As we all know, we are in the midst of a recession that has left millions of people without jobs, and millions more searching for ways to save cash and cut down on spending. As more people lose employment, those with less experience will find the most difficulty, leaving younger workers and recent college graduates being hit especially hard.

This could lead to a good amount of young people moving back in with their parents, at least until they can find employment, or another job and clean up their financial situation. For the parents whose children return to live with them, the situation has changed drastically from when their kids were younger. Re-adjustment will probably be necessary for both parents and children to live together again. But, the situation can serve to benefit both parties if it is done right.

According to the Census Bureau, in 2008, one in eight Americans between the ages of twenty five and thirty four were living with their parents. That is roughly five million young adults. While some had not moved out of the house for the first time yet, others had come back home until they could get back on their feet financially. Whatever the circumstances might be, parents should set down some healthy boundaries with their adult children, especially when it comes to finance. Here is an opportunity for parents who may not have taught financial responsibility to their kids during childhood to help foster responsible spending habits as adults.

The most obvious way that parents of adult children who live at home to help out is to charge them lower rent, or maybe to put part of their rent into a savings account for them. Then, when their kids get on their feet and are ready to move out, this money can be given back to them to help them get re-established. Also, now would be a good time for adult children to tackle their debt while they are under their parents’ roof.

Think about this example: a child would like to move back in with her parents after getting laid off from her job and has substantial credit card debt. If rent in their area goes for about $750 a month, the parents can make the decision to charge their daughter $500 a month in rent to help her save money. As extra incentive, they let her know that they will put aside half of this amount every month if the daughter utilizes the $250 savings to pay down her credit card balance. This way, the daughter has the opportunity to pay off her debt, save money, and the parents get some cash too.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on commercial collection agencies.

When you find yourself in a situation that may lead to larger complications down the line, you try to find the fastest and most headache-free solution to the problem. It is always the best way to nip the problem in the bud before it even starts.

The same principle applies when you’re dealing with customers who have lagged on payments, whose checks have bounced, who have totally stopped making their payments and have deemed themselves unreachable and a dozen other scenarios that will surely make your head spin. The role of your credit manager if you have one, at this point, is to decide whether to deal with these problems in-house or pass on these accounts to a collection agency that will then be tasked to follow-up and, at best, recover the money owed to your company.

Usually, a debt collection agency is called upon when you really have an overwhelming problem with your customers’ payment backlog. You’ve already tried resolving the issue using your in-house crew and having them initiate non-threatening appeals to your accounts by making phone calls, sending letters and even making personal visits. Or, sometimes, the problem has persisted and you find that your whole business has reached its danger zone and its plight hinges on whether or not you can recover some of the money that your owed. Whatever the case, hiring a debt collection agency seems to be the best way to deal with the situation.

However, extra care must be exercised when you finally decide to place your past dues with a debt collection agency. You have to remember that hiring a collection agency means that you are turning over a part of your business to someone totally on the outside. First of all, when you choose a debt collection agency you have to be sure that they come highly recommended by someone who has made use of their services and have been highly satisfied with them.

It is equally important that you check with an accrediting organization like that of the Better Business Bureau. This just makes sure that the collection agency that you’ve hired is regulated and subject to a higher power if they fail to deliver on their promise.

Second, when selecting a debt collection agency, you have to consider their technological capacity and equivalent manpower to handle your demands. When you say technological capacity it means that the agency will have the contact center in place to handle any communication between your customers and the agency, with reporting to be done on a regular basis to you as the ‘mother’ company.

You also have to make sure that the agency’s staff is trained to represent you as the client and not be seen as a third-party provider. It has been reported that most people are adverse to collection agencies and are more prone to shying away from them which will make it harder for you to go after them.

The agencies experience and customer-related orientation need to be as good as the fees that you’ll be paying. You need to negotiate a good compensation package that will take into account all of these conditions mentioned so you’ll at least be assured that you’re getting your money’s worth. It doesn’t make sense for you to be paying so much and not getting anything in return.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a medical debt collection company.

Exactly who is trying to get me to pay up? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was unleashed in the 1970s and provided many protections for consumers. There are strict rules and regulations that a debt collector must abide by, and if any of these regulations are violated, there is a good chance that you could sue that agency. But what about that friend of yours who owes you five bucks? Do you have to grant them thirty days to refute the claim? Clearly, you do not.

The point is that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is applicable to debt collectors, and only debt collectors. Consider Morency v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp, a district court case in Illinois from 1999. In an attempt to collect debt, a hospital mailed out pre-collection notices, which is a no-no for third party collectors. But the court ruled that the hospital was only a creditor, not a collection agency, so the FDCPA did not apply to it.

Courts take many factors into consideration to figure out whether the creditor should be deemed the actual debt collector. A collection agency’s participation in the actual debt collection would have to be minute. Is the collection agency a mere mailing service? Do the letters state if the debtor does not pay the debt will be referred for collection? Is the collection agency paid only for sending letters, rather than commission?

If the collection agency does not receive any payments or forward any payments to the creditor, that is suspicious. If a debtor fails to respond to the letter and the collection agency has no further contact with the debtor, or if it does not get the files of the debtors, they probably aren’t going to be considered debt collection agencies.

The lesson is that it is important that you know who you are paying your money to. It’s always wise to be vigilant when it comes to your finances.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also, she does stories on consumer spending, business and finance, and debt collection.

Your credit history. It could be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Generally it’s like a nosy mother in law coming to visit for an indeterminate period. You know that she’s coming, and that’s always bad news, but you are too afraid to ask or even consider how long she will be staying. Even though that was the worst analogy ever, read on to find out how long negative marks will stay on your credit history!

In my opinion, there are two records that really count. Your criminal record and your financial record. Unlike your criminal record which will loom over your head for a very long time, your credit report and scores are not permanent. But how long can these negative records exist on file?

First, errors in your credit report will be removed immediately. It you find a mistake, or a negative account that doesn’t belong to you, contact the credit reporting agency and the creditor. You should be able to have the negative account removed within 180 days.

Anytime your credit report is pulled at your request, something called an inquiry is put on your report. An occasional inquiry couldn’t hurt, but if you have placed a large number of inquiries within a short time period, this usually lets prospective creditors know that you need the dough and you need it fast. The bottom line is that the more inquiries that show up on your report, the lower your score will drop. These will usually last only up to two years.

But here’s the scoop about inquiries. Not all inquires will negatively affect your credit score. Soft inquiries, like when you get your credit score, or when companies check your credit for purposes of making unsolicited credit offers do do any harm. When you apply for a credit card, the creditor pulls your credit report that will result in what is a hard inquiry. This may potentially lower your score.

Mallory McGuinness-Hickey is employed bya debt collection agency. She also does articles on consumer spending, business and finance, and debt collection.