the form of leaflets, publications, self-published Kindle e-books, reports, abstracts, technical manuals, novels, etc, etc. The options here are only limited by our imagination. What follows is a list of ways to generate a quick cash income by using different venues for you to write about things you are passionate and knowledgeable about.

The more that government and industrialized society tries to transform society to its own benefit, the more need they inadvertently create new human needs — this is your market. For example, a trend in the food industry: the large multinational industrialized food producers are buying up all the mom and pop organic brands, and, at the same time, lobbying the government for lowered organic food standards. Its easy to see how this is fueling a growing urban gardening culture. Say you have some sound knowledge of gardening and agriculture, you could write how-to guides and sell them — meeting a new need that wasn’t on anyone’s radar screen 20 years ago. By thinking like this, you will discover methods of making a cash income, simply by writing about things you know, that you had never dreamed of. You could realistically make $1-2000 dollars a month at this. Even better if you can live on something like $12,000 a year!

Ways To Generate A Quick Cash Income Writing

• Technical Manual Writing. Its a pretty known fact that most programmers absolutely hate writing help files and technical manuals. This could be a very lucrative proposition for you if software is your thing. You could write a manual for some software that is vital to the enterprise market, for e.g.., “business intelligence software”, such as CRM or ERP software. Then, if you are savvy with screen casting software, compose some how-to screen casts on the finer points of using a particular program. The bigger money is being able to address very specific needs, such as how to use a given software to solve an invoicing problem. Technical writers can earn close to 100k a year creating this type of documentation. There are companies that will pay you to do this, especially if you have an already established audience.
• Writing Essays for Students. Ok, I am not exactly endorsing plagiarism here, but, you could offer your services as an academic writing tutor. Students could submit you a rough copy and you could outline grammatical and mechanical changes to their writing. There do seem to be no shortage of people online offering to write whole essays on any topic, starting at around $10 a page and up, depending on the urgency/notice given. Not only could you re-write all or part of essays and term papers, you could also include fees for special assignments and research.
• Write T-Shirt Slogans. By now, we’ve all heard of this concept known as a “meme”. The Internet is, among other things, a meme garden. There is no way to stop an idea. If you have a passion for any sort of social, ecological, or political issues, then creating a small sideline cash t-shirt business could be for you. It doesn’t necessarily have to be anything profound either, you could capitalize on a rivalry between two college football teams and, with the right slogan, make large money. I have heard on one person at a Canadian university who printed the slogan “Wuck Festern” to mock their rival, University of Western Ontario’s football team. This kid apparently made 10k for selling these shirts at his school for $20 a pop over the fall semester — until the officials at the university shut him down. Again, the only limits here are your creativity and imagination.
• Bumper Stickers. Same as with t-shirts, bumper stickers could be either a huge nationwide success, or limited to local issues. You could very well create a niche crafting stickers for various non-profits and political causes. Depending on the goal, the more provocative the message, the better. It only takes a few simple, clear words to provoke any one of a number of emotions in the reader. Mind you, they needn’t necessarily be provocative, you could also create a bumper sticker to promote your organization, church, team, or local business.
• Write E-Books. The easiest way for you to write your own book is to self-publish an e-book. It is the simplest book there is and usually sells for anywhere of upwards of $15. Tim Ferris is one example of someone who has created several successful ebooks and has likely made a lucrative sum doing this. These days, its easy for anyone learn how to make your own Amazon Kindle ebook in just hours. A best practice for writing ebooks is to write in a clear concise, conversational manner and if you must include any unusual or technical terms, be sure to include a glossary and the proper annotations and endnotes. As mentioned in the beginning, a good topic is usually some kind of do-it-yourself theme, such as off-grid living or growing one’s own food. Anything that gives the reader practical information on how to save money provides valuable information to people.
• Paid Forum Posting. There are established Internet forums for every topic imaginable. With new ones being created daily, there is fierce competition for traffic and subscribers. There are “middleman” companies out there that will pay you, the expert, for strategic posts on behalf of their clients. In other cases, the forum owners and/or administrators will pay per post to start discussions, or influence them. Accordingly, in this age of propaganda, there are specialized companies that pay for political posts to influence people’s perception. Or, another idea - why don’t you start such a service? Like all of the other suggestions, this is something you can do on your own terms, from home - or - fly under the radar.

*Disclaimer: working and intentionally not declaring income is, in most cases, a federal offense. Livesafely.org in no way endorses tax evasion. In any event, I thought it might be useful to post a list of such positions in hope that it might give some ideas on how to get some extra revenue flowing in these extraordinarily difficult times as a stop gap towards legitimate self-employment. It is highly probable that some of these ideas can lead to you establishing your own, legitimate business. f you do manage to come up with a job that pays cash, “under the table”, it allows you access to 100% of your earnings up front, as long as you pay the taxes in the next tax season, when they are due–essentially allowing you some more money up front. This information is for information and entertainment purposes only.

As many of you are no doubt intimately aware, there is a looming student debt time bomb, which, in Canada, was made worse by the government’s removal of the option of bankruptcy for 10 years in the late 90s. However, as recently as July 7, 2008, there are new student loan bankruptcy laws. The two major changes are that the waiting period that one has to sit out since last being a full time student and also a so-called “Hardship Provision”. Canadian student loan debt will now be eligible for discharge to be included in a bankruptcy if seven consecutive years have passed since the student ceased to be a full or part time student (in section 178(1) (g) to not include periods of time when the bankrupt was a student but received no student loans).

For a student debtor to be able to take advantage of the hardship provision, they may apply to the court to obtain a discharge of their outstanding Canada student loan debt after only five years. For the court to agree to the dismissal of the loans on hardship grounds, the former student must make the argument that they have, a) acted in “good faith” and b) that they are expected to continue to experience financial difficulties for the foreseeable future. It isn’t really clear what constitutes acting in good faith other than something obvious, like that the student tried to make some payments. It may be a lot more evident with regards to some of the factors that could constitute one’s being expected to continue to experience financial difficulties for the foreseeable future:

• Being an older worker, one is disadvantaged and likely less competitive in the job market
• Having a disability that is expected to stay with one for the foreseeable future, especially if it has been documented before one went to school. Anything like a mental illness to a major physical illness that could be a barrier to employment could help your argument
• Having disproportionately burdensome debtload for a degree that’s not very competitive. For example, I have known several people who have $60k+ debt for Master’s Degrees in Liberal Arts, “Women’s Studies”, philosophy, etc. These degrees, one could argue, are not as easy to capitalize on as say, math, science, or health-care fields of study would be
• Having had a spotty or inconsistent employment record, where it can be clearly demonstrated that the former student did not receive any substantial financial benefit from their degree
• Making the argument that one is expected to have an ongoing financial difficulty could also be helped if one has no family to help them and can demonstrate that the payments alone would constitute undue hardship
• Generally, being able to make a sound argument that you have not received any financial gain from your degree

Attached is a Canada Student Loan Hardship Package which contains all the forms (Education & Employment Information, Financial Questionnaire, Medical Certificate and another to verify income) you need to fill out and submit to apply for forgiveness for your outstanding Canadian student loan debt, which is causing you undue hardship.

. Canadian student loan debt will now be eligible for discharge to be included in a bankruptcy if seven consecutive years have passed since the student ceased to be a full or part time student (in section 178(1) (g) to not include periods of time when the bankrupt was a student but received no student loans). Women’s Studies

One of the reasons I have become so preoccupied with self-reliance is my lack of faith in the abilities of most of the people around me, or more specifically how people would behave during a massive emergency.

Not that I have the finances to buy land outside the city, but I am curious about whether during a crisis or disaster - based on my assumptions people would panic and hoard food in cities - if I would be better off totally alone.

To find out, I turned to Les Stroud, host of the hit television series Survivorman and author of Survive! The book is basically a list of tips to get you out of extremely hairy situations.

Below are two questions I put to Stroud via email on surviving in the city.

Q: What are the advantages or disadvantages of being with a crowd - or in a major city - during an emergency?

 Les Stroud: “The primary disadvantages of a crowd are that supplies become scarce and often quite quickly,” said Stroud. “Panic can be contagious and there is a greater chance that there will be sick or injured to deal with,” he said.

“However the advantages outweigh the situation: emergency help is likely close at hand, rescue organizations are more likely to concentrate on crowded areas, natural leaders will likely be present, more people are available to search out supplies and find reliable supply lines, long distance communication is much more accessible (and) hands are available to deal with the sick or injured.”

Q: Do you believe that people in urban centres are mentally prepared (or have the supplies) to handle a severe natural disaster or sudden shut down of basic services?

Les Stroud: “Absolutely not.

“We are caught up in the day-to-day reliable living we have known for years,” said Stroud. “The water turns on with a twist, the heat comes on when we set the temperature, the garbage magically disappears at the curb, there is a store on every corner with supplies that never seem to run out. We are lulled into a sense of comfort and reliable survival, so why waste the closet space on a home survival kit?

“That said, I believe the panic and the problems would be relatively short-lived because eventually when facing a severe natural disaster people will begin to use their innate will to live and will become ingenious and leaders will emerge.

"People will get fed up with not having what they are missing, or they will begin to cope with the fact that they are doing without, because, in the end, all we really need is the most simple form of water food and shelter.

After that everything else is a bonus and deep down we know that. It just might take a big disaster to remind us that we are more resilient than we thought.”

So cities are not so bad and there may be hope for mankind. But still, I'm stockpiling enough food and water to last me and my loved ones for 72 hours.

Next step, stocking up on board games.

via Toronto Star

According to The Wall Street Journal staggering record number of 1,530,078 bankruptcy filings were completed in the USA in 2010, which is an increase of 9% from 2009. Financial experts expect that number to climb even higher in 2011. With these kind of statistics, the real fear for many lies not in the bankruptcy, but in the ensuing period where the bankrupt tries to get their life back in order and rebuilds their credit. Rebuilding credit after bankruptcy can be a relatively simple process that starts with applying for new credit. How to best go about restoring credit after bankruptcy?

What to expect?

Once you get your judgement and are discharged by the courts, you can obtain a copy of your bankruptcy discharge notice. With that, its advisable to get your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, so you can have them on hand when applying for credit. The best thing when approaching a new loan officer is to justify why you had no choice but to go into bankruptcy. If there were circumstances that caused you undue hardship, ie, job loss, major illness, divorce, etc, be up front about the role that they played in your bankruptcy. If illness, legal problems etc, not of your making were involved, even in a minor way, be honest about it in a positive way. Avoid trying to create some sort of scapegoat, such as blaming your ex or boss. Its best to characterize your situation in such a way that it can be seen as “happening to anyone”, while making yourself seem as an honest person of integrity and good work ethic. One caveat: it might be a good idea however not to be too honest, as things like arrests, drug problems and severe mental health issues can obviously work against you.

Be Honest About The Bankruptcy

You will have to account for your recent credit history since your discharge. Have this kind of information ready for the loan officer. The whole point about being as up front and forthcoming as can be is to paint a picture of integrity to increase the confidence of your lender in your discipline as an individual. Be vary of any slight untruth, as the scrutiny of a loan officer resembles that of detectives conducting interrogation of a criminal suspect. If they as much as suspect one small lie, they will likely assume that there are even bigger things you are hiding. Makes sense! If the loan application document asks (and it will), “have you ever filed for or declared bankruptcy?”, its best to leave that unchecked–which will give you a chance to explain the situation in person.

Your Employment History

There are some things that your work history should reflect. First, they will look for patterns of job instability and secondly, they will look for progress in working in one field, for example, are you jumping around from job to job? or, are you making progress in some line of work towards higher paying positions which entails more responsibility. A major arbiter of how responsible you are as a person to lend to, may to the creditor, lie in the personal fingerprint that your work history creates. If you are they type of person who has incrementally increased both your responsibilities in your job, and increased your earning potential–both while staying in the same line of work–that is something that will work for you, big time! the last thing that someone who is going to loan you money wants to see is someone who hops from job to job, has jobs with very little responsibility to the public, and hops around from field to field. On a loan application the following are can be detrimental:

• Being self-employed
• No utilities listed in your name
• Carrying too much debt (too high debt/credit ratio or total debt service ratio)
• Having too high rent or mortgage
• Not having citizen/permanent resident status
• Lack of marketable employment skills (minimum wage jobs aren’t a good thing)
• Lack of banking references (including both checking and savings account)

Self-employed?

The best way to approach getting a loan after bankruptcy when you are self-employed to use a W-2 as a proof of your employment income (in Canada, use your T-4). If you don’t have one yet, you can use invoices and receipts. If your business is not incorporated, then it would be advisable to create a corporation or LLC and set yourself up as an employee with a salary and create your own W-2. Instead of renting an office space, you can use a mailbox service that offers a street address instead of a P.O. box. The nest step is to set up a phone number for the new corporation. Now you can respond to anyone who approaches you for a reference as you see fit.

Restore Your Credit After Bankruptcy By Obtaining A Secured Credit Card

To restore your credit you have to start somewhere and the best way to do this is with a secured credit card. A secured credit card looks like a credit card, but acts more like a debit card; you need to have a deposit account set up, usually with a minimum of a few hundred dollars to “secure” the credit on the card. It is vital to get one that reports activity to one or all of the three main credit bureaus, as this will allow you to restore your credit from nothing.

Shopping for a secured credit card requires some due diligence on your part, as there are many scammers rip-off artists in this field. Most important is to find out how long it takes to convert a secured card into a traditional unsecured credit card. 6-24 months is the usual time span. Questions to ask are:

• What is the minimum deposit required? (usually its under $500)
• What is the spending limit?
• To which credit bureaus is the payment history reported?
• What are the monthly fees?
• Can you check the balance online or by phone?
• What are the user fees? (some cards not held by major banks can charge exorbitant fees)
• Will the credit limit ever be able to exceed the deposit in the account?
• How are credit limits on unsecured cards determined–what are the criteria?
• Last and not least–will they accept a discharged bankrupt?

Getting And Using Secured Credit Cards

When using a secured credit card, try to gradually increase the credit limit as much as possible. If you can, find out what the limit on the unsecured credit card to start out with will be if and when you qualify for it. Then deposit as much as possible before the secured card transitions to an unsecured one. This will help you get as high limit as you can with the new card, and if if doesn’t come right away, it might be raised sooner with this method.

Your future unsecured credit limit will be the same as your secured card, perhaps you should deposit as much as possible
just before your conversion is processed. In that way you can quickly gain an impressive high-limit unsecured card credit reference. (If you can come up with the cash)

Using your secured credit cards will come with some obvious responsibilities such as paying your bills on time, always before the due date (making late payments while trying to rebuild your credit is such an obvious no-no) and be very careful never to exceed your credit limit. But there are some subtleties that can help you increase your credit limit quicker, such as using the card on a regular basis. Lenders want to see a steady pattern of responsible behavior with as much evidence as possible that you are diligent to pay what you borrow, regularly, on time. Use it for your monthly budgeted shopping and try to keep the balance owing on the card around 70-80%. That will make it look like you are disciplined in setting spending limits and sticking to them. That is what they want to see!

Remember the cardinal rules of using secured credit cards to restore your credit rating:

1. Use your secured credit cards regularly and keep a balance that you can manage.
2. Pay the bill early, before the due date
3. Never exceed your card’s credit limit

After about a year with a solid track record of employment, residence, and paying your bills on time, you should likely be offered an unsecured credit card and your credit restored. The next step is to get some small department store credit cards and some affordable installment loans. Again, the most important thing is to show consistency *both* in your spending and paying patterns; show restraint in spending and diligence in making payments!

With soaring gas prices, its no wonder that more urbanites are opting for pedal power than ever before. Combine this with the following: that there are more vehicles on the road than ever before and the fact that most of our urban areas were never designed for the current volume of traffic, and you have a recipe for problems. Traffic accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians are at an all time high. At least some cities are proactively addressing this issue with smarter legislation, increased public transit funding and more bike paths/lanes. While statistics suggest that drivers making left-hand turns are the most fatal for pedestrians, there are more situations where cyclists can be hit by a car. The following is a comprehensive detail of those potential accidents.

The 10 Most Likely Ways to be Hit By a Car While on a Bicycle

This is the most common way to get hit (or almost get hit). See Study. A car is pulling out of a side street, parking lot, or driveway on the right. Notice that there are actually two possible kinds of collisions here: Either you’re in front of the car and the car hits you, or the car pulls out in front of you and you slam into it.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Make eye contact with the driver. This is the easiest and most effective way to avoid this accident.  Of course, you have to make sure you have established eye contact.  If you have, the motorist normally will not take his eyes off you until you have passed.  After making eye contact, I sometimes point my finger forward so the driver clearly understands my intention of going through the intersection.  If the motorist stops looking at you (or if it appears he is merely looking in your general direction), assume he has not seen you and begin to take evasive maneuvers as explained in the next paragraph.

2. Move to the Center of the Lane. Look at the two blue lines "A" and "B" in the picture. You’re probably used to riding in "A", very close to the curb, because you’re worried about being hit from behind. But take a look at the car. When that driver is looking down the road for traffic, he’s not looking in the bike lane or the area closest to the curb; he’s looking in the MIDDLE of the lane, for other cars. The farther left you are (such as in "B"), the more likely the driver will see you. There’s an added bonus here: if the motorist doesn’t see you and starts pulling out, you may be able to go even FARTHER left, or may be able to speed up and get out of the way before impact, or roll onto their hood as they slam on their brakes. In short, it gives you some options. Because if you stay all the way to the right and they pull out, your only "option" may be to run right into the driver’s side door.

3. Honk, Yell or Wave. If you are a commuter, I suggest you get a loud horn and use it whenever you see a car approaching (or waiting) ahead of you and to the right. If you’re on a road bike and you don’t want the extra weight of a horn, then yell "Hey!" You may feel awkward honking or yelling, but it’s better to be embarrassed than to get hit. I usually don’t resort to yelling until I have tried waiving to get the driver’s attention.  “When in doubt, belt it out.”  A friendly wave following your primal scream usually lightens up the situation.

4. Get a headlight. If you’re riding at night, you should absolutely use a front headlight. First, it’s impossible to establish eye contact with a motorist at night. Second, it’s required by law, anyway (Utah requires a white headlight visible from at least 500 feet ahead and a red taillight visible from 500 feet from behind). Even for daytime commuting, a bright white light that has a flashing mode can make you more visible to motorists who might otherwise Right Cross you. Look for the new LED headlights which last ten times as long on a set of batteries as old-style lights.  Helmet- or forehead-mounted lights are the best, because then you can look directly at the driver to make sure they see your light.

5. Be ready to brake. In addition to the above, have your hands on your breaks, ready to pull.  Drivers can be unpredictable; be ready for anything that comes at you.

A driver opens his door right in front of you. You run right into it if you can’t stop in time. If you’re lucky, the driver will exit the car before you hit the door, so you’ll at least have the pleasure of smashing them too when you crash, and their soft flesh will cushion your impact. This kind of crash is more common than you might think, albeit almost entirely avoidable.

How to avoid this collision:

Ride to the left. Ride far enough to the left that you won’t run into any door that’s opened unexpectedly. You may be wary about riding so far into the lane that cars can’t pass you easily, but you’re more likely to get doored by a parked car if you ride too close to it than you are to get hit from behind by a car which can clearly see you.  If you absolutely cannot move out into the lane, you’re better off stopping until you can.

You’re riding on the sidewalk and cross the street at a crosswalk, and a car makes a right turn, right into you. Cars aren’t expecting bikes in the crosswalk, so you have to be very careful to avoid this one. This collision is extremely common. One study showed that sidewalk-riding was twice as dangerous as road riding, and another study said it’s even more dangerous than that.

How to avoid this collision:

Don’t ride on the sidewalk, especially against traffic. Crossing between sidewalks can be a fairly dangerous maneuver. If you do it on the left-hand side of the street, you risk getting slammed as per the diagram. If you do it on the right-hand side of the street, you risk getting slammed by a car behind you that’s turning right, especially in dedicated right turn lanes. You also risk getting hit by cars pulling out of parking lots or driveways. These kinds of accidents are hard to avoid, which should be reason enough not to ride on the sidewalk in the first place.  Although riding on the sidewalk is allowed in Utah, if you are riding more than 5 mph, it’s just not safe.  Young children riding on the sidewalk should dismount their bikes and walk them across streets using the same precautions any pedestrian should use.

You’re riding the wrong way (against traffic, on the left-hand side of the street). A car makes a right turn from a side street, driveway, or parking lot, right into you. They didn’t see you because they were looking for traffic only on their left, not on their right. They had no reason to expect that someone would be coming at them at any considerable speed from the wrong direction.

You can also be hit by a car travelling your same direction that is turning left.  The driver is going to be looking for oncoming traffic, not traffic approaching from behind.  Even worse, you could be hit by a car in head-on collision. Travelling in opposition directions decreases both the driver’s and your reaction times, thereby increasing the chance of a collision. And if there is a collision, it’s going to be much more forceful impact due to the combined velocities of two objects moving in opposite, as opposed to the same, direction.)

How to avoid this collision:

Don’t ride against traffic. It’s simple: ride with traffic, in the same direction.  This applies even if there is a bike lane on the left side of the street, and even if local city ordinance allows bicycles to travel either direction in the bike lane.  Unless the bike lane is separated from the road and sufficiently wide to accommodate two-way bicycle traffic, never ride against traffic.

Riding against traffic may seem like a good idea (like joggers do) because you can see the cars that are passing you, but it’s not. Here’s why:

• Cars which pull out of driveways, parking lots, and cross streets (ahead of you and to the left), which are making a right onto your street, aren’t expecting traffic to be coming at them from the wrong way. Unlike joggers, you travel fast and will intersect with the car before the driver has the opportunity to see and react to your presence.  You can plan on one of two things if you do this: (1) plowing into the side of the car, or (2) having the car plow into the side of you.

• How the heck are you going to make a right turn?

• Cars will approach you at a much higher relative speed. If you’re going 15 mph, then a car passing you from behind doing 35 approaches you at a speed of only 20 (35-15). But if you’re on the wrong side of the road, then the car approaches you at 50 (35+15), which is more than twice as fast! Since they’re approaching you faster, both you and the driver have lots less time to react.  And if a collision does occur, it’s going to be ten times worse.

• Riding the wrong way is illegal and you can get ticketed for it.

One study showed that riding the wrong way was three times as dangerous as riding the right way, and for kids, the risk is seven times greater.

You stop to the right of a car that’s already waiting at a red light or stop sign. They can’t see you. When the light turns green, you move forward, and then they turn right, right into you. Even small cars can do you in this way, but this scenario is especially dangerous when it’s a bus or a semi that you’re stopping next to.

How to avoid this collision:

Don’t stop in the blind spot. Simply stop BEHIND a car, instead of to the right of it, as per the diagram below. This makes you very visible to traffic on all sides. It’s impossible for the car behind you to avoid seeing you when you’re right in front of it.

Another option is to stop at either point A in the diagram above (where the first driver can see you), or at point B, behind the first car so it can’t turn into you, and far enough ahead of the second car so that the second driver can see you clearly. It does no good to avoid stopping to the right of the first car if you’re going to make the mistake of stopping to the right of the second car. EITHER car can do you in.

If you chose spot A, then ride quickly to cross the street as soon as the light turns green. Don’t look at the motorist to see if they want to go ahead and turn. If you’re in spot A and they want to turn, then you’re in their way. Why did you take spot A if you weren’t eager to cross the street when you could? When the light turns green, just go, and go quickly. (But make sure cars aren’t running the red light on the cross street, of course.)

If you chose spot B, then when the light turns green, DON’T pass the car in front of you — stay behind it, because it might turn right at any second. If it doesn’t make a right turn right away, it may turn right into a driveway or parking lot unexpectedly at any point. Don’t count on drivers to signal! They don’t. Assume that a car can turn right at any time. (NEVER pass a car on the right!) But try to stay ahead of the car behind you until you’re through the intersection, because otherwise they might try to cut you off as they turn right.

While I’m not advocating running red lights, notice it is in fact safer to run the red light if there’s no cross traffic, than it is to wait legally at the red light directly to the right of a car, only to have it make a right turn right into you when the light turns green. The moral here is not that you should break the law, but that you can easily get hurt even if you follow the law.

A car passes you and then tries to make a right turn directly in front of you, or right into you. They think you’re not going very fast just because you’re on a bicycle, so it never occurs to them that they can’t pass you in time. Even if you have to slam on your brakes to avoid hitting them, they often won’t feel they’ve done anything wrong. This kind of collision is very hard to avoid because you typically don’t see it until the last second, and because there’s nowhere for you to go when it happens.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Make sure you are not in a dedicated turning lane. If there is a dedicated turning lane, be sure to stay in the lane for thru traffic.  Never drift into a dedicated turning lane (right or left) unless you are actually turning.

2. Don’t ride on the sidewalk. When you come off the sidewalk to cross the street you’re invisible to motorists. You’re just begging to be hit if you do this.

3. Ride to the left. Taking up the whole lane makes it harder for drivers to pass you to cut you off or turn into you. Don’t feel bad about taking the lane: if motorists didn’t threaten your life by turning in front of or into you or passing you too closely, then you wouldn’t have to. I take the lane most often when approaching an intersection and then move to the right again once I am clear. If the lane you’re in isn’t wide enough for cars to pass you safely, then you should be taking the whole lane anyway. Lane position is discussed in more detail below.

4. Glance in your mirror or look over your shoulder before approaching an intersection. Be sure to look in your mirror or look over your should well before you get to the intersection. When you’re actually going through an intersection, you’ll need to be paying very close attention to what’s in front of you.

You’re passing a slow-moving car (or even another bike) on the right, when it unexpectedly makes a right turn right into you, trying to get to a parking lot, driveway or side street.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Don’t pass on the right. This collision is very easy to avoid. Just don’t pass any vehicle on the right. If a car ahead of you is going only 10 mph, then you slow down, too, behind it. It will eventually start moving faster. If it doesn’t, pass on the left when it’s safe to do so.

font-family:verdana;color:red;tr/span
style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:16px;">When passing cyclists on the left, announce "on your left" before you start passing, so they don’t suddenly move left into you. (Of course, they’re much less likely to suddenly move left without looking, where they could be hit by traffic, then to suddenly move right, into a destination.) If they’re riding too far to the left for you to pass safely on the left, then announce "on your right" before passing on the right.

If several cars are stopped at a light, then you can try passing on the right cautiously. Remember that someone can fling open the passenger door unexpectedly as they exit the car. Also remember that if you pass on the right and traffic starts moving again unexpectedly, you may suffer from collision #5, the Red Light of Death.

Note that when you’re tailing a slow-moving vehicle, ride behind it, not in its blind spot immediately to the right of it. Even if you’re not passing a car on the right, you could still run into it if it turns right while you’re right next to it. Give yourself enough room to brake if it turns.

A car coming towards you makes a left turn right in front of you, or right into you.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Don’t ride on the sidewalk. When you come off the sidewalk to cross the street, you’re invisible to turning motorists.

2. Get a headlight. If you’re riding at night, you should absolutely use a front headlight. It’s required by law in Utah, anyway.

3. Wear something bright, even during the day. It may seem silly, but bikes are small and easy to see through even during the day. Yellow or orange reflective vests really make a big difference. Reflective leg bands are also easy and inexpensive.

4. Don’t pass on the right. Don’t overtake slow-moving vehicles on the right. Doing so makes you invisible to left-turning motorists at intersections. Passing on the right means that the vehicle you’re passing could also make a right turn right into you, too.

5. Slow down. If you can’t make eye contact with the driver (especially at night), slow down so much that you’re able to completely stop if you have to. Sure, it’s inconvenient, but it beats getting hit. 

You innocently move a little to the left to go around a parked car or some other obstruction in the road, and you get nailed by a car coming up from behind.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Never, ever move left without looking behind you first. Some motorists like to pass cyclists within mere inches, so moving even a tiny bit to the left unexpectedly could put you in the path of a car. Either buy a mirror, or practice holding a straight line while looking over your shoulder until you can do it perfectly. Most new cyclists tend to move left when they look behind them, which of course can be disastrous.

2. Don’t swerve in and out of the parking lane if it contains any parked cars. You might be tempted to ride in the parking lane where there are no parked cars, dipping back into the traffic lane when you encounter a parked car. This puts you at risk for getting nailed from behind. Instead, ride a steady, straight line in the traffic lane.

A car runs into you from behind. This is what many cyclists fear the most, but it’s actually not very common, comprising only 3.8% of collisions. (source) However, it’s one of the hardest collisions to avoid, since you’re not usually looking behind you. The risk is likely greater at night, and in rides outside the city where traffic is faster and lighting is worse.

How to avoid this collision:

1. Get a rear light. If you’re riding at night, you absolutely should use a flashing red rear light. It’s not only safe, it is the law. Bike shops have red rear blinkies for $15 or less. I can’t stress this item enough: If you ride at night, get a rear light!

2. Wear a reflective vest or a safety triangle. High quality reflective gear makes you a lot more visible even in the day time, not just at night.

3. Choose wide streets. Ride on streets whose outside lane is so wide that it can easily fit a car and a bike side by side. That way a car may zoom by you and avoid hitting you, even if they didn’t see you!

4. Choose slow streets. The slower a car is going, the more time the driver has to see you. I navigate the city by going through neighborhoods whenever practicable. Learn how to do this.

5. Use back streets on weekends. This is especially important on Friday and Saturday nights because all the drunks are out driving around. If you do ride on a weekend night, make sure to take neighborhood streets rather than arterials.

6. Don’t hug the curb. This is counter-intuitive, but giving yourself a little space between yourself and the curb will make you much more visible to traffic. It will also give you some room to move into in case you hear or see a vehicle in your mirror approaching without moving over far enough to avoid you. Also, when you hug the curb tightly you’re more likely to suffer a right cross from motorists who can’t see you.

More general tips . . .

Avoid busy streets.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they start biking is to take the exact same routes they used when they were driving. It’s usually better to take the streets with fewer and slower cars. Sure, cyclists have a right to the road, but that’s a small consolation if you get hit. Consider how far you can take this strategy: If you learn your routes well, you’ll find that in many cities you can travel through neighborhoods to get to most places, only crossing the busiest streets rather than traveling on them.

Light up.

Too obvious? Yes, like wearing helmets, this should be obvious.  Still, most night-time cyclists inexplicably ride without lights. Bike shops have rear red blinkies for $15 or less. Headlights are just as important as rear lights, and both are required by the law in lots of States. Look for the new kind with LED’s since they last ten times as long on a set of batteries as old-style lights.

Take the whole darn lane when appropriate.

It’s often safer to take the whole lane, or at least ride a little bit to the left, rather than hug the right curb. Here’s why:

• Cars at intersections ahead of you can see you better if you’re squarely in the road rather than on the extreme edge where you’re easily overlooked.

• Cars behind you also can see you better.

• Taking the lane prevents cars from passing you too closely on narrow roadways.

• Riding a bit to the left prevents you from being a victim of the door prize.

Taking the lane is especially important in most traffic circles. The traffic generally moves slower so it’s easy to keep up, riding in the lane makes you more visible to motorists, and taking the lane prevents motorists from right hooking you as they exit the circle.

It’s perfectly legal for you to take the lane when appropriate.  the laws of most states require cyclists to ride as far to the right as is "practicable." Here are some things that make it impracticable to ride to the extreme right:

• You’re in a heavy traffic area with lots of side streets, parking lots, or driveways ahead and to your right. Cars turning left won’t see you because they’re looking for traffic in the middle of the road, not on the extreme edge of the road. Move left.

• Cars are passing you too closely. If the lane is too narrow for cars to pass you safely, then move left and take the whole lane. Getting buzzed by cars is dangerous.

• Cars are parked on the right-hand side of the road. If you ride too close to these you’re going get doored when someone gets out of their car. Move left.

There are risks to both riding to the extreme right as well as taking the lane. Whether you ride to the right or take the lane depends on the conditions of the roadway you’re on. On wide roadways with slow traffic and few intersections/driveways, right farther right. One fast roadways with lots of traffic and intersections, ride farther to the left. It’s not always better to take the lane or, conversely, to hug the curb; it depends on the roadway you’re on.

(If you find that you’ve got cars blocked up behind you or that cars are constantly changing lanes to get around you, you’re probably on the wrong street and should find a quieter neighborhood street.)

Ride as if you were invisible.

It’s often helpful to ride in such a way that motorists won’t hit you even if they don’t see you. You’re not trying to BE invisible, you’re trying to make it irrelevant whether cars see you or not. If you ride in such a way that a car has to see you to take action to avoid hitting you (e.g., by their slowing down or changing lanes), then that means they will definitely hit you if they don’t see you. But if you stay out of their way, then you won’t get hit even if they didn’t notice you were there. Remember that in many cases you’ll need to take the lane, in which case you’re counting on motorists to see you.

Protect the ol’ hard drive—wear a helmet.

Why is the critical piece of equipment last on your list, you say?  Because a bike helmet never helped anyone avoid an accident (unless, of course, its color made them more visible).  Still, wearing a helmet is absolutely critical.  When you crash (yes, when, not if)—whether in a collision with a car, another bicyclist, a road hazard or for some other reason—you want something between your head and the pavement.  This simple piece of equipment is routinely the difference between a walk-away accident and a tragedy.  Wear a helmet and wear it properly.  Click here, to make sure your helmet is fitted on your head properly.

Adapted with permission from www.bicyclesafety.com.

span style=

Without getting into a discussion of the potential causes, we can see a trend - gas prices are higher than ever and getting higher every year. It is unlikely that this trend will ever reverse itself by any measure if history is any guide. Motorists are more than ever moving to hybrids and smaller vehicles in search of a more fuel efficient vehicle. What a lot of you may not realize is that there might already be a more fuel-efficient vehicle than you think sitting right in your driveway. Its all a matter of making it so by tweaking your driving habits .

With some simple changes to your driving behavior it is relatively easy to squeeze another 10-15% more fuel economy out of your existing vehicle, regardless of how much of a gas guzzler it may happen to be. And that 10-15% savings at the fuel pumps will add up considerably over the course of a year!

1. Check your tires. According to one large tire industry study, up to 25% of people are driving around with under-inflated tires. The Rubber Association of Canada claims that close to 200 million gallons of gasoline are wasted every year as a result of this. Under-inflated tires will wear unevenly causing more drag and resistance even while coasting. Check your tire pressure at least every couple of weeks and learn how to inflate your tires to an optimal level of pressure.
2. Coast towards stops. Learn to coast towards red lights. If you can, get a sense of red lights that are about to turn green before you are about to stop. A car uses the most amount of fuel starting from a standing stop, which is why again, its also vital to try to eliminate as many “stop and go” bottlenecks on your commute.
3. Watch your driving speed. Cars that are optimized to get good fuel economy at 55 MPH can eat fuel up pretty quick at 65.
4. Shed extra weight. This might seem too commonsensical to even mention but you would be surprised how many of us are hauling around tons of unnecessary crap in the trunk of our cars. Even roof racks can contribute to extra weight. If its not vital to your day-to-day needs, put it in the garage. Every little bit of fuel savings adds up to the overall aggregate savings.
5. Stay behind a transport truck. When on the highway, try to coast in the back of a transport truck and use as little gas as possible to maintain your speed.
6. Apply the accelerator with a smooth and even pressure. Learn to use a consistent throttle pressure and avoid sudden forceful pressure on the gas pedal.
7. Plan your errands more efficiently. This is simple, run as many errands as you need to in one route.
8. Practice rat running. This is the use of secondary roads or residential side streets as opposed to the intended main roads in urban or suburban areas in order to avoid heavy traffic, lengthy traffic signals, or other obstacles lengthening a travel. Rat runs are frequently taken by motorists who are familiar with the local geography. Study your daily routes with online maps. Use maps to second guess any routes you have been taking. It could be there is a more efficient way to avoid a gas guzzling turnpike, toll, or off-ramp on your drive home.
9. Avoid using “all season” tires in winter. If you live in a state with a fair amount of snow in the winter, it makes sense to fork out the bucks for a proper pair of snow tires. Also, clean as much snow off of your car as you can as snow and ice are wet and fairly heavy.
10. Keep a log of your mileage. Do this every time you fill up to be consistent about it. Study the price per gallon, the amount used over the same period of time and try to eliminate any extra consumption where possible. Estimate the miles per gallon you are using for any anomalies.
11. Be fastidious about maintenance. Something as simple as a clogged air filter can cause you to be wasting fuel. It is best that it is replaced every 12,000 miles or so, especially if you live in a rural area with a lot of dirt roads.
12. Use the proper fuel. If your car is optimized to use a certain fuel only, you have to use it or else you could experience a lot of sudden stalls, misfires and knocking sounds. But if your owner’s manual says that premium fuel is “recommended”, then you can get away with using a lot cheaper regular gas.
13. Use air conditioning in co-ordination with your speed. A/C should be turned off at low speeds, but at speeds higher than 40 MPH, the air drag created by having your windows rolled down actually starts to get more expensive than having them rolled up with the A/C on.

Stay behind a transport truck

One legitimate way people protect their assets prior to a debt collection is by having them converted into equity in a home in Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma or South Dakota, because of the large homestead exemptions available in these states.

Protecting Assets Through State Bankruptcy Homestead Exemptions

In these states, creditor exemption laws give the debtor full protection for equity accrued in any dwelling home from creditors who want to add real estate assets to their claims. What Bankruptcy Homestead Exemptions basically cover your ass so that creditors cannot claim the equity you have in a “primary” residence. In Massachusetts for example you are allowed $500,000 homestead exemption. But, as with all things, there are angles which could work against you. In Florida, they offer an unlimited exemption only for long term residents because lawmakers found that many people were moving to the state just to take advantage of their generous bankruptcy homestead exemptions. So the state legislators responded by requiring one to live in the state for a certain length of time to be eligible for so-called “last minute homestead protection”.

There seems to be a trend that judges are cracking down on those with whom it is apparent that they moved to the state for no other justifiable reason other than to hide assets through homestead exemptions. As usual, it only takes a few to spoil it for others. These sorts of laws exist in all of the above states, so its best to examine the specifics in each state that offers these exemptions. It is best to get your ducks in a row and set up a residency in these states well in advance of a looming lawsuit or debt recovery process.