What Happens to Your Chapter 13 If You Lose Your Job Mid-Plan
A Chapter 13 plan runs three to five years. Almost nobody gets through a stretch that long without something changing. In Northern Virginia, the change we see most often is a job loss, and it is rarely the dramatic kind. A contract does not get renewed. A task order gets descoped. A position gets eliminated […]
You Are Not Alone: Many Are Struggling With Debt
You Are Not Alone: Many Are Struggling With Debt Why the isolation is an illusion, and why bankruptcy is far less frightening than it looks One of the hardest parts of struggling with debt has nothing to do with the numbers: It is the loneliness. So many of the people who come into our Northern Virginia […]
What to Do If Your Debt Settlement Program Is Not Working
What to Do If Your Debt Settlement Program Is Not Working Most people who enroll in a debt settlement program are trying to do the responsible thing. They want to pay something back. They want to avoid bankruptcy. They were told that if they made monthly payments for three or four years, the debt would […]
Allowable Expenses in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: What Counts, What Gets Capped, and What Actually Decides Your Case
Allowable Expenses in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: What Counts, What Gets Capped, and What Actually Decides Your Case Expenses work differently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy than most people expect. In Chapter 13, expenses help set a monthly plan payment. In Chapter 7, there is no plan payment. Your expenses do something else entirely. They help decide […]
15 Mistakes That Can Sink Your Chapter 13 Case
15 Mistakes That Can Sink Your Chapter 13 Case A Chapter 13 case is a three-to-five year commitment; it is a long time. Life does not stop while your plan runs. People change jobs, cars break down, kids need braces, and tax season comes around every single year. Many Chapter 13 cases that fail do […]
Retired and Considering Bankruptcy? Your Social Security, Pension, and Retirement Savings Are Better Protected Than You Think
Retired and Considering Bankruptcy? Your Social Security, Pension, and Retirement Savings Are Better Protected Than You Think If you are retired and lying awake at night over credit card balances, medical bills, or a lawsuit from a debt collector, please take a breath. The fear most retirees carry into my office is that filing bankruptcy […]
The Death of a Thousand Cuts: How micro-debts are quietly destroying household budgets
The Death of a Thousand Cuts: How micro-debts are quietly destroying household budgets Most people think financial trouble starts with one big event: A job loss; a medical emergency; a divorce; a credit card balance that suddenly reaches $30,000. While those situations certainly happen, they are not what we see most often. In our Northern […]
Why a Great Credit Score Doesn’t Mean You’re Financially Stable
Why a Great Credit Score Doesn’t Mean You’re Financially Stable People come into our office with a number looking at options to manage their debt, but their priorities are not the debt, it is maintaining their credit score. They are worried about maintaining a high credit score; often one of the first sentences is: “My […]
The Six-Month Rule: How to Tell If Your Debt Payoff Plan Is Actually Working
The Six-Month Rule: How to Tell If Your Debt Payoff Plan Is Actually Working A Simple Framework We Use to Evaluate Whether a Debt Repayment Strategy Is Producing Meaningful Results Most debt payoff plans fail long before people admit they are failing; this does not mean people stop making payments. In fact, many continue making […]
Why Your Chapter 13 Payment Is Outside Your Budget
Why Your Chapter 13 Payment is Outside Your Budget One of the biggest misconceptions about Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that it automatically creates an affordable monthly payment. Many people come into our office believing that Chapter 13 will combine all of their debts into one manageable payment and solve their financial problems. They have read […]