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What can you do to save money on your regular expenses?

One of the questions many of my bankruptcy clients ask is “What can I do to save money on a daily basis?” While there are lots of things to consider to lower your expenses, some things are more practical than others. Here is a list of things I have seen work, and that I use myself:

For everyday items like groceries and household goods:
• Wal-Mart will match advertised prices of their competitors in the store. They also have a method where you enter your receipt number online, or scan with their app, and they will check competitors’ prices for you. If they find a lower price they issue you an e-credit which you can redeem in store.
• Target will match in-store a price from their website. This is only done at the service desk. They also have an app called cartwheel that is essentially like digital coupons. They also have coupons on their website. Also check allthingstarget.com for weekly ad and coupon matchups to help you save money on things you need.
• Kroger has digital coupons and an app to add the coupons to your Kroger card while you are in the store if needed. You can also see what coupons you have while you are in the store.
• Always shop sale ads and coupons. Match up what you can. Don’t buy things you don’t need. Don’t “extreme coupon.” Everything expires, and you likely aren’t going to use 100 boxes of cereal before they expire.

For online purchases:
• ALWAYS check for a promo code before submitting your order. Retailmenot.com is a very good source of coupons and promo codes both online and instore. They have a free app.
• Go through sites like Ebates.com. You get cash back when you go through Ebates.com, and they usually have a good list of promo codes as well. Here is a referral link to their site.

For bigger purchases:
• Don’t buy big on impulse. Just about everything will go on sale! Know the seasonal sales cycles. A simple Google search will help you find websites that list seasonal sales cycles.
• Shop around and price compare for big purchases.

General shopping tips:

• Make sure you know want you need versus what you want. Wants may have to wait. Make sure your needs are covered first.
• Check websites that list savings, sales, etc. One such website for baby/child savings is www.babycheapskate.com.
• Budget! Know where ALL of your money is going. And include in your budget your emergency fund savings.
• Get a savings account to create an emergency fund. No emergency is cheap, and new loans will be expensive. See if you can automatically transfer money per paycheck after it’s deposited into checking. Also see if your employer who already direct deposits will split your deposit between checking and savings.
• Teach your kids about money. I’ve heard more than once “why did my parents not tell me this?!” I have no answer for them other than they can now teach their own children about it once they get a handle on the situation.

Do you have other gold nuggets of how to save money? Let me know and I’ll add them to this post!

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Legal Insurance Plans

Are you a member of a legal insurance plan and need legal assistance? Legal insurance plans often will pay a portion of your attorneys fees, or provide you a discount on attorneys fees. Rarely will a legal insurance plan cover court costs or other non-attorney fees. Most plans ask that you contact the plan provider to obtain an authorization number to provide to your attorney when you make your appointment. Some plans will allow you to make your appointment and then your attorney can confirm your plan status. The best thing to do is contact your insurance provider and obtain any necessary authorizations before making your appointment with an attorney. When you call our office to make your appointment, be sure to let the appointment secretary know which insurance plan you have and your authorization number, and she will set up your consultation to meet with your approved attorney, Alissa Gay.

Attorney Alissa Gay is currently an approved provider for the following plans:
– ARAG Legal Insurance
– U.S. Legal Services
– Legal Shield
– Pre-paid Legal Services

Do you have a different legal insurance plan? If so, contact Attorney Alissa Gay and Alissa will try to work with your legal insurance company to help you reach your goals and use the insurance you’ve paid for.

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Free Bankruptcy Information Session!

Our firm, Teel & Maroney, PLC, will be holding a free Bankruptcy Information Session in conjunction with West Tennessee Legal Services on Thursday, April 17th, 2014. The session will be held at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce (near the Civic Center) from 6pm – 7pm. It will be very casual and we will have time for questions and answers as well. This is open to anyone who has financial concerns and is wondering if bankruptcy might be an option for them. Seating is limited, so we ask that anyone who plans on attending call our office by April 15 to register.
Please pass this information along to anyone you think might benefit from the free information session!

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There’s a NEW way to check the status of your Chapter 13 case online!

You can access your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy information online via the National Data Center at www.ndc.org. The first time you visit the website, you will have to have some of your case information and register for a username and password. From that point on, you will only require your username and password.

Before you head to the website, gather the following items together. You’ll need them all to register for a username and password.
1. Your case number (7 digits. ex: 25-10675) Hint: The first two digits are the same as the year in which your case was filed. Your case number will be on paperwork received from the court.
2. Your social security number
3. Your mailing address as listed on your Petition.
4. The name of the Chapter 13 Trustee. (If you are in the Western District of Tennessee, Eastern Division at Jackson, your Trustee is Tim Ivy).
5. A username you’d like to use.
6. A password for your account.
7. An email address where you check email.

You will be able to log into your account at any time and see what money the Trustee has received, and where the Trustee has sent your money. If you find anything unusual about your case, be sure to contact your attorney as soon as possible to make sure any problems are corrected.

**Please note that this applies only to clients in the Western District of Tennessee. If you were previously accessing your case via http://www.13datacenter.com, you will need to now use http://www.ndc.org. Please call your attorney if you have any questions!!

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Where can I find everything I need to bring to my first bankruptcy appointment?

You’ve seen the list of what you need to bring to your first bankruptcy appointment. Now you are wondering where can you find all of those things? If you don’t have those things at home, there are a few websites that can help you with some of the information.

1. Tax Return

The IRS now allows you to obtain your tax transcript (a fancy word for your tax return) online. Simply go to the IRS website here. You will have to register using your email address and personal info, but you will be able to instantly download your last few tax return transcripts. If you don’t have a printer to print them, contact your attorney’s office and see if you can email them to the attorney.

2. Pay stubs

If your employer uses ADP for payroll processing, you can download your pay stubs here. You’ll need to register or use your username and password to login, and then you will be able to access the PDF’s of your pay stubs. Remember we will need the last six months worth of pay stubs.

If your employer does not use ADP, there may be other ways to access your pay stubs online. Check with your payroll department and they should be able to give you more information.

3. Credit Report

Go to annualcreditreport.com, enter your information, answer a few questions, and you should be able to get at least one of your credit reports. Remember to either print the report or save it to your computer (you may be able to email it to your attorney).

Remember that you can only get your annual credit report free once every 12 months, so if you’ve requested yours within the last 12 months, you will not be able to get another free one until after that 12 month period is over.

Also keep in mind that everything may not be on your credit report. When you get your report, look it over. If you know you owe someone who is not on the report, write them down. If possible, call that person you owe and find out how much you owe, your account number, and their mailing address. All of this information will help make sure the people you owe get notice of your bankruptcy filing, and cause you less stress and headache down the road.

4. Unemployment income proof

If you have received unemployment income in Tennessee, you can visit the state’s unemployment benefits website here and obtain proof of the income you’ve received.

These websites should help you obtain many of the things you need to bring to your first bankruptcy appointment. If you have any questions about your upcoming appointment with me, or need to make an appointment, just call our office and ask for me or send me an email!

Have a great day!

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Debtor Education Classes

We are proud to partner with the Dave Ramsey program and offer you the opportunity to complete your required Debtor Education course with Dave Ramsey. These classes are offered in our office, currently at three different times each week. The current class schedule is every Tuesday 11-1, Thursday 11-1 and Thursday 3-5. If you would like to schedule your class time, please call our office and reserve your seat. We have a limited number of seats in each class. If you arrive without having first called, we cannot guarantee you a seat. The cost of the class is $20, and must be paid prior to your taking the class.
If for some reason you cannot attend in person, please call our office and we will provide you instructions on how to complete the class online.
Remember that every person, in all chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases, must complete the Debtor Education class. You also have a limited period of time within which to complete your class. So, once you receive your case number, if you have not already scheduled your class time, be sure to call and reserve your seat.

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It’s back to school time! What about those back to school expenses?!?!

As back to school time draws near, so does the looming debt that can come with it. Just think about it. There are pencils, paper, crayons, hand sanitizer, and all that other stuff the teacher puts on a list you have to buy. And then there are the clothes and shoes and backpacks, and the list just goes on and on. And all of that costs money.

It’s not shocking to hear that many people get into credit card or loan trouble around Christmas, but have you thought about people who rely upon credit cards and loans to help get their children ready for school every year? If you are one of those people, you may be wondering what to do now that you’ve used your credit cards and gotten loans to get all of those school supplies and clothes so your kids can go back to school and be prepared. Not only do you have these new bills to pay, but somehow the rent or house payment still has to get paid, plus the electricity, and then there’s food…….

If you are having trouble making your payments (or find yourself in trouble in the next few months when those bills start rolling in), you might need to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer to see what your options might be. Luckily, you already know a lawyer to talk to! Me! I would love to meet with you and talk about your situation, find out what your goals are, and tell you how the bankruptcy laws would apply to your situation. Just email me or call our office at 731-424-3315 and ask for me, Alissa, and we will set up a time for you to come in and have a conversation.

Want more info on bankruptcy? Look around my website at my bankruptcy articles. I’ve posted answers to the questions I get most often. Don’t see the answer you are looking for? Bring your question with you to your appointment and I’ll be sure to answer it!

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Some things to remember while you are in a Chapter 13 case….

Here are a few tidbits of information that I think will come in handy for you while you are in your bankruptcy case:
(disclaimer: None of this is intended to be legal advice. Reading this by itself does not make me your lawyer (ie doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship). Contact your lawyer with questions. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code).

1. When you go to your meeting of creditors, be SURE to bring BOTH your photo ID and your proof of your social security number. If you do not bring BOTH, your meeting will not be held and you will have to come back in about 2 weeks to do it all over again. See my article here about what forms of ID and SS proof are ok.

2. Do not buy anything on credit while you are in your case without first getting the Court’s approval. Have something you think you need to buy on credit? Give your attorney a call to go over the situation and see what you need to do.

3. If you have a claim against someone, or a lawsuit against someone, be SURE to tell your bankruptcy attorney BEFORE you spend any money you get. You need to call your attorney’s office and tell them your situation so they can tell you what needs to be done. Also, if you think you have a claim against someone, go ahead and call your bankruptcy lawyer. They can tell you if you have a claim how the bankruptcy might be affected. Your bankruptcy lawyer might also be able to handle the claim for you, too, so you can keep everything together.

4. Be sure you’ve told your bankruptcy attorney everything, and that everything you’ve told is true. After all, you did sign a paper that says it’s all true under penalty of perjury. What does that mean? In a nutshell, if you lie, you might go to federal prison or face a big fine, or both. (See my article here about telling the truth.) The moment you realize something you’ve said isn’t right, you need to contact your attorney and get it fixed.

5. If you change where you live, where you get your mail, where you get your phone calls, where you get your emails, where you get your paycheck, or from whom you receive money, you need to let your attorney know.

6. Make sure that your employer is sending in the right amount of money each paycheck. It has happened where a payment change was sent to the employer, but the employer didn’t make the change for a month (or longer), and then the client got way behind in the bankruptcy payments and the Trustee wanted to dismiss the case. Don’t be that person! Stay on top of your paycheck, and make sure that when a new income deduction order comes out that your employer promptly makes that change, too! Problems? Call your attorney ASAP so your case doesn’t get messed up.

7. Stay on top of your case. See my article here about how to check your case status online. Do you see something on there that doesn’t look right? Did you get an order that didn’t make sense? Call your attorney and make sure that things are right! If you wait until the end of your 5 year case and then mention something, it’s much harder to get fixed than if you mention it as soon as you see it!

8. Don’t compare your case to anyone else’s cases. While you both may be in a Chapter 13 case, that’s where the similarities end. Everyone’s case is just as different as every snowflake. That’s why you hired a lawyer to make sure it was done correctly! And really, I find that most of those “other people” are not telling you the whole truth about their case anyway. So, don’t listen to them and make sure you understand why your case is the way it is. Call your attorney if you don’t so that you can understand. Knowledge is power, right?!

Be sure to click the follow button so you can have instant access to posts with useful information! For even more access, be sure follow me on Twitter @AttorneyAlissa.
Need a bankruptcy consultation? Give me a call! Contact me here.

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Have you been injured? Do you now have financial problems as a result of that injury?

Have you been injured through no fault of your own? If so, you are probably facing many issues right now. From medical bills to paying your rent or house payment, and probably time off from work. Don’t fret!

Injured people face lots of problems. Luckily, you know an attorney that can try to help you with most of those problems! That would be me, Alissa Gay. Among other things, we can evaluate your situation and let you know if bankruptcy is an option for you. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it’s not. It depends totally on your situation. Also, you might be able to recover some of your losses (medical bills, time off from work, etc.) from the person at fault, or an insurance company.

So what do you do?
Give me a call for a confidential free consultation for both bankruptcy and personal injury, or one or the other. Whatever you need! I’ll probably need around an hour of your time for this. Check out my post on what to bring to your initial bankruptcy consultation here.

Don’t forget — you may have a limited time within which to bring a claim against someone for hurting you or your property.

I look forward to meeting you!

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

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Small business owners whose customers owe money…..

As a small business owner, you may run into this more often than not these days. You contract with someone for a service with a specified price, and when you complete your task the customer asks if they can pay you next month, or maybe in installments. Because you like your customers, and you’d like customer referrals, you agree. But then the next month they ask to pay the following month. So what happens when they just stop answering the phone when you call, or do not respond to the letters you send? That might be the time to call your attorney, me, for some help.

What can I do as your attorney?

For starters, I can handle all aspects of the case for you, which gives you time to do what you do best — run your business! Once I receive all of the information on the file, I will take the appropriate steps to resolve the matter. What those steps are depends on how you want to resolve the case. There are generally several options available on how to handle the case. Based on your needs and goals, I can recommend the best step for you to take to reach those goals. Depending on the contract you have with your customer, your collection costs may be assessed against the customer.

In addition, with our experience as bankruptcy attorneys, we know how to help you recoup as much of your money as possible if your customer has filed bankruptcy, or may file bankruptcy in the future.

There are many laws that apply when collecting a debt. Be sure not to fall into a trap where you end up paying the customer because you did not follow one of those laws!

Do you have customers who need a little reminder that they need to pay you for your services? Give us a call and find out how we can help you collect what is owed to you and help your business succeed!

Contact Jackson, Tennessee attorney Alissa Gay at Teel & Maroney, PLC 731.424.3315.