Forex/Bitcoin?

[Kycat1985]

This may be an odd questions but just wanted to ask. I trade the forex market through offshore companies. I currently don’t have a balance with a broker but I was wondering if I could trade with the funds i have in savings since they are excludable Anyone have any feedback on this?

[justbroke]

Be careful. Any gains, which are reported on your tax returns, could cause the Trustee to file a Motion to Modify Confirmed Plan and increase your plan payments.

In general, a debtor in a Chapter 13 should not deal in any speculative trading and focus on emergency savings, long-term savings and, perhaps, growing their 401(k) or other retirement accounts. I highly discourage Chapter 13 debtors from gambling in general and I consider playing around in digital currency to be more speculative than the stock market.

Again, despite my discouragement, the real issue is the potential in "income" increases and a depletion of emergency savings.

[Kycat1985]

I see what your saying. I had a friend introduce new to an investment company that offers nice returns with weekly payouts. I’ve been weighing whether I should try to go all in with investment company that offers guaranteed gains and try to tackle my debt or file bankruptcy.

If I file chapter 13 and approved for 3 year plan, could I pay total debts off early If I was able to build enough capital to do so?

[justbroke]

I’ve been weighing whether I should try to go all in with investment company that offers guaranteed gains and try to tackle my debt or file bankruptcy.

There are exactly 0 legitimate companies that offer guaranteed gains. Investors must understand the risks inherent in any investment opportunity. The only companies that I have ever heard with "guaranteed" gains in speculative markets... are pyramid and ponzi schemes. (There are certainly some legitimate insurance-based risk models that may offer a certain rate of return. Other guaranteed, low risk and low ROI can be found in money markets.)

If I file chapter 13 and approved for 3 year plan, could I pay total debts off early If I was able to build enough capital to do so?

I highly recommend that a person in a Chapter 13 never invest in speculative funds. I highly recommend that a person in a Chapter 13 invest in themselves by saving or using very conservative funds (spider and/or ETEs) through a known employer-based 401(k) program (or an IRA).

For what it's worth, a Chapter 13 is done when either the total time has elapsed (3 - 5 years) or the debtor pays off every allowed unsecured claim. That very rarely happens without a windfall or through the sale of real property.

[flashoflight]

Nobody can invest their way out of debt faster than the interest they are charging you. CalPERS, the huge state public employee pension, cannot guarantee 8% a year, cannot make 8% a year, and worst of all, obligates itself to paying 6% a year. Even legit investments like mutual funds sometimes play fast and loose with returns by using arithmetic mean instead of geometric mean to estimate how much $10,000 invested 40 years ago could be worth today. Last I heard, an investment worth $1.00 that goes down 50% to 50 cents will need a 100% return the following year just to break even (+50% the following year keeps you deep in the hole). Taxes and inflation makes things even worse. 13 teaches you to live on a very spartan budget and that will be a useful skill vs. trying to keep up with your neighbor's spending on $45k new cars financed for 84 months.

If you're functionally bankrupt, just declare bankruptcy. Even a 13 is pretty good since it wipes out the consumer debt in 5 years guaranteed assuming you keep up with the plan payments, taxes, and secured debt payments.