One problem is usually that the account is sold and resold over and over to different collection agencies and so the one that gets the notification of the bankruptcy filing may not be the one that actually has the account anymore. Oftentimes you can dispute these online and then the account will be corrected. Otherwise, you can send a letter with copies of the Schedules of the Bankruptcy Petition showing that the account was included in the bankruptcy. Mail it return receipt requested and keep copies of everything that  you send.

So how exactly should the account be reflected on your credit report?

When your bankruptcy is discharged, the creditors that were included should show up on your credit report with a zero balance and a zero amount due. There should be no past due amounts after the date of the bankruptcy and the account should be reported as “Included in Bankruptcy”. This is basically it. You cannot have late payments on an account that was included in bankruptcy after you’ve filed the bankruptcy. If any of your accounts are being reportedly incorrectly you will need to dispute them with the credit bureau and have them corrected ASAP.

Additionally, the debt should not be reported as a charge off, unless it was a charge off before the bankruptcy. If it shows as a charge off after the bankruptcy, you should dispute this also.

Occasionally, the credit bureau will come back with a status of “verified” meaning they checked on it and the creditor says it’s being reported accurately. Then, you will need to send a letter to the creditor referencing your bankruptcy filing. Include the account number that is being reported inaccurately, and why it is inaccurate, and ask that it be removed or reported correctly immediately.  It is helpful to mention that it is illegal to report information incorrectly to the credit bureau. Again, send everything return receipt requested and this should take care of it for you.

Here is a sample letter from FTC.gov (of course insert your own information)

I should mention that I have never had to send a letter for any of my disputes. Disputing online has always cleared up any inaccuracies that have appeared on my credit report.

If you’re in the process of repairing your credit, it is absolutely crucial that you check your credit reports at least yearly, through annualcreditreport.com. Because of the selling and reselling of accounts, bankruptcy filers especially need to keep up with what is going on with their credit reports. It is not surprising for an old account to suddenly pop up and the sooner you dispute the account and take care of it, the less harm that can be done to your credit score because of it. Plus, it helps you keep track of where you’re going.

Good luck!

I don’t believe that, actually. I think a lot of us are in the situations we are in because we made some pretty clear mistakes. I do know that once in a while people are tricked and for instance, aren’t aware of what they will end up paying for that big screen television if they only pay the minimal monthly payment on their credit card for all eternity. In the end though, we should not be using our credit cards for purchases that we may have to pay for by credit card until we’re dead.

But, I digress. Included in the blog was the grandparent scam (fake relative calls and tricks you into wiring money), which I barely skimmed because I had heard about it in the past and know for a fact, that no one will ever call and ask me for money. If you’re in an emergency situation and trapped say, in Africa, I will not be of any help, not because I don’t want to help, but everyone knows that A) I don’t have any money and B) I don’t have any money. Thus, if anyone does call me, I know it’s a scam. This information of course is useful even if you’re not a grandparent though in that maybe you may use it to warn others that you know. (ie your grandparents.)

"I know you're stuck in Africa. But unfortunately you called the brokest person on Earth."

What caught my eye though, was a post on budgeting which posed the question, “What will you do with your tax refund?” I remember reading an article way back before I kept links as references, on why broke people stay broke. One of the reasons, which made perfect sense to me, is because when we (broke people) ever do get any amount of money, we spend it. We immediately think we should reward ourselves for something, or we buy something that we’ve really, really wanted for a long time.  Thus, even though we get the occasional lucky break, it isn’t around long enough to make a difference in our finances or our lives. And we stay broke.

Nowadays when I do get a tax refund, I usually spend it on bills. I don’t spend as much on bills as I should, nor do I pay off any credit cards completely. I don’t receive tax refunds that are exceptionally significant, but yet they are significant enough that I will admit I have bought or spent a piece of it on something that follows the “why broke people stay broke” theory. In fact, pre bankruptcy, I’m pretty sure I spent that sucker like I won the lottery.

To be quite honest, I’m not sure what the best plan is when you receive a small extra payment. Do you put it in a savings account? Pay all credit cards? Pay down a large bill? I know a lot of people probably slip up and don’t make the most fiscally decisions with their tax refunds, but what exactly is the wisest choice?

I am planning on buying a house, so I’m saving. I also need to pay down credit cards and bills. Although I know what not to do with extra money, I have to admit that I’m not exactly sure what to do with it either. I may try to save and pay down at the same time (which is what I usually do, minus the extra dinner out). I am not perfect by far, I am however, trying to make smart decisions that will help me get where I want to be, which is hopefully not in the broke people that stayed broke out of stupidity category. I lived there once. It ain’t fun.

Anyway, what are your plans and what will you do with  your tax refund?

Happy National Consumer Protection Week, by the way. Protecting ourselves is a great way to start.

We came across this article and after scanning through the old PC ads, we were somewhat shocked to discover that technology today is so much more affordable.

Picture this:

• The Apple Lisa cost $10,000 — ten times the price of an entry-level Macbook!
• A 10-MB Hard Disk cost $3,398; 40 times the price of a 1-TB drive! FYI, a 1-TB drive costs only $85 nowadays at its cheapest.
• A 16-KB RAM module cost $495 in those days; today, we can buy 4-GB RAM module for only $99.

When you take a look at the stark differences, only one thing can be said: It doesn’t pay to be an early adopter.

In those days, only big businesses needed computers, and the average family didn’t have much use for them. So it took a while before Steve Jobs’ dream of having personal computers in every household became a reality. And these days, a lot of mom and pop businesses run their offices at home on the backs of business credit cards and personal ISP connections.

But what do these atrocious prices mean to today’s consumer? More than the nostalgia, there are lessons that we can take away from what we’re seeing with these technology trends:

1. It really doesn’t pay to be a “tech victim.” While there are “fashion victims” who chase fashion trends at the expense of good taste, there are “tech victims” who chase tech trends at the expense of good sense — and their retirement fund. With the speed at which today’s gadgets develop, your gadget purchase is going to get obsolete just one year later. So make sure that you buy only machines that you know you will still be using many years after you purchase it.

2. You don’t need all the features found in every gadget. Sometimes, the price tag goes up for certain features that we don’t actually need. Do you honestly need a touchscreen on your work computer? Do you really overclock your machine? Why won’t a regular Dell suffice? Would an Alienware machine really be worth the premium you’ll be paying for it?

3. It doesn’t always pay to be brand-conscious. While I love Apple, we have to be honest that a Mac is not for everyone. Let’s do a bit of a feature comparison here:

We love our Macs, but we have to admit that there are some things that some people will not be comfortable living without. It’s therefore important to make not just price comparisons, but also careful feature comparisons. Maybe you’re better off with an Acer or a Dell. I, on the other hand, would miss the Exposé very badly.

5. Check for gadget redundancy. Do you really need an iPad, when you already have a workstation, a netbook, and a smartphone? Sometimes, all these new gadgets that Apple comes out with, much as we love them, aren’t really worth the investment. If you find that you barely use your e-readers anyway, how about springing for a convertible netbook instead, like a Lenovo S10-3T? It may be worth your money instead.

Some of us can appreciate Sony discount codes to use for the purchase of a Sony Vaio netbook. But some of us would much prefer the newly-released 11″ Macbook Air. The good news is that there are a lot of discounts online and off and it’s a new world where retail and electronics trends are coming together to provide the best products at the best prices for the average consumer. How easy it is to now buy gadgets on installment with our no annual fee credit cards?

It’s a good thing we’re no longer in the 80s. Despite the speed of machine upgrades (and possible obsolescence), keeping up with tech is now worth it.

A few weeks ago I was driving back to the office from picking up lunch, (Yes, I was buying lunch. That’s another post.) and I noticed a couple on the corner with a sign that said something about “Stuck While Traveling, Please Help”. Which I think was perfectly phrased to deter those that are buying lunch from offering them food instead of money.

Anyway, this isn’t the funny part because homelessness and strandedness isn’t funny. I truly believe that everyone should have food at least, and a home next. I did notice that the couple had a big dog with them on the side of the road as well. I don’t know if it’s some kind of trend or ploy, because I have noticed that a lot of folks will help out an animal before a person. Maybe the couple is simply trying to reach out to those that have soft spots for animals. Except if you’re stranded and need a ride (which I’m not sure of) you have less of a chance of getting picked up when one of the passengers is a humongous dog.

I can barely afford myself and my daughter. I’m pretty sure at this point that feeding and caring for another body, let alone an animal, is not feasible. Yet, how many broke people do you know that will feed and clothe their pets but aren’t able to pay their bills?

I guess the argument can be made that broke people shouldn’t have children either, as I am aware that to most, pets are the same as children. To me, human beings are different. Not that pets or animals deserve less, but there is a list of priorities (in my mind anyway).

So here’s the funny part that I came across around the same time period that I noticed the people on the street. This is on AmericaisRetarded.com and it states that Americans spend twice as much on pet supplies as we do on promoting Science and Engineering. Which is kind of sad, but at least we’re happy, right?

***Note:  Pets shouldn’t get to Trick or Treat at Halloween either. Just sayin.

Why didn’t I think of this? Basically, you fold your clothes and put them in the drawers sideways so you can actually see what’s in there, instead of having to dig through piles to see what’s at the bottom when you need to find a shirt to wear. Every time I have organized my dresser drawers (which is probably equal to twice in the last 10 years), they become unorganized when I’m trying to find something.

Problem solved.

So why is this significant to me? I recently realized I am the female version of a frat boy. If I can’t find a clean tshirt or clean socks easily, I automatically assume I don’t have any and buy more. Since my dresser drawers are crammed full of various unfolded tshirts, shorts, and pjs I never find anything easily. Ever. When I open my drawer, it’s pretty much a surprise party and I never find what I initially had intended on wearing. Further, I have two big dressers that fit this description. Not one. Two.

Add that to the closet full of clothes. I don’t have a husband or significant other, and it’s a good thing, because the side of the closet that would be theirs is occupied. I literally have no closet space. Which is generally the excuse for why no one can live with me. After all, where will you put your clothes?

This means that I am wasting money somewhere on clothing. Not only because I can’t find things, but also because I have no idea what I have. If I organized my closets and my dresser drawers, I bet I could sell a lot of stuff and would realize that even after selling the stuff I don’t wear or didn’t know I had, I would still have enough clothing to last until I’m at least 80.

And I don’t even care if 80 year olds shouldn’t wear tube tops.

So, I’m going to try out Mrs. Accountability’s dresser drawer plan and see if I can at least get the 3 tshirt drawers under control. If anything it’ll look a lot better than the current situation.

Now, if I get those shoes and purses under control, I’ll really be rockin.

(Btw, thanks Mrs. Accountability. You may have saved me a ton. At least in tshirts.)

Working for a bank during one of the most devastating recessions to hit the United States in history has given me a unique perspective when it comes to understanding how banks work. Of course, it doesn’t help that banks took some of the biggest hits during this recession, but I was actually watching a story on CNN the other day that actually got my wheels turning about where this economy just might be headed.

Banks have been around for years. They take your money in the form of deposits and record that cash somewhere in their log books and then lend your cash to each other in order to make a quick buck in interest. These loans to each other are what keep banks liquid and profitable. They do this because historically, banks don’t make a whole bunch of money from the bulk of their customers. The bulk of bank customers belong to a group of folks known as depositary customers. These are the folks you get behind in line that deposit their checks into their checking and savings accounts each week and don’t really do much else.

Banks make a few bucks off these guys in the form of fees. For instance, do you remember a few years back, before free checking was the norm, you used to have to pay a monthly fee in order to have a checking account? Not only that, but you might have also had to pay a fee to write over a certain number of checks, to take out money from the ATM and pretty much every other service you can think of. This is because it costs the bank money to hold an account in your name. If they didn’t charge you for your account, not only did they lose the opportunity to make money, but they actually lost a few bucks a month in the process.

Nowadays, fees for bank accounts were the norm, but as competition for bank customers increased (in order to increase market share based on the amount of total deposits a bank can claim), fees for banking customers decreased in order to make one checking account look more attractive than another. Pretty soon, banks began offering free checking accounts. Bank accounts are never totally free, as most folks know that you can expect to pay fees corresponding to overdrafting your account, foreign ATM fees, etc., but monthly fees and a few other fees were eliminated.

Even with no fee savings accounts like SmartyPig and HSBC Advance that still abound, the landscape has since changed for the banking industry. We enjoyed the good life for awhile, learning to love our new fee free accounts, but like in many relationships, we starting taking this feature for granted, forgetting about the days where having a bank account was a privilege that you had to pay for and not a right. The banks were perfectly happy keeping their deposit accounts free, for this was also a time for free love and cheap loans. Banks could replace lost fee revenues with interest income from all the loans they were making. Everyone knows that loans are much more profitable to banks than deposits anyway, so everyone was making out like bandits. The banks were even loaning money to each other in record amounts in order to increase profits. That was until the housing bubble burst, the market crashed and everyone started pointing the finger at those greedy banks.

Credit froze. Not only did consumers find it hard to get loans, businesses and even the banks themselves struggled to find ways to come up with the cash to service all those deposits they had logged into their systems. People started withdrawing their money from the banks and we watched bank after bank collapse, forcing the FDIC to cover millions in deposits that the banks could not fund. The federal government stepped in and gave the banks some much needed bailout cash, thanks to the very folks that precipitated this fall from grace. (Yes, I take the unpopular position that consumers, not financial institutions were the ones that created the mess we’re in right now), but this money simply kept the bigger banks with the deeper pockets afloat.

Then, the American Taxpayers decided to start demanding a refund of all that bailout money. In order to keep customers coming in, many banks were forced to prematurely pay back the money they were using to keep the ball rolling. Because they had no money to loan, interest income was at a standstill. Even if the banks had the money to loan, most wouldn’t have done it for the simple fact that they were simply afraid that they wouldn’t get it back.

That leaves us with the here and now. Customers are outraged at the fact that banks want to reinstate deposit account fees again. “It’s not fair,” they cry. “We want free checking! We deserve free checking!” But the truth of the matter is that the banks really don’t have a choice in the matter. If banks are going to survive and the economy is going to improve, they have to be able to generate a profit. The more money a bank makes, the more willing it will be to loan again, which makes the recovery an actuality instead of just talk on CNN.

So. Regroup. My financial blessings to follow. I have an abundance of other blessings to count that are not financially related, but this is Miss Bankrupt and so I proceed with preventing myself from going nuts.

1.  I am not hungry.  Actually I am hungry because I’m one of those people that needs to eat multiple and entire meals every day. Another blessing that is not financial but yet related of course is the ability to do this without killing myself. No matter what jumps out at me, my daughter and I always have more food than anyone would ever need. We aren’t exactly prepared food-wise if the end of the world is nearing, unless you count the cans of kidney beans and artichoke hearts, but if it’s the end of the world we won’t be eating anyway.

2.  My family is close. How is this a financial blessing? Numerous ways of course, and no I’m not hitting up the fam for cash. In relation to my first point, I am not hungry, but there is a certain security in knowing that my parents are down the street if for some odd reason I have no food, or in the event that it is the end of the world and I happen to be alive and sick of kidney beans.

3.  I have a home. I am renting but for the rent I am paying and for the money that I make, my daughter and I live in the nicest home and area that anyone could ask for. A pigsty which I am ashamed to admit because I still haven’t figured out how to budget in a housekeeper, but living in a home with no issues, no roof caving in, no rats or broken down anything, well is pretty much priceless.

4.  I dress well. Don’t ask me how but I’m pretty much a broke person in nice clothing and so is my daughter. Material at best, but in my opinion how we appear directly affects how we think of ourselves. Sometimes. When I’m working out I don’t care obviously because I still feel good. My daughter does not have to wear torn up clothing that doesn’t fit her properly and pretty soon we’ll be able to share clothes. Sweet.

5.  I have jobs that pay the bills. Jobs that exhaust me and overwhelm me, but I am employed and compensated for the exhaustion. I have the privilege also of being able to work from home which not only saves money on daycare expenses but allows me to be with my daughter instead of adding a part time gig to supplement my finances.

Maybe these seem simplistic but I work where I see plenty of people in worse situations. I am also reminded that at least I don’t live in North Korea (see previous post).

I am frustrated beyond explanation but things can always. Always. Be worse.

In case  you’re like me and had no idea such a thing could happen, apparently North Korea’s wacky looney toon government decided to devalue its currency. This means to those few that actually had any kind of money in North Korea, for example, the construction worker in the article, found out that his life savings of $1560.00, was worth only the equivalent of $30.

Imagine that. Waking up one day and finding out that your entire life savings is worth $30.00. So not only is North Korea starving its people, but its ripping them off. They hustle every day to barely get enough food to eat and by some miracle manage to save some money (shame on me and my savings account, by the way) only to find out it is worth practically nothing, just because. No real reason. It just is.

The construction worker’s biggest regret? That he didn’t allow his daughter to buy the track suit she wanted when they had the money. To me this was the most heartbreaking. Although a different country, different language, different people and a struggle I could never begin to imagine, there is a universal wish. We all want great lives for our children. If he could go back, he would’ve definitely bought that track suit for his daughter.

Things are never as bad as they could be. Guess I can thank North Korea for reminding me of that.

Anyway, it of course inspired my thoughts on jobs which are either obsolete or on their way out. So, if you are specifically trained for any of the following, I would look into making a gigantic career move.

1.  Typewriter Technician:  I’m adding this specifically for a friend that laughed about a picture of a typewriter in my office. We still use it to add things into documents and one of the last ones on earth happens to be taking up almost an entire wall length of my office. “What happens when it breaks down?” he asked me. True, I hadn’t thought of that. There aren’t and will probably not ever be many more typewriter technicians. I’ll bet a dollar you can’t find one to come fix your typewriter.

2.  Blockbuster Salesperson: Besides the fact that Blockbuster has gone the way of the record player, if you aspire to work in any movie rental store you may be out of luck. This goes for Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery and whatever else you think you still have a chance at. There will be no video rental stores and no video rentals.

3.  Mailman:  We love the rain, sleet or snow determination of the postal service, but when was the last time you actually mailed something and even better, when was the last time you absolutely had to get something from your mailman (person). Sad to me, because I absolutely adore handwritten letters and adore more getting them in the mail, but my adoration for an occasional piece of paper is not enough to keep mailpeople in business.

4.  Librarians:  Another thing I adore is books, and when books were only available for rent from the library, we had to have librarians to regulate the goings on of the library. Librarians upheld the law as much as security guards at one time, but face it, soon in the near future we will not need someone to remind us to be quiet. Especially since very few people get their reading material from libraries anymore anyway.

5.  Anything that Robots Can Do:  I’ve seen the iRobot Roomba. I’ve seen the Scooba. My sister has a small army of robots that clean her floors. If they can clean floors, they can also replace maids, cooks, cashiers, mechanics and a bunch of other jobs that robots were responsible for on the Jetsons.

Not to rain on the parade of anyone that aspired to become a professional in any of these careers, I’d like to think I’m making more of a public service announcement. It’s similar to when my daughter says she wants to be a princess when she grows up. It’s possible, but sometimes our energy is better spent on other things. Like engineering, maybe.

First, I want to admit that the recession never really affected me. I didn’t have a house to lose because of it. I didn’t lose my job because of it. I’m pretty much in the same position (if not better) than I would’ve been in if there weren’t a recession. My sincere apologies go out to the many people that did feel the pain of a bad economy, but I am broke. I am no broker than I was before.

I think there are a lot of people that weren’t really affected by the recession. Some buckled down and struggled and made it through. Some believe a recession never even existed. These people, though, rarely say these things because it appears insensitive to the many people and families that it did affect negatively.

I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately, because I’ve noticed yet another group of people that I don’t think speaks up often. I will refer to this group as the “Recession Slackers”. Hate me if you want to, but there are some people that have used the recession to not even try to do anything to make it. These are the same people that probably wouldn’t have been doing anything before or even if there weren’t a recession. The “Recession Slackers” want to blame being broke and struggling on everything under the sun and the second their favorite television channel declared that the country was in a recession, they had the grandest excuse ever to stop job hunting. There aren’t any jobs out there. We’re in a recession.

People have been fired. People have lost their cars because they don’t have jobs. I know examples of these situations personally, and even without a bad economy, they would’ve been fired and lost their cars and quite possibly would not be looking for a job any harder than they are now.

My pastor gave a sermon Sunday on judging and discernment, and I guess I’m being judgmental. I’m a single mom that receives not a single cent in assistance. I do however receive my fair amount of advice and support from my family (not monetary support, but priceless nonetheless).  My choice of course, and my own fault, if you want to call it that. My point is that I know times are tough, they always were and always will be for someone that chooses the life I’ve chosen.

At some point though, we have to try to be a little more proactive. Sink or swim, as they say. And I’m sorry, there are a lot of people that are choosing to sink.