Why pay for Turbo Tax or its competitors when, odds are, you can get it for free? Unless you like burning money. Seventy percent of American taxpayers qualify for free tax software. If your income was $62,000 last year or less, you can use commercial tax filing software for free through the IRS FreeFile program. […]
Search Results for: do you need to file bankruptcy
Zombie Debt is Naughty, Not Nice
Despite his bankruptcy discharge, my former bankruptcy client has just been bitten by naughty credit reporting, and the interim results aren’t nice. When several years passed since the bankruptcy, my client thought he’d caught and controlled the old and the inaccurate credit reporting. Four years after the discharge was entered, a mortgage servicer has just […]
When Stagnant Home Values Mean Huge Savings
I thought the lien stripping ship had sailed. We are finally climbing out of the worst of the Great Recession and California real estate values are recovering. Turns out, I was wrong. It’s not too late to reduce your mortgage debt by tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, if you live where real […]
Will Social Security Be Enough To Retire To Surf City?
We live in the Golden State. Retirement is supposed to be the Golden Years. Do you have enough gold to make it happen? It takes more than twice the typical Social Security check to meet just basic living expenses for a single elder in Santa Cruz County. Yup, the median Social Security check is $12,500 […]
Lost Homes, Cut Off Creditors & Whack A Mole
Those who lost homes in the Great Recession may not be home free yet. Two kinds of creditors have claims that can be expected to pop up like figures in Whack a Mole: home equity lenders whose liens were cut off or released in foreclosure or short sale unpaid homeowners associations Let’s look at the […]
Free Retirement Advice By Professional Advisor Comes Up One Tool Short
The 65 year old woman featured in the newspaper’s Money Makeover series got a free review of her financial situation by a professional financial advisor. Over her working lifetime, she’s been the source of financial support for an extended family, including her aged mother and a disabled sister. Her aid to her family has come […]
The Collection Call That Terrifies
Nothing strikes terror in someone behind on their bills like a debt collector call to their family. Sheer terror. It works, too. That fear is second only to a wage garnishment for bringing people to see a bankruptcy lawyer. The only flaw in the collector’s strategy in contacting your family about your debts is that […]
Tax Question Roundup
Not long til tax returns are due. Time for a roundup of tax issues I see from atop my soapbox. I’ll point you to fuller discussions of tax topics. Are Chapter 13 payments deductible? I’ve never seen a claim that the entire monthly payment is deductible. In a case where all of the […]
Miracles Possible in Mortgage Mess
INVOKE THE SECOND DIVINE MIRACLE OF THE VANISHING EQUITY Why Many Homeowners Need to Run, Not Walk, to Bankruptcy Court and File for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. The world has many sacred sites. Places that inspire great faith. Places where people go to express, renew, and sometimes discover their faith. Rome, Mecca, and the Holy Land […]
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