Tag: debt

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It’s almost Halloween! Are you haunted by debt?

It’s getting close to Halloween!! Have you checked your credit report lately? As you know, part of having a good credit score is making sure everything on your credit report is correct. Especially in this age of constant hacking and personal information being stolen, you can’t really afford to not look at your report.

So how do you check your report? Simply go to annualcreditreport.com, where you will have access to all three credit reporting agencies. If you find anything incorrect, initiate a dispute with the credit reporting agency to get it fixed. Each agency has a link on their website for disputes.

If you find that you have lots of old debt that’s haunting you, and you are ready for a fresh start, give me a call and I’ll be happy to help you reach your financial goals.

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Equifax is hacked. Now what?

Equifax announced on September 7, 2017 that they were hacked over the summer. Equifax believes 143 million Americans may have been affected. Among the hacked information was social security numbers, birth dates, and credit card numbers.

Luckily they’ve now set up a website where you can find out if you were potentially affected. Simply go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com where you will enter your information and it will tell you if they believe you were affected. Equifax is also alerting people by mail who were affected. One year of free identity theft protection and credit monitoring are offered for those affected. Simply visit the same website for more information.

Remember to check your credit report often to make sure your information is correct. Part of having a good credit score is having correct information!

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How do you pay for filing a bankruptcy? Can it be done with no money down?

On the list of questions many people ask is “how do I pay for this because I don’t have any money?” As usual, “it depends” is the primary answer. It depends on if you are filing chapter 13 or chapter 7. Let me explain….

In Chapter 13, our court allows you to pay ZERO DOWN on your bankruptcy filing, and you just pay the Chapter 13 Trustee your first month’s plan payment within the first 30 days. So there’s no money down for a Chapter 13 filing! With a Chapter 13 you do pay monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee for the secured items you want to keep like your house and car. You can pay that monthly payment out of your paycheck, your unemployment check, your social security check, or get help from friends and family. Also, the trustee has a fairly new option that allows the regular payments to the trustee to be automatically drafted out of your bank account if you’d like. Many people really like this option because it’s one less thing you have to do. And we all need one less thing to do these days.

In a Chapter 7, you can either pay the filing and attorneys fees before we file the case, or you can actually now finance the cost of filing. You just pay it over a period of 12 months with an auto draft from your bank account or debit card. It even works with social security debit cards. Again, this allows for NO MONEY DOWN bankruptcy filing. If that’s something you’re interested in, I can give you all of the details personally.

So you see, either way you go you have options for a no money down payment structure. Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you from reaching your financial goals. If you are in a rut and need a way out, or see that you are about to get into a rut, go ahead and contact us for a free conversation about how we might be able to help you. I look forward to working with you to achieve your dreams!

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Series: What is a Bankruptcy Voluntary Petition Form 1?

While we may generally refer to the entire series of documents we file with the Court as your “Petition”, there is technically a form called the Voluntary Petition (Official Form 1).  For purposes of this series and to cut down on confusion, I’ll call it Form 1.

Form 1 is three pages, and is sort of like the data sheet for your case.  It lists things like your name and address, and what chapter of the Bankruptcy Code you are filing. It also lists an estimate of the number of creditors you have (creditors are the people you owe), an estimate of the value of your assets (assets are the stuff you have), and an estimate of your liabilities (the bills you owe).  There are also several check boxes that are filled in based on your situation to tell the court different things, as well as let the court know that you’ve completed your credit counseling and you’ve lived here long enough to file in this court. Additionally, if you’ve filed bankruptcy before, or if you have a spouse or cosigner in a bankruptcy, then their case information will also be listed on these pages.

Form 1 also contains places where you and your attorney sign saying that everything is correct under penalty of perjury.  You’ll see over the course of this series that there are lots of places you have to sign, and it’s all under penalty of perjury.  Wondering what happens if you don’t tell the truth? See my article here on that.

Here’s a look at what Form 1 looks like:

 

Form 1 Voluntary Petition

 

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Series: What is a Bankruptcy Petition?

You hear us talk about “your Bankruptcy petition” but you may wonder exactly what that is. In short, it’s the group of documents we file with the Bankruptcy Court so you can pay what you have to pay and not pay what you don’t have to pay, as well as get you all of the protection you can have in your case.

In this series of blog posts, we’ll explore what each part of your petition is, what it means, and any other information you might find useful. We will go through each section of the petition piece by piece so that you will have a better understanding of what everything is.

Remember that this will not serve as any legal advice on your situation, this is just a general overview. So if you have questions about your case, you need to be sure to contact your attorney for specific information tailored just for you.

Be sure to check back often for the next article in this series!

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How to get help with daily living expenses

If you or someone you know needs help with daily living expenses like utility bills, rent and providing food, I urge you to contact either RIFA (Regional Inter-Faith Association) or ARM (Area Relief Ministries). While RIFA is known for their soup kitchen and store, and ARM is known for Room in the Inn, both agencies do so much more. If you have a daily living need that is not being met and you need help, please call them at

RIFA: 133 Airways Blvd, 731-427-7963 www.rifajackson.org

ARM: 108 South Church, 731-423-9257 www.areareliefministries.org

You can call them and tell them your situation, and they can tell you how they might be able to help you. If they can’t help you for some reason, they may be able to direct you to a person or agency that can meet your specific need.

I’ll also soon be adding a page with lots of information on assistance of all kinds, so watch for that!  If you have found an agency or group to be helpful, let me know and I will be sure to include it on my page.  What helped you once just might be what someone else needs now.

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Tips to make it through temporary unemployment

Many people face it every day — temporary unemployment. Luckily, we have many factories and corporations who can tell their employees in advance that they will not be working on a certain week, or for a certain month, or something similar so people have time to plan. Many of our clients ask what they can do during this time to make things less stressful. Here are a few things you can try:
•First, see if you are eligible for partial unemployment for the time that you are laid off. You’ll want to start looking into this as soon as you know a layoff is coming so that it is effective as soon as possible.
•Second, enroll with one or more temporary agencies. It may sound off the wall, but sometimes employers need a temporary employee (often called “a temp”) for one or two days, or for a week, or other various times. You can tell the temp agency when you will be available and they will try to match you up with a company that needs a temp worker. Some people even enroll with multiple temp agencies because each agency works with different potential employers. Some of these temp positions might even work into a regular full time position if you are looking for a change!
•Third, it’s always wise to have an emergency fund ready for these types of situations. You’ve heard us talk over and over about emergency funds, and this is one of the many reasons why. Even if you can only save $10 per paycheck, do it! You’ll be really happy you did when you need it!

Do you have other ways you’ve made it through similar tough times? Let us know and we’ll add them to our list to share with everyone.

If you aren’t already in a bankruptcy case and you’ve tried all the options and it’s still not enough, maybe it’s time to consider what a bankruptcy case can do for you. If you’ve been sued or someone says they are going to take you to court, we probably need to do something quickly. Give me a call and we’ll work through it together!

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New App to help with Budgeting

As you know, we use Dave Ramsey’s company to provide our clients with their Debtor Education requirements. Dave’s company has a new app we thought our clients might be interested in. It’s a free app that helps you with your monthly budgeting. It’s called Every Dollar. You can find it at www.everydollar.com, or in the iTunes app store. They are working on the Android and mobile versions. The basic one is free, and there are, as with any app, upgrades you’d have to pay for. They also have a “suggest a feature” link where you can send them features you’d like to see included. If you check it out, let us know what you think!

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City of Jackson Job Fair

What is being billed as the City of Jackson Job Fair will be held on March 11, 2015 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center in Jackson. The job fair will run from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. There will also be colleges at the fair if you are considering going to college.

You can read more in the Jackson Sun article here.

Good luck!

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RN Job Fair at Regional Hospital

Are you an RN? Regional Hospital is hosting an RN job fair this Thursday, February 12, 4pm – 8pm in the hospital’s cafeteria. You need to bring a resume, and remember to dress for success!

Here’s their website: http://www.regionalhospitaljackson.com/Regional-Hospital-Of-Jackson/home.aspx

Good luck!!