Some espouse the belief that if you’re up to your eyeballs in debt, it’s better to eat beans and rice for weeks, months and years until the debt is paid. I won’t mention names. This isn’t about them. While it’s pretty indefensible to live a lifestyle you cannot afford at the expense of creditors, it’s even worse to lead a lifestyle that can be downright counterproductive and harmful when you’re trying to pay your creditors. There’s being “super frugal” and then there is being “stupid frugal.” So today, I want to cover a few things I’ve noticed people doing while they are trying to pay down their debt. I sharing my observations, but I think it’s good if you consider it food for thought.
Archive for the ‘Bankruptcy’ Category
Looking Back, Moving Forward: 20/5
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
I’ve been blogging here for almost five years. I’ve been trying to find a fitting way to mark that anniversary. But 2010 is not only the 5 year anniversary of this blog – and of my venture into on-line writing, education, regurgitating and at times postulating. It’s also the 20 year anniversary of my becoming an attorney. And since blogging is a form of “social media”, it got me thinking…
The whole “social media” thing that people talk, consult and some even obsess about: The Twittering. The Facebooking. The Blogging. Isn’t it really just another way of being “out there” and “being seen?” Yes – it is. “Being seen” has really has evolved since I started blogging.
Still Think You Can File Bankruptcy Without An Attorney?
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Even though I have written and spoken publicly about the perils of representing oneself in bankruptcy, people still do it. I recently came across a case where a lawyer – with a boatload of legal problems – was sanctioned for essentially abandoning his clients during a bankruptcy case. But I’m not writing about that lawyer or what he did that got him into so much hot water with the Bankruptcy Court. Rather, what I write about today is what District of Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge Melvin Hoffman had to say about the bankruptcy process, and the role of a debtor’s attorney. So if you’re still thinking you can or should go through the bankruptcy process alone, take a few minutes and read this.
Rocking On & Moving On
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Every now and then, I come across something that I think my readers will find interesting… so much so that I want to put it here so everyone can get access to it. It’s far easier for me to say “hey, did you hear…read…see, etc.” and then when people say “well, no, where can I find it?” I can just tell them it’s on this here website. This is one of those times.
Each week, The Moth features true stories, told live, without notes. It’s available for free on ITunes, or by checking out The Moth website. “The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, was founded in New York in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of sultry summer evenings on his native St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, where he and a small circle of friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales on his friend Wanda’s porch.”
The story I want to share with you was recorded earlier this year by Dan Kennedy, who is a regular announcer on the podcast and is also the author of Rock On: An Office Power Ballad. You can download it on ITunes and take it with you, or turn up your speakers a tad and give yourself a little more than 16 minutes to hear this through. It’s called And How Does That Make You Feel?
Later this week, I’ll share my thoughts. For now, please listen and enjoy.
Birds flying high, You know how I feel
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
Back in September, I blogged about the conflict that exists with the rights of married same gender spouses to file a joint bankruptcy petition, and the conflict posted by what I have no problem calling the politically and legislatively ill-conceived Defense of Marriage Act. I felt then that it was – to get a bit personal here - another betrayal by the Clinton Administration (the first being “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell”).
And just a few weeks ago, I met with a debtor contemplating bankruptcy who wanted to file a joint bankruptcy petition with his same-sex spouse. I advised him that he had two choices: one, is that he could focus on getting the relief from the debt that he had and work towards getting his discharge and getting on with his life. That meant separate petitions, separate cases, separate docket numbers.
Or the other: he and his husband could hunker down, prepare for a long (and not an altogether inexpensive) legal battle that may – or may not – end up at the U.S. Supreme Court – and he could revel in proving a point (although I can think of few bankruptcy debtors who by the time they arrive at the steps of any US Bankruptcy Court actually feel that they need to prove a point… other than the one that is rather obvious). Ultimately, same sex married couples have not enjoyed the benefit of filing a joint bankruptcy petition because the Defense of Marriage Act precluded such joint filings by same sex spouses.
But today, I’m feeling good. (more…)
Now… About Those Secrets that the Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
You’ve seen the commercials and heard them on the radio: “don’t pay your debt, don’t go into bankruptcy, eliminate your debt!”
Eliminate your debt without bankruptcy? Really? What the hell am I advising my clients then?
So I did some poking around… which is big fancy lawyer talk for “legal research.” And I think I was able to put my finger on what some of these companies are actually selling.
A Friendly Reminder to List it or Lose it
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
If you don’t list all of your property on your bankruptcy schedules, you risk losing it. Let me repeat this again, just in case you think I might be kidding: if you do not list all of your property on your bankruptcy schedules, you will lose it.
I’ve written about this before and I came across a recent decision out of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that reminds is that “list it or lose it” is alive and well. (more…)
Credit Fueled Drunken Debauchery
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Come on, you had to know I was going to write about this: Her no longer royal highness Sarah Ferguson is blaming booze (and her debt) for her lapse in judgment in seeking money in exchange for access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. I’m still not entirely clear what “access” really meant… that alone could be another blog, on another website.
Oddly, this reminded me of among the many colorful jobs I had when I was going through school was that of a bartender. In the movie “Cocktail”, Tom Cruise made bartending look sort of cool. And to an extent it is… but for the smells of dirty bar rags that still sometimes haunt me in my dreams. It also helps to have the physical stamina of a 20-something and be able to be cheerful and attentive past midnight. Or 4am.
Then there’s another aspect of being a bartender that isn’t so fun: having to shut someone off. That’s when a bartender has to make the call that a patron has had a wee-too-much and can be served no more alcohol. Any bartender will tell you – this aspect of the job stinks. But I see this emerging attitude about lenders and their reckless credit underwriting standards that resembles the same often righteous indignation I see when I would tell people they were on their last drink of the night.
Another Road to Failure: How Do I Qualify for Bankruptcy?
Friday, June 4th, 2010
Once again, the misinformation about bankruptcy permeates the world wide inter-webs like a smelly fart on a school bus in the summery humid weather like we’re having here today in Boston. But since analyzing this “information” is almost like shooting fish in a barrel, I’m able to take some time and again grade this really bad article entitled: “How Do I Qualify for Bankruptcy?”
Rocking On & Moving On: My Take
I’ve been listening to The Moth for several months and recently listened to an episode that I thought my readers could identify with, so I shared it. And as promised, I am sharing my thoughts.
When one is facing bankruptcy – for whatever reason – it’s like facing a financial black hole. It’s dark. It can feel cold and creepy. You feel like it’s sucking you in and you’re not sure what’s going to end up eating you on the other side. And those feelings end up leaving many folks completely and utterly paralyzed with fear. Perhaps paralyzed is not a good word. Perhaps wallowing with fear is a better description.
(more…)
Tags: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Estate, Commentary
Posted in Bankruptcy | No Comments »