May
29
Where Is My Stimulus Payment?
May 29, 2008 | 86 Comments
… government says that the stimulus payment is split 50/50 between both spouses.
Did you file bankruptcy (chapter 13)?
The trustee may have a claim to your stimulus payment. If they took your rebate, they might also take your stimulus check. I've read varying stories on this. If in doubt, contact your trustee.
Did you move?
Did you move after you filed your taxes? Make sure the Post Office and the IRS have your forwarding address. You can fill out a change of address card at …
Comment by jay: I am in chapter 13 bankruptcy. I have been trying to find …
May
23
… . You can find the phone number, address and business hours of your local IRS office here.
Comment by Sara: … check if you filed bankruptcy within the last year
Apr
23
Why Debt is Risky
April 23, 2008 | 2 Comments
… in too many cases, debt is used improperly and the consequences are unhappiness, stress, bankruptcy and divorce.
Attitudes About Debt Have Changed
I’ve already talked about how our attitudes about debt and borrowing have changed in this country (and probably the world). The parents of the baby boomers didn’t have credit cards. They didn’t have jumbo mortgages and they didn’t finance consumer electronics. In fact they tended to avoid consumer debt …
Apr
22
Why Is Debt No Longer a Bad Thing?
April 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
… changed, but you can understand the incentive to pay off your mortgage.
Speaking of the law, or bankruptcy law in particular, you can file bankruptcy for very little money these days. In my previous life as a debt collector we used to call attorneys to verify that a client had filed bankruptcy. For as little as $400 down, a person could file bankruptcy and get rid of all the pesky debt they had legally agreed to pay back. Congress changed the bankruptcy law in 2005 to prevent abuse. …
Mar
31
Retirement Revolution - Part One
March 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
… grossly underestimated the cost of the plan in the long run. The system has been close to bankruptcy twice already.
Congress has been spending the social security surplus. Social security was supposed to be a trust fund specifically for retirement. It turned out to be a slush fund for federal spending. The trust fund is expected to go bankrupt around 2040 because of the number of baby boomers retiring.
Is there going to be any money left after the baby boomers are gone? What …
Jan
4
Don't Buy Stocks
January 4, 2008 | 1 Comment
… and over the next several months things go from bad to worse. Then one day the company files for bankruptcy. It turns out the head of accounting was embezzling money to feed his gambling habit and the president was too inept to catch onto the scheme. Joe now has no stake in the company, as equity share holders are left holding the bag when a company files bankrupt.
While our story above is fictitious, I’m going to use it to illustrate some points about buying shares in a large company. …