Archive for May, 2009
Archie's pick all about his empty wallet – Times Colonist
Archie's pick all about his empty wallet Times Colonist, Canada Why live within his means when he could live within his credit-card limit instead? Alas, in the end, his line of credit turned out to have an anchor at the end. Archie had to admit it: Having just turned 17 for the 67th time, he was broke. …
I’ve Made an Appointment With a Credit Counselor But What Should I Do? – Mary
Mary wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, I’ve been married for 4 years to my husband. We have a home, car, and one credit card in both of our names. We also have credit cards in just my name. Our credit card debt has gotten out of control; to the tune of $93 thousand dollars. $75 thousand is in my name only. I’m a stay at home Mom to a 22 mo old, and my husband works full time, bringing home $3000/mo after taxes. I know we have lived beyond our means, and am trying to start a budget , and not use the cards. We aren’t behind on payments yet, but are getting close to not making all of the credit card payments. I have made an appt. with a credit counselor to discuss a debt repayment plan, but wonder if bankruptcy is our only option, and if I should just do it in my name since I have no income and the debt is mostly in my name? Should I file for bankruptcy or try debt repayment plan, and should I do it with my spouse or in my name only? Mary” Dear Mary, When you go to see the credit counselor they will probably try to sell you into a debt management plan by telling you how scary and bad bankruptcy is. Don’t fall for the sales pitch, and that’s what it is. I don’t care if it says non-profit next to their name, in the credit counseling world that does not mean they have your best interest at heart. I suspect that you’ve been using cards to either pay for routine expenses or taking cash advances to stay current on your other cards. With your level of income I really can’t see any realistic way for you to reasonably afford a repayment plan through a debt management program for the next five or six years. If we take your debt out of the equation then you are left with $18,000 of debt in your husband’s name and that would be about $360 a month on minimum payments. It seems more logical for you to fall on the sword and file bankruptcy yourself with the debt in your name only. Don’t enroll your husband in an credit counseling debt management program . Make at least the minimum payments on his debts and let his credit shine. If you feel great regret over not repaying your creditors, just becuase you go bankrupt doesn’t mean that you can’t repay them latter, when you can, on your terms. Call a local bankruptcy attorney or two, find one that you like and go into to see them before you say yes to anything with the credit counselor. Let me know what you decide to do. Big hug. Steve @GetOutOfDebtGuy Source: I’ve Made an Appointment With a Credit Counselor But What Should I Do? – Mary Other Related Articles to Read I Had a Baby, Lost My Job, and Can’t Pay My Credit Cards. – Amanda I Have No Income and My Disabled Sister is Living in My House. – Steven I’m in College and Getting Sued by CapitalOne. What Do I Do? – John My Husband is Going to Be Laid Off This Friday. – Lori Should We Sell The House And Pay Off the Credit Cards? – Yvonne Tweet This! Email this to a friend? Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Share this on Technorati Share this on Tipd
I’m Worried I’m Going to Get Arrested For My Bad Debt in Dubai and Sit in Jail for a Long Time. – William
William wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, I’m in a rather difficult predicament. I’m currently in Dubai and due to having lost my job I’m no longer going to be able to afford to pay the monthly instalments on my credit card debt as well as on a personal loan I was forced to take out due to the Dubai law whereby one has to pay a full year rent upfront. I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone to knock on my door and arrest me for defaulting. I’m planning on jumping on a flight out of the UAE before the week ends. I will try and start repaying what I owe, even if in very small amounts, as soon as I am settled and found a new job back home. My only concern is: Could they go after me even if I am no longer in the country? Many people I know have found themselves in the same situation I’m in and have had to leave even if they did not want to, but the law is such here that we are left at a loss for choices. Thank you for your time. I’m not a fraudster, things just didn’t work out the way we were hoping due to the economic meltdown. Regards William” Dear William, You have a right to be concerned about your debt issue in UAE. It is reported that 40% of prisoners in Dubai’s central jail are incarcerated for debt problems. But in Dubai, with no laws regulating defaults on personal borrowing, a person jailed for such an infraction is likely to remain there — even when their sentence is over — until a relative, charity group, wealthy businessman or even a member of the ruling family pays the debt. It is very unlikely that your creditors will chase you once you get back home. However, you may get some collection calls if they can track down your number. A creditor could send your account out for international collections but that rarely happens. But one international debt collector was quoted as saying, “If, for example, you’re in the UK and you owe money here, I can go to the county court, get a court order and a bailiff and I’ll have your house. The law will allow me to do that.” But it is very likely that you will have criminal charges filed against you in the UAE once the payments are not made and it is discovered you are gone. This is especially true it your loan required you to write out advance checks, which is the typical process in the UAE. The bank will deposit those checks, they will bounce, and the police will start looking for you in Dubai. It is reported that the police in the UAE spend 60% of their time trying to find debtors. Once you get home and back to work, I would suggest that then you try to find a loan to pay off the balance back in Dubai, as soon as possible and then contact your creditor with a plan to pay what you owe. Don’t be surprised that your balance will have grown since the amount you owe will have interest building during your period of no payments. The debt laws in Dubai are very archaic and it is true, you are left with few good options. Once you leave the country, don’t make any plans to return to the UAE or Middle East until your debt is satisfied. In fact, if you do have to return, carry proof with you that the debt is repaid in case their is an old warrant out for your arrest. Have a nice flight. Big hug. Steve @GetOutOfDebtGuy Sources: International debt collector , Dubai prison population Source: I’m Worried I’m Going to Get Arrested For My Bad Debt in Dubai and Sit in Jail for a Long Time. – William Other Related Articles to Read The Collection Manager Yelled at Me. I’m in the United Arab Emirates. – Cery I’m in Debt in Abu Dhabi, UAE and Need Help. – Malak Mug Shots of People Arrested For Forgery, Writing Bad Checks, And Credit Card Theft Court brief – FortWayne.com Tweet This! Email this to a friend? Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Share this on Technorati Share this on Tipd
I Have No Income and My Disabled Sister is Living in My House. – Steven
Steven wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, I’ve been unemployed since September 12, 2008, the day of Hurricane Ike. I’m about to recieve my final Emergency Unemployment beneft within 2 weeks. I have absolutely no other income, nor job prospects. I have a home which is rented out to my sister whom is disablef and unable to ever work. Those payments are current, but I have $15,000 dollars in credit card debt and over $3,000 in medical expenses. My vehicle is current but will not be able to make my July’s payment or insurance and thereafter. The remainder balance is just over $15k. Umeployment was barely keeping me afloat for the time, but have no ideal what to do. I cannot get my meds nor qualify for assistance, since I made over the required limit back in 2007. I don’t understand why most agencies want to know what I made 2 years ago to make a decision. I have no savings, and only $12.52 in my checking acount. Can I file Chapter 7 and do I need to include my home, which is rented out to my sister. I”m not making any money on it and I did it out of the kindness of my heart so she would have a place for her and the kids. I feel so ashamed, and mad at the same time. It’s unfair that CEO’s are protecting their pockets and I get the shaft. Please advise, Steven” Dear Steven, Fairness, you’re looking for fairness in an economic downturn. You will be grossly disappointed if fairness is the yardstick. As far as specific Texas laws or regulations, you’ll have to speak to a Texas bankruptcy lawyer . Make some local calls and find a local bankruptcy attorney to go and meet with. Most offer a free bankruptcy consultation appointment so it won’t cost you anything. It is unfortunate that you are down to the last check and just now searching for a solution. When you are up against a wall like you really have few, if any, good choices. I certainly understand your desire to keep the house for your sister but it is your asset she is living in and that creates a problem. I can’t imagine that the law looks at her presence as anything more than a tenant. But maybe you an the Texas bankruptcy attorney can come up with something clever. Big hug. Steve @GetOutOfDebtGuy Source: I Have No Income and My Disabled Sister is Living in My House. – Steven Other Related Articles to Read My Husband is Going to Be Laid Off This Friday. – Lori I’ve Been Working Since I Was 15 and Made All the Right Financial Moves But Now I’m in Big Trouble. – Marcia I’m in College and Getting Sued by CapitalOne. What Do I Do? – John My Mother is Disabled and Bedridden in a Nursing Home and Chased by Debt Collectors. – Carolyn I Had a Baby, Lost My Job, and Can’t Pay My Credit Cards. – Amanda Tweet This! Email this to a friend? Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Share this on Technorati Share this on Tipd
How grad went bad – National Post
How grad went bad National Post, Canada Matrimony, kids, credit card debt and the grim realization that you had underperformed your way into adulthood were only partially obscured by your scrolled diploma. What was once a wee sweet acknowledgement of transition is now a year-long festival of …
Regions Bank Won’t Work With Me to Let Me Pay What I Can Afford. – Tony
Tony wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, Need help getting this payment down or we won’t be able to pay it… I’m trying to get Regions Banks to work with me and my wife on a hardship program… My wife and I borrowed $95,000 for a business that has failed due to the poor economy here in Florida… We can no longer pay the $970 monthly payment… We also were never told the payment was fixed and they refuse to lower the payment to help us out… Would Banks rather get nothing than something? We want to honor our debt,but they seem to not care unless they get the full amount… I’m close to getting an attorney to look at the loan and see if he can find problems with the way the loan was written… what’s you’re advice? Tony” Dear Tony, You can’t apply logic to banks, or at the very least you need to pass the logic through a profit filter first. If I owed you money we’d probably have a nice conversation and come to an understanding. You’d probably at least give me a shot at a new payment plan and if I failed, well, we’d have to see what came next. With bank money, no matter who you are talking to, it’s not their money. That person is just doing a job. And even if their job performance might be hurt by the lack of loan performance, they might have bank policy, rules and regulations that prevent or prohibit them from having any flexibility. Many banks would rather not modify the repayment terms of the loan because they don’t want to show a poor performing loan on their books. After six months they will be FORCED to charge the loan off their books and remove it as a good loan to comply with government regulations. At that point the bank will either be flexible with you on a repayment plan since the loan has soured anyway or they will sell the bad debt to another party. By all means you should go to an attorney for legal advice but I suspect that no major loophole will be found and if it is, you’ll be in for a legal battle with the bank I’m not sure that you can afford to fight. Being right is not always the most cost effective thing to do to eliminate debt. You know, there is no reason why you can’t use the power of law and force Regions Bank to accept either a payment plan you can afford or to discharge the debt completely in bankruptcy . Even if the debt is discharged and you want to honor the debt, you can always make payments to them at that point. You are under no obligation to make payments but some people, like myself, do or did. I was surprised when I tried to pay my creditors back after bankruptcy , about 50% did not want my payments. Again, goes against logic doesn’t it. If you are going to see a contract or banking attorney for advice, I urge you to also go see a bankruptcy attorney . After meeting with attorneys on both sides of this issue you will then be in a better position to make an informed decision that is best for you. Big hug. Steve @GetOutOfDebtGuy Source: Regions Bank Won’t Work With Me to Let Me Pay What I Can Afford. – Tony Other Related Articles to Read No Related Post Tweet This! Email this to a friend? Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Share this on Technorati Share this on Tipd
My Husband Died of Cancer and I’m Trying to Settle My Debt. – Dana
Dana wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, My husband died 2 months ago from cancer, so loss of income from social security of $1400 a month. Had over $100,000 in CC debt due to business. Business now in Chapter 11, so it can’t be repaid. Credit card debt w/ Bank of America settled for 27%, Chase settled for 35%. AmEx says 70% lowest they will go. I owe AmEx over $45,000. How can I get Am Ex to take a reasonable settlement offer? What percentage can I expect? The cash I have is from my husband’s life insurance, and I don’t have much. I have offered $18,000 and they turned it down. What should I do next? Dana” Dear Dana, American Express is a tough creditor, that’s for sure. You have three choices, keep making offers based on what you can afford and hope they accept one, pray the account is sold to a bad debt buyer that might be more reasonable, or wait to get sued for the full balance by American Express. I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. Dealing with the loss of a loved one and money troubles is enormously stressful. But you don’t me to tell you that, you’re living through it. One of the issues that I have with debt settlement is that unless you get all the creditors to agree to a plan you can afford to eliminate your debt with the cash on hand, it can be less than successful approach. If just one creditor, like AMEX, refuses to settle and sues you then bankruptcy would be a logical approach to resolve that issue. But if you go bankrupt to deal with AMEX, then you could have just as well included all the creditors in the bankruptcy and solved the entire debt situation with either a bankruptcy payment plan, based on what you could afford, or a discharge of the debt. All of this without any tax liability. Why do I mention tax? Keep reading. I’m hoping beyond all hope that this debt was joint or in your name and not solely in your husbands name. If it was just his then the estate would have been the only asset the creditors could have looked at for repayment. I’m glad to hear that the other creditors settled. Hopefully you are already aware that it will result in a tax liability to you for the forgiven debt so you will need to set aside cash to pay income tax on all of that debt written off. You will be taxed at your normal income tax rate and the creditors will send the IRS and you a 1099 statement at the end of the year so the dear old IRS will know about the debt forgiven and tax due. “What should I do next,” you ask. I’d suggest that you give me some updates to the issues I brought up in this answer so I can guide you further. Please add your updates and comments here . Big hug. Steve @GetOutOfDebtGuy Source: My Husband Died of Cancer and I’m Trying to Settle My Debt. – Dana Other Related Articles to Read I’m Thinking of Using Debt Settlement to Clear Our American Express Debt. – Lynn AMEX Won’t Accept My Settlement Offer. What Do I Do Now? – Michelle Is There Any Way to Settle Our Debts With AMEX and Beneficial? – Jennifer I’ve Got Some Cash on Hand. Should I Settle With Amex? – James I Lost My Job And Then Found Out I Was Pregnant. – Amanda Tweet This! Email this to a friend? Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Share this on Technorati Share this on Tipd
My Photo of the Day – What a Modern Pirate Should Look Like
One of my greatest joys, is my photography. It is something that I love to do. It is an extremely personal part of me that I thought I’d share with you. Even if you are facing difficult financial times, find something you love to do as well. Read my previous post “ Don’t Let Your Debt Consume Your Life. Take Advantage of Free Beauty Around You ” for more information about this philosophy. What a Modern Pirate Should Look Like I think you really need to view this picture in its large format to appreciate the depth and detail in it. This was shot on the ferry from the Royal Navy Dockyards to Georgetown, Bermuda. It made me think that this is what a modern day pirate should look like. From: Steve Rhode Photostream Steve @GetOutOfDebtGuy Source: My Photo of the Day – What a Modern Pirate Should Look Like Other Related Articles to Read My Photo of the Day – The Lost Wake Moment My Photo of the Day – Boat Pillars My Photo of the Day – A Couple of Oranges My Photo of the Day – Don’t Jump Sponge Bob The Photo of the Day – Puppy Training Tweet This! Email this to a friend? Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Seed this on Newsvine Share this on Technorati Share this on Tipd
Debt collection streamlined – Times Colonist
Debt collection streamlined Times Colonist, Canada That well-timed early-morning phone call, gently reminding you of the thousands of dollars you owe to any number of credit-card companies, might have something to do with Comtech's product. And while they don't expect you to call and thank them for it, …
Credit Card Debt Negotiation available for all – PEJ News
Credit Card Debt Negotiation available for all PEJ News, Canada PEJ News – Credit card debt is really a menace and a lot of people are facing it around the globe. Credit card debt consolidation and bank loans are well known as ways of reducing and eliminating credit card debt . In all this confusion, credit card …