It’s My Imagination

Passing By Louis Vuitton and Saks

My daughter and I headed out today, gift cards in hand, shopping list at the ready, to purchase those accessories and what-nots that we didn’t get for Christmas. We decided to venture out of our comfort zone and visit a shopping center we’d never been to before, mainly because it had an Apple store location and she was looking for accessories for her mp3 player.

We were very surprised upon arriving to see that it was a regular shopping mall, not exactly what we were expecting. Then, upon entering the mall we discovered most of the stores inside were quite upscale including Saks Fifth Avenue and a Louis Vuitton store. We did quickly find the Apple store, but they were sold out of the cases my daughter was looking for and then just strolled around getting sticker shock at just about everything we looked at.

With the economy the way it is, it didn’t surprise me to see so few people in the mall and most of the stores. Although the Dallas area as a whole has not been hit as hard as other areas of the country, people are certainly watching their money more closing and not spending. Many people have found themselves carrying too much debt and are now risking job loss or have all ready lost their jobs. The job market is uncertain and again, causes people to stress over how they’re going to pay their bills.

Perhaps, rather than being out shopping, many people were looking into IVA, a formal a legally binding agreement between debtors and creditors, which allows people to make as large of payments as they can afford, the most important thing being that payments are being made. The IVA can be the best option for creditors because they are more likely to get payments if a person has not yet filed for bankruptcy, and for debtors, it is simply a positive approach to fixing a financial situation.

I’m certainly hoping the economy turns around sooner rather than later, but if you’re one of those who may be facing bankruptcy, IVA may be the right move.