Behind the Numbers

When you see a restaurant commercial, the “special price” never includes tax and tip.  When you see unemployment figures, the totals never include underemployed and discouraged workers.  When you see foreclosure statistics, the figures never include homes which are...

Consumer Debt Reduction

The conventional wisdom is that paying down your debt is a good idea all of the time.  In fact, paying down debt is only a good idea some of the time. Before you commit your hard-earned cash to debt reduction, ask yourself a few questions: 1.      Have I considered...

Chapter 7 Overview

In 2011 there were nearly one million applications for bankruptcy protection.  Yet the notion persists that bankruptcy is an embarrassing process that will ruin any opportunity for financial well-being. Chapter 7 is sometimes called “liquidation”, although that...

Bankruptcy Proofs of Claim

A lesson from the foreclosure crisis is that a moneylender may be lying when it says it owns a debt.  That lesson has been applied to bankruptcy proofs of claim. A proof of claim is a document that a moneylender files in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  A form...

Bankruptcy and Rental Property

If you are like most landlords you are very careful about the tenants you choose to put in your property.  But, as we can all testify, even good people sometimes have financial problems.  How will your tenant’s consumer bankruptcy affect you? If your tenant owes back...