Credit is a fact of modern life. Without good credit, it can be hard to move forward in life. If you've experienced a bankruptcy, foreclosure, job loss, or if you've just fallen behind on your credit card bills, your credit will take a hit. How do you reestablish good credit when you're credit rating has taken a hit? Read on for a few tips.

It's stressful enough when you can't pay your credit card bills and other unsecured creditors, but not being able to make your house payment can be terrifying. What should you do when circumstances force you to stop paying on your mortgage? Read on.

In a wage garnishment, your creditor can sue you for the amount of money owed plus legal fees. If the creditor wins a judgment against you, they can get a court order that will allow the sheriff of the county you live in to take money from your paycheck to pay the creditor.

Laws on wage garnishment vary from state to state. All states allow wage garnishment for tax and child support debt Some states don't allow wage garnishment for creditor debts--North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.

If you're having trouble paying your credit card bills, you may have the upper hand with some of your credit card companies. Many banks have been through the ringer since the economy hit the skids, and unless you've been living under a rock, you know that many of these banks had to take bailout money from the federal government.

The bills are piling up and you don’t know where you’ll ever find the money to pay them all. Meanwhile, you’ve got $5,000, $10,000, or even more sitting in your 401k plan. Retirement seems so far away and you could really use that money now. What’s the harm in taking some or all the money out of your 401k and using it to pay off debts? According to most financial experts, plenty. Here are a few reasons why.

1. 401k money is safe from creditors. If you file for bankruptcy, you’re often forced to liquidate your assets. Not so with your 401k.

Bank of America reported a loan default rate of 12.5 percent in May, up from 10.47 percent only a month prior. Capital One, Discover, and American express have also reported rising default rates. Defaulted loans are loans the bank has decided they won't be paid back on. There are faces behind those numbers, perhaps even your own face. If you can't pay your credit cards, the worst thing you can do is nothing. If ever there were a time you felt like hiding your head in the sand, this is it. But you need to take action.

Even consumers who've been responsible with credit and remain current on their payments are opening their mailboxes to find letters from their card companies outlining new rules--all of them favoring the creditor. Enter the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD, get it?) Act.

The new set of laws signed into effect by President Obama on May 22 is intended to protect credit card consumers who have been burned by the ever-changing credit card rules.

It's bad enough to experience job loss or other financial hardships, but now you're behind on your bills and the creditors have started calling--some seem to be calling every hour. Is there anything you can do?

First of all, you do have rights, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to be exact.

The Federal Trade Commission is the governmental agency responsible for enforcing the FDCPA. Read on for some of your rights when dealing with debt collectors.

1. A debt collector may not contact you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

While some debts can be reduced or eliminated completely, there are a few debts that will stay around regardless of the circumstance. Benjamin Franklin said "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." To that, you may want to add student loans.

For many people, the two largest monthly bills are rent (or mortgage) and the car payment. The car payment can be a tricky one as the price of owning a car is higher than just the monthly car payment. Car ownership also includes gasoline, insurance and the occasional repair. Some of us can’t downsize our homes, especially if we have families or are upside down on a mortgage, but for others moving to a cheaper apartment or house is an option.