First, maybe your goal isn’t $1,000 per month.  It might be $500 a month-and it might also be a higher number like $1500 per month. What you need to save depends on your financial circumstances (income, children, years to retirement, other financial needs, etc.). But let’s call your “number” $1,000 a month for purposes of…

Bankruptcy Judge Arthur B. Briskman recently smacked Bank of America to the tune of $12,500.00 for violating a debtor’s discharge.  The award included $2,500.00 in attorney’s fees.  Shockingly, Bank of America did not attend the evidentiary hearing set by the Court.  However, even if they did attend, I doubt there was much they could have…

If you find yourself owing substantially more to your car lender than your vehicle is worth, you do have options. First, you need to look at this problem in financial terms. For example, if you owe $30,000 on a vehicle worth only $15,000 today, you effectively have $15,000 unsecured debt, just as if you had…

I have always referred to bankruptcy as a tool in the toolbox. In other words, bankruptcy is but one step toward fixing your financial troubles. You must also think in terms of life after bankruptcy, and rebuilding your credit will help to stabilize your financial future. However, by the time the bankruptcy is completed, debtors…

In the last week or so I’ve had no fewer than three clients tell me that they changed their payroll tax withholding to claim the maximum deductions because it was the “only way to pay the bills.” I’ve seen people do that, and tried to help them fix the consequences, for many years, but lately…

When you filed your Chapter 13 bankruptcy five years ago, the goal was to complete the plan and get a discharge. The “discharge” is the legal determination that all of your unsecured debts that remain after the plan are gone. The collection company or bill collector can no longer bother you or seek payment for…