Heh.

Actually I almosted lived in Pflugerville. My kids would be attending
Pflugerville schools had we stayed. Officially, we were in Austin,
though. It was a new (at the time) subdivision called Harris Glenn
that is just off of Parmer right near the Dell campus there.

We live in Gatesville now (about 40 miles from Waco).
--
Mickey Chandler
http://www.my-debt-reduction-plan.com/

Reply

Mickey Chandler wrote:

- quote -


Pflugerville? (I like saying that)

Best regards,
Bob

John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

We've actually looked at SEPs before. But, our little, home-based web
development company needs to become a bit more profitable before we
have money to devote to retirement instead of incidentals like food and
electricity. Our current priority is paying off the debts we incurred
in getting the business to the point of paying us back some. We're
there (not shoving more money we don't really have at the business),
but we have terrible monthly minimums now and we want to pay those off
so that income is a better match for outflow, create a bit of a buffer
and maybe even an emergency fund.

Our business got started when I got laid off from a tech job and found
a flooded market in Austin, Tx. So, we cut out just about everything
we could, moved to a smaller town where the cost of living isn't as
great (managing to save around $1000 on our mortgage while we were at
it), and have been happily working for ourselves since. Plus, we just
like living in a small town.

--
Mickey Chandler
http://www.my-debt-reduction-plan.com/

In article <1125956628.066794.210830[at]g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> ,
"Mickey Chandler" <micklc[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

You need to talk to a financial planner ASAP. You do have
someone willing to give you a match, and it is one of the
best matches you will ever find. It is from the Federal
Government. Set up a program called a "SEP". For every
dollar you put in, up to certain very high limits, the
government will put in about 30 cents (in the form of a
reduction in taxes owed). You don't want to miss this
program since it is one of the greatest tax savers that
exists (at least for the average person).

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

And there's the rub for me. Right now I'm self-employed. I honestly
love working for myself but I don't have an employer to match my
retirement contributions.

Much of my debt problems center around my own irresponsibility when I
was 22 and fresh out of college. Most of my current debt problems
center around using credit to keep my family afloat while getting the
business off of the ground. Thankfully the business is paying for
itself now, but it's still not generating enough income that we can
live off of it alone just yet.

Back when the problem was irresponsibility, I was working hourly for a
large, well-known bookstore chain for a whopping $8.50 an hour and it
didn't/doesn't do retirement for hourly employees. So I think you're
completely correct to characterize this as "the exception". At least
in my working life it hasn't been the rule.

--
Mickey Chandler
http://www.my-debt-reduction-plan.com/

In article <1125511728.206052.32750[at]g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> ,
micklc[at]gmail.com wrote:

- quote -

The exception to that would be if you get an employer match
or a tax break. If your employer matches the first 4% that
you save, that is like getting 100% rate of return, and
even credit card interest isn't that high yet.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Part of the answer here, I think, is to be honest about what you
actually can do. In my case, in the long run, I think I'm better off
paying my debts off as quickly as I can and then pouring more money
into retirement at that point.

Sure, I'll lose some in interest payments, but interest payments on
debt in most cases seem to exceed the interest payments made by
retirement accounts. And I would think that you would have to be a
really active trader to make it work out better for you by investing
the money.

If it hasn't already happened, the bankruptcy system is about to change
and you'll be usually be required to pay things back over the next few
years anyway, instead of discharging them forever like people do so
often now. So, bankruptcy may actually be less of an option than you
might hope.

For me then, the best strategy seems to be Andy's: reduce spending and
pay as much as you can.

--
Mickey Chandler
http://www.my-debt-reduction-plan.com/

"rockio" <rockio3[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1124825205.570165.222910[at]o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

[snip]

- quote -

So, let me get this straight -- you owe $30,000

And ....


- quote -

You have another 10K in "bad debt".

So ... You owe $40,000

- quote -

And you expect to be able to make it all just
disappear and invest $900.00 a month?

Not to be an asshole or anything, but WTF are
you smoking?!??! Under what ethical framework were
you raised? This is absolutely wrong, no matter
how you look at it.

You want others to effectively "eat" 40K of your
bad debt and be left with $900.00 a month to
invest for your own selfishness? Is that what
you're asking?

How about you step up to the plate and deal with
the situation you've created. Take the 900 a month
and pay what you owe. It's the right thing to do.

- quote -

As if that really matters anyway -- you're not planning
on paying the interest anyway. And since you're planning
on cheating the system for 40K, why not figure out a
way to lose the 8K on the student loans too.

rockio wrote:
- quote -

I am not that familiar with the bankruptcy laws, so I am not sure how
your bankruptcy end up if you decided to go that route. If I was in
your shoes I would see if you can get a free consult from a bankruptcy
attorney and find out what to expect.

That being said, if I was in your shoes I personally would cut expenses
quite a bit (Eliminate cable TV, cellphones, eating out, broadband),
get some extra income like you are doing, and then pay as much as
possible every month on the car debts. Remember that they are still
accruing interest at a high rate, and every extra month you take to pay
them off will cost you quite a bit.

The problem here is your underlying spending habits, and bankruptcy
will not fix your habits, it will just buy you some time before the
next financial crisis the your spending habits get you into. If you
modify your spending habits to pay off your car loans quickly you will
be establishing new habits that will allow you to save lots of money in
the future once the loans are paid off. Bankruptcy is like using
liposuction to get rid of unwanted weight instead of going on a diet:
After a few years you will be right back where you started.

Andy

First off thanks to everyone for your replies. However I'd like to get
passed the amount owed discussion. My question is in a few years from
now, assuming I'm still making payments on the 30K, am I better off
paying for the 2 repos or filing for bankruptcy. If paying the cars off
is the way to go, does anyone know what I should settle for monthly
payment amounts. My fear is that they would want a payment close to
what I was paying when I had the car. That would be crazy since
obviously I couldn't afford that or the car would not have gotten
repossessed. Plus the fact that I still need find a vehicle to work
and live.

John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

In article <3n283uF1990ckU1[at]individual.net> ,
zxcvbob <zxcvbob[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

Yes, that sounds high, but we would have to know the full
details before passing judgement. For example, the poster
could have rolled previous car loans into each of these
cars. Or he could have had huge over-mileage fees on the
last cars, and had that written into these loans.

When a car is re-po'ed, it normally goes to an auto auction.
Cars selling at auction sell at wholesale, not at retail.
It could be that these were SUV's, and there is a big glut
of them in the use car pipeline, which really hurts the
wholesale value. The poster might have been far better off
to sell these vehicles locally before they were re-po'ed,
and then obtained a loan to cover the much smaller
difference. But that is harder to do than it sounds.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

But a $15000 shortage on each vehicle??? Rocky didn't give a lot of
details, but it sounds like the lenders are trying to collect the entire
loan balance rather than just a shortage.

-Bob

In article <3n1c90F1997hnU1[at]individual.net> ,
zxcvbob <zxcvbob[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

If there is a shortage, the creditor is allowed to come
after the debtor to collect the difference. They may
very well sue him to get a judgement. That will allow
them to potentially garnish his wages.

The strategy that I have heard for this situation is to
save money, as much as you can. Then, when the creditor
comes after you, try to make an offer. Maybe like 25
cents on the dollar. If it is accepted, get it in writing,
and then pay by cashier check. You need two things to make
this work...the creditor has to think you are never going
to pay, and you have to be able to pay off the deal in one
shot once the deal is made.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

rockio wrote:

- quote -

The vehicle loans were (obviously) secured loans, and the lender has the
surety back. IMHO, you *have* paid those debts back already when you
surrendered the vehicles. Tell the collection agency to get F!'ed
(that's the language they generally understand).

If you were talking about unsecured loans, like a credit card, I would
say you were morally obligated to pay.

Best regards,
Bob

with 2 vehicle repossession in the last year due to a very unwise
decision (yeah yeah hindsight is 20/20). I am contemplating whether
paying the debt off is the best strategy for my family and I. I now
have about $500.00 left at the end of the month and will be getting a
part time early morning job for an extra $400.00-500.00. If this is the
way to go how much should I agree to pay on both vehicles. About 15,000
is owed to each of the car companies.

At this point I don't know if filing for Bankruptcy for the $30K in
repo costs plus another $10K in misc bad debt. and investing the
$900.00. is the way to go.

Financially speaking, A year or two years or three years from now which
will I be better off.

One last thing, either way it goes other than a student loan for $8k
that I still owe on and have been paying and will continue to pay on, I
have nothing that is accruing interest.