sshinn's blog

You may have seen statistics about the number of bankruptcy cases that are “successfully completed” and wondered what that means. When you see that type of data, it generally refers to a specific outcome in the bankruptcy court. 

Imagine that you’ve been wrestling with debt for a couple of years, and finally decided to take charge and reclaim control of your finances. You hire an attorney and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A few weeks after you file, you buy a Tennessee lottery ticket while you’re paying for gas and you win. 

Now what? 

You've heard the commercials:

If you owe $10,000.00 or more to the IRS, CALL NOW. Don't contact the IRS alone.

Or

If you owe more than $5,000.00 in credit card debt, CALL NOW for help in consolidating your credit cards.

When I meet with an individual, the person is often shocked to find out that there are no laws requiring an individual to give information to a creditor or collector over the phone or even in writing.

It's probably safe to say that most of us were raised with the adage: "If you create a debt, you had better pay it. You're a bad person if you don't pay your bills." But, most of us when we are making decisions do not intentionally set out on a course to simply skip out on paying our bills.

It's tax season and millions of Americans dream all year of how they are going to spend their refunds. With tax refunds becoming more substantial over the years due to certain exemptions that can be claimed, many people plan on using their refunds from year to year to catch up on delinquent debts, pay medical expenses, make repairs to homes or cars, or even use the funds to take a vacation.

Recently I had the opportunity to be involved with a "round table" discussion regarding the damaging effects of student loans on at least two generations now as more and more people are getting hooked into the idea that they must get a college education.

Have you been served with a lawsuit recently? If so, the most important thing to do is to stay calm and call for help! Many people do not understand that they may have a very short window of time to act before even more serious consequences may occur. The most common problem we see is that someone may be served with a lawsuit, however, they don't realize that the time to take action is immediately.

Numbers have certainly increased during the last five years when it comes to identity theft. With the recent Equifax breach and the fallout therefrom, it is more important now than ever to be vigilant about protecting your identity and minimize the risks that you will be one of the ones injured by security breaches and the like. Below are a few tips to keep in mind: