Yes, I know, I keep showing these rats. But they keep trying to take your money! These two are debt settlement company employees; you know, the companies you hear about on the radio all the time: Don’t file bankruptcy! We can settle your debt for pennies on the dollar! The secret the credit card companies…
Author Archives: Kurt O'Keefe
Credit Cards Are NOT The Problem
Credit cards are neither good nor bad; they have no intrinsic moral quality. Just like a baseball bat; depends how you use it. Hit a home run? Cool. Break someone’s head? Not so much. Yes, that one is subjective. It is possible to use credit cards without going overboard, pay the balance every month, get…
The Truth About Student Loans
American youth has been sold a bill of goods, get that college education, you will make more money, it will pay off in the long term, buy now, pay later, get student loans! Lenders even market to unemployed people, borrow our student loan, get that degree that leads to employment! Yet, more college graduates are…
Planning For Hard Times
Short term advice is difficult to give, unless you are off the cliff and flailing in the sky already. Assuming you are not there, let’s look at some long range tough times Plan B advice. One, of my dozens of cousins, budgets for what he made at his last job, or before his last raise,…
Forgiveness Of Debt Income, What Everyone Ought To Know
DISCLAIMER: NOTHING IN THIS POST IS MEANT AS TAX ADVICE, CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL Some of my clients were about to pay income tax because of 1099-C forms received on rental properties they had abandoned. I was stunned. These people were bankruptcy clients, who had already filed Chapter 7 and received discharges. So they no longer…
Are College Diplomas Worth The Money?
I was in Ann Arbor recently, for a bankruptcy hearing. On paying to leave the parking structure, I noticed the young lady had a thick book she was reading. I asked: “Studying hard?” She smiled wanly and said: “No, I have my bachelor’s degree.” I said: “At least you have a job.” None of my…
Mortgage Balance Not Reaffirmed?
Had a different question last week, from someone who did not reaffirm her mortgage in her Chapter 7 case, kept current on the payments, but wanted to pay off the balance for less than what was owed on the mortgage balance. REAFFIRMATION Just to review, reaffirmation is the process for you to obligate yourself…
Why You Can Buy A House In Detroit With A Single Paycheck
Think life in Detroit is awful? Where else can you grab a piece of the American Dream for your monthly paycheck? Not everything in Detroit is bad. Kids play here. They still make some fine automobiles in these parts. It’s not all a scene out of 8 Mile, after all. But Detroit real estate prices…
What Is A Chapter 7 No Asset Report?
No, it does not mean you have no property, that you lost everything by filing Chapter 7. Actually, it means that the trustee found no assets to be liquidated for the benefit of creditors. Which is a good thing, you keep everything you had before you filed. Subject to paying any liens on the property,…
5 Worst Insurance Bets
I have selected my five worst insurance bets. What are yours? 1. Credit Life You are already in the hole, you owe money, and they tell you, hey, you want your spouse and kids saddled with this debt? Oh no, me? I am a nice guy, I don’t want to do that. Most likely, check…
