EXPERT ADVISORY
New York, NY (Nov 25, 2002) – New York Law School
Professor Karen Gross, a legal expert in personal finance and founder of the
Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education, advises consumers to get
their financial house in order before each holiday spending season, which last
year accounted for $201 billion in consumer spending in the U.S. alone.
'There are five steps that every consumer should
take to counter the potentially disastrous effects of holiday scams, deceptive
credit card offers, and overspending during the holiday season that can really
affect a consumer's financial health over the following year – and, in some
cases, a lifetime,” says Professor Gross.
Gross' Top 5
Financial Traps List ranges from analyzing
the seemingly beneficial 'zero-interest” offers that stores and some credit card
companies offer to entice holiday purchasing to understanding the risks of debt
consolidation offers as a means of increasing available cash. She also covers
issues such as bankruptcy, repairing credit reports and credit scores, realizing
the true cost of minimum payments and compounding interest, protecting consumer
privacy and understanding legal rights when it comes to debt collection.
'The 2002 holiday season is particularly crucial
since the sluggish economy has consumers generally earning less and owing more,”
Gross says. 'Retailers are not happy about the expected flat sales this season,
and consumers have to be on guard when accepting ‘too good to be true' holiday
offers that are intended to increase sales at very high consumer
costs.”
Gross is the award-winning author of
Failure and Forgiveness: Rebalancing the
Bankruptcy System (Yale University Press,
1997). She also has provided testimony to both Congress and the National
Bankruptcy Review Commission, is Chair of the American Bar Association's Task
Force on Data Collection in Bankruptcy, and is a former member of the Board of
Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute.
The Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor
Education – which Gross cofounded to develop nationwide financial literacy
programs – offers free financial management skills courses to individuals who
have filed for bankruptcy relief in New York. Its Web site, www.debtoreducation.org, provides
consumer debtors with information and education they need as they restart their
financial lives.
Professor Gross can be reached at 212.431.2154 or
e-mail: kgross@nyls.edu. Contact the Office
of Public Affairs at 212.431.2872 or e-mail: publicaffairs@nyls.edu if you have any
questions or are unable to reach her directly.
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ABOUT NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL
Founded in 1891, New
York Law School, www.nyls.edu, is one of the
oldest independent law schools in the United States. Located near the centers of
law, government, and finance in Manhattan's TriBeCa district, the Law School
enrolls 1,400 students in its day and evening divisions.
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