Hello everyone I've got good news and I've got bad

[ready2puke]

Still haven't filed (no money to) haven't paid on a cc for over 2.5 years (no lawsuits).
As some of you who remember me know I own a small skincare salon which has been suffering for sooo very long..My landlord has been very good to me and lets me pay what I can every month.
I owe him 1,600. in back rent. I usually try to pay something extra to him every few months.
I just got the word I'll be doing a Groupons type of coupon coming up this week.. Took over 3 months to get this thing going.
I need to do this in order to have money to pay the lawyers fees..But if I sell something like 250 of these which is very likely, I'll get over 8k
Its a one time thing and I want to do this right.
Looking over the pre bk thread I'm trying to find things I need to pay with this money.
I have learned that an IRA is not exempt and the trustee can take it...
I don't want to pay off my homeowners fees that I owe for my Mexico property since they may take it. I would like for him to abandon it since its such a hassle to sell over there.
I do owe a couple of hundred in IRS but not much...
Fixing up my car for sure but thats probably only 400.00..
Is it ok to not only pay by back rent but pay a month up front?
This money has to last me for a while since I'm going to be working my butt off for the next 6 months at the salon working on the Groupons customers...
Any thoughts or insights would be much appreciated...
Maybe not cash the check until after I file? Is that ok to do...they pay me upfront with one check 20 days after the ad runs..
Sorry its so long...kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place..

[daylate]

So if you haven't paid cc's for 2 1/2 years and your landlord is understanding why the rush to file? if you get 8k or so-good for you. pay the back rent,pay next months that should be what, 2k of the 8? Fix your car that's 500. I'm sure you could find a couple of other things you need. Over the next few months you should have expenses to offset your windfall so I would think the whole thing isn't income and your cash on hand should be dwindling. I'm sure some others will chime in. Good luck.

[ready2puke]

Thanks Day...my problem is my Mom is 88 years old..and the longer I wait the more chance that if something (God forbid) happens to her then any money I get will go to the Trustee and not me...that would be such a shame. 6 months from the date of filing for any inheritance isnt a long time but when your 88 anything can happen... I will probably wait a couple of months and try to exempt the rest...
I'm just soooo tired of not being able to answer my phone and having this hang over my head for soooo long, I was excited to get the money to file but realized it could mess me up also...

[CoBelle]

Why do you say that your IRA isn't exempt...it is up to a million dollars. So is your yearly contribution (by April 15 for 2010 IF you've been contributing regularly for the past few years.

Have you spoken with an;y lawyers to try to get an idea of WHEN would be the best time to file for you?

[keepsmiling]

Hi Ready~

First, I want to wish you good luck with your Groupon. I hope it works out GREAT for you!

Next, I imagine that if things have been that tight for you for that long, that it won't be all that hard for you to spend down the cash. We've been so broke for so long that it would go fast around here--- LAWYER FEE, dentist visits, glasses, car repair/purchase,life insurance, health insurance... disability, which you should probably have (we don't but should, it's just one more thing we can't swing) I could go on and on. As a self employed person who never knows if there will be income next month, I like to think that prepaying one month's rent might not be that outrageous. At least that's what we are hoping since we are in the same boat....

Lastly I am curious as to what determines why you haven't been sued after so long? Do you own a home? Can they put some kind of lien on your business equipment? Are they calling you at the salon? I imagine they might, and that would be just intolerable.... as far as the house phone goes, you might want to switch to google voice. I have actually gotten pretty used to ignoring the phone ringing but will use google voice when we have people over.

[ready2puke]

Hi guys...lets see why I haven't been sued yet? Not sure except I think they realize they would get nothing. Paid everything for my whole life then bam...you know no money left.. I don't own a home only a 2001 Honda CRV. I own a 1/4 acre of dirt in Mexico that went from 130k to 30k..Hoping to keep it. I'm alone so I don't see any value in buying life insurance.. Had to cancel my health insurance 832 a mth about 8 months ago. Now I'm uninsurable... Couldn't keep it and I'm 61 now..really crappy not having it but it was either insurance or a roof over my head.
I will buy some new glasses (reg and sun) thanks for that tip. The car does need a tune up..I do trades with my dentist.
Yes they call all the time at the salon and I'm so freakin' sick of it all that I just want it over...Its effecting my health..I got a bad case of Shingles from stress last November.
Two really great attorneys both told me the Trustee can take your IRA's unless its a certain kind.. Mine is just a regular IRA but it does contain my Mexico property and that is going to be interesting..
I would love to put 3k into a Roth but I'm afraid he'll take it. I'm going to call the expensive attorney tomorrow and see what she says.. It will be tough not having any income except for this 8k for the next 6 months but I'll get thru it...
Thanks again...
PS..I will look into Disability Insur. except where will the money come from after the 8 grand is gone.. All another thing I can do is instead of paying my auto insurance monthly I can prepay for the year.. YES!!!!

[tobee43]

good morning ready!! (haven't seen you i a while!).....

since you haven't filed as yet....i'm wondering what the time limit would be in reference to transferring your ira to a tax protected self employed retirement plan....like cobelle says...it should have been set up as a tax exempt type of retirement sayings.


i know we had a share in some property which was so convoluted the trustee wanted NO part of it...it had NO equity and was owned by others as well....so since it worth nothing, she didn't want to go after anything even here in the states...so i'm hoping your property in Mexico will be OK.

i agree with keepsmiling...atty fees, food, car repairs...doctors and that money will most likely be gone.

and great idea about paying your auto insurance!!

best of luck and make sure you keep in touch!X

[rustymich]

Could you change your business number?I no the phone calls drive you nuts..After 2.5 years wow it took less then a year for them to hit me I had no choice then..

[ready2puke]

[QUOTE=tobee43;504440]good morning ready!! (haven't seen you i a while!).....

since you haven't filed as yet....i'm wondering what the time limit would be in reference to transferring your ira to a tax protected self employed retirement plan....like cobelle says...it should have been set up as a tax exempt type of retirement sayings.

I don't think I can as my property (35% of it anyway) is in it. Certain companies that deal with properties held in an IRA put them in a reg. IRA...
Hey Tobee thanks for the rewelcome..I've just been cruisin' since I haven't filed....I'm hoping that this will be so flippin' complex for him to sell it that he will abandon it also. Its worth 30-35k but you have to pay cash and I own about 3k in back taxes and HOA fees that if he wants it he will have to pay. I will put about 10-15k towards an exemption also so he would have to pay me first.

Keep I really can't change the phone number as I've had it for 35 or so years..so I just suffer and ignore..lol
I have two choices on attorneys both are good...one is 1200 and close to my home..nice guy almost too nice..
The other is a Beverly Hills firm 2400 and she is alittle strange but has terrific reviews and I think I'll get more out of her than the nice guy..
I decided that it will all depend on how the Living Social thing goes..if I make close or over 8k I'll go with the BH gal..if I only sell 100 of these which will give me approx. 3500 I'll go with Mr Nice guy..
That way fate will make my decision for me...since I can't . I'll keep you all posted
Thanks again

[keepsmiling]

Re- google voice- you don't have to change your number. if you have a smartphone you can have all the collection calls forwarded to it, or if you have a regular phone you can get call forwarding for about $2 a month and turn it on and off as you wish. You'll get a log of calls online and you can customize responses if you like. This might be tricky for work but it might work well there too... think about it... if you have regular access to your email-- it could be downright pleasant.

You might want to talk to few other attorney's to kinda break the tie. Maybe you'll see someone who really clicks. Btw 1200 is super cheap-- I spoke to someone in NJ the other day who gets 3500 for a 7!!!!!!! Yikes!!!! that's crazy high but she's got an excellent rating on Avvo. Yet another guy got even higher rating, is in a high rent area and charges 1800. I can't figure it out.