(image credit: dreamstime) You have your bankruptcy discharge, and now, you get an offer in the mail for: another credit card! It feels great! You thought it would take years to “build up” your credit again! You just wiped out thousands of dollars of credit card debt. Why would the bank send you an offer…
Author Archives: Kurt O'Keefe
How Much Is Your Home Worth?
H is for home value, in the Alphabet Game, bankruptcy experts across the country blog on different topics. I always ask potential clients this question, how much is your home worth?, I mean, really, and the response frequently is something like: well, it is worth $200,000, but right now, I can only get maybe $160,000…
Are You Better Off Than You Were A Year Ago?
Are you better off than you were a year ago? Record numbers of Americans are not. Rasmussen Reports, the top polling agency, says 32% of us owe more than last year. Not coincidentally, confidence in banks is at an all time low. And the government doesn’t poll so well either. With unemployment staying high, home…
C Is For Creditor
Creditors may not all look like this. OK, probably none of them do. But that is what some of them make us think they are, on their way to bashing our heads in if we don’t fork over the loot. Loot that we don’t have. The bankruptcy code defines creditor as: (A) entity that…
Personal Finances Then And Now
Are you better off than you were a year ago? Record numbers of Americans are not. Rasmussen Reports, the top polling agency, says 32% of us owe more than last year. Not coincidentally, confidence in banks is at an all time low. And the government doesn’t poll so well either. With unemployment staying high, home…
Going Broke: How Does It Happen?
Fascinating individual story from the front lines of the economy. How does a financial planner end up six figures underwater on his home? Yahoo Finance has the story of Carl Richards of the New York Times, a financial adviser, who had to do a short sale on his big Las Vegas home. (image from Dreamstime)
Financial Literacy For Couples
I have an aunt and uncle who were married many years ago. The priest told them, in advising them of the respective marital duties, that it was the husband’s task to run the family finances. This did not work from the start, but they endeavored to abide by the priestly directive. As long as they…
Are You Teetering On The Edge Of Bankruptcy?
Although bankruptcy filings are down, unemployment remains high and fewer people are going to credit counselors. Credit card debt went up again. Some people may just be giving up. No job, no income, no assets, means nothing for creditors to get; no reason to file bankruptcy. But, what happens when you get that new job? …
What Happens If I Get A Judgment Against Me?
“I am being sued by capital one for a credit card debt…I’m unemployed…will I still have to pay if I lose in court?” Someone posted this question to me. I never know what the enemy may do, but, here are the possibilities: So here comes the long winded answer about money judgments in St. Clair…
