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Posts Tagged ‘Living Expenses’

Student loans are intended to put towards not only tuition and books, but also other living expenses while you’re in school. I have very little credit and a couple 500-600 dollar debts I owe from my younger years. I would like to apply some of my loan towards that so I can work on my credit rating as I attend college full-time. I dont want to get in trouble either and risk losing future financial assistance… is that a possibility?

I plan on staying at home to save money and graduate with 0 debt. the local 4 year university’s main campus is 25 miles from me, with a satellite campus being about 10 miles from me. Is the 25 miles too long to commute daily?Keep in mind its 25 miles both ways each day. Im guessing it would be about an hour and a half drive. WITH toll. Im also trying to work part time near my home.

The satellite campus has the degree I wanted, but im not sure if it has all the clubs, advisors,activities, honors programs etc that the main campus has. I need those for my CV since Im planning on going to med school. I contacted the satellite campus but have yet to receive a response.

Or should I move 25 miles b the university and spend money on rent food etc that I could be saving for med school applications and living expenses in med school? If I stay at home all will be free.

Advice please. Thanks

I have recently lost my job after being in the telecommunications industry for ten years. I have had no luck finding a new 9-5 job with a regular salary. I have been forced to take a job full time at a restaurant.

I have over ,000 in credit card debt most with APR’s in the high 20′s. I have done my best over the last 6 months to keep up with my minimum payments but am finding it impossible recently to balance my debt along with my living expenses. By living expense, I do mean the bare minimums. Rent,utilities, gas, food etc.. I have not wasted funds on entertainment or purchases other than does required for work.

I had an hour long conversation today with a debt consolidation company. It is has been in business since 1965 and is non-profit. I actually used their services in the past to consolidate debt that I managed to pay off about 8 years ago. They analyzed all of my assets, income, debt and overall financial situation. They determined that I was running at a 65% deficit between what I am brining in and what I owe. They recommended that, although it may sound harsh, my best option was to file for bankruptcy. They determined that I would not be able to keep up with any type of repayment schedule that they would negotiate with the banks and that a fresh start may be my best option.

I have avoided the thought of filing for bankruptcy in the past for several reasons. But now that my income is at an all time low and my job prospects do not seem to be sorting themselves out in the near future, I do not now what other options I have available to me. Needless to say, the stress of the whole situation has been making life extremely unpleasant.

I am single, have no kids, and will not be purchasing a house in the near future. The only asset I own, is an 8 year old car.

I have five questions:

1) Other than having a bankruptcy ruling on my file for the next ten years and not being able to secure credit, what are the other disadvantages of filing for bankruptcy?

2) I do not have disposable income. I am making enough to pay for essentials. Would my chances of having the entire debt excused be good? Or would I still be responsible for paying a percentage?

3) I know from my corporate experience that my credit file would be reviewed during the job applications process. I am considering a career with the Federal Government. How would a bankruptcy ruling be looked upon by the government during the job application process?

4) How much with a reputable bankruptcy lawyer cost me?

5) I have also read that another option is to do nothing and ignore my creditors. The following excerpt below is from http://bankruptcy.findlaw.com/ . Is this plausible?

Do Nothing
Surprisingly, the best approach for some people deeply in debt is to take no action at all. If you’re living simply, with little income and property, and look forward to a similar life in the future, you may be what’s known as "judgment proof." This means that anyone who sues you and obtains a court judgment won’t be able to collect from you simply because you don’t have anything they can legally take. (As a famous song of the 1970s said, "freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.")

Except in unusual situations (being a tax protester or willfully failing to pay child support) you can’t be thrown in jail for not paying your debts. Nor can a creditor take away such essentials as basic clothing, ordinary household furnishings, personal effects, food, or Social Security, unemployment, or public assistance benefits.

So, if you don’t anticipate having a steady income or property a creditor could grab, bankruptcy is probably not necessary. Your creditors probably won’t sue you, because it’s unlikely they could collect the judgment. Instead, they’ll simply write off your debt and treat it as a deductible business loss for income tax purposes. In several years, the debt will become legally uncollectible. And in seven years, the debt will come off your credit record.

I am planning on contacting a bankruptcy lawyer for further advice but wanted to get an idea as to what I am dealing with before I further the process.

I appreciate any feedback the Yahoo community is able to provide!

Thank you in advance!!

I’m in a substantial amount of debt… Hospital and doctor bill mostly. No credit card debt. Plus, daily living expenses with an infant!!! Problem is — I am being hounded by bill collectors and one debt is about to be turned over to an attorney for collection. I feel certain that this could end in wage garnishment. We don’t have the money to make ends meet — let alone have any part of my wages garnished. I’ve tried making arrangements but we just can’t make the payments no matter how minimal. Should I file for bankruptcy? How can I avoid getting my wages garnished? I have no problem with paying the bills if I just had the money.

I am in my mid-twenties, and I am attending an expensive university in Southern California to get my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

By the way, please excuse me if I use financial terms incorrectly…I’m really unfamiliar with financial terminology.

I am originally from Canada and am a home-owner in Calgary, Alberta – my parents sold their large house when I was 20 and bought another house for themselves and build a smaller house under my name. I am technically a property owner. They did this so that I could get a substantial loan for university.

My property assessment in 2008 was 6,000 (Canadian funds).

I received a loan of 0,000 (Canadian funds) in October of 2008.

I recently spend a large amount of money (,500 US) to put a family member through alcohol treatment. I realize that is really expensive, but I tell you, it was worth it to see this person sober. However, that was basically 1/3 of my loan.

My schooling is costing around ,000 US for the 2 year Master’s Degree. With rent, utilities, living expenses, plus everything I needed to buy when I moved down here from Canada (furniture, etc), I am running out of money really quickly. I’m working on getting an ,000 (Canadian funds) line-of-credit from a Canadian bank with my parents’ help.

After the economy improves, I would like to sell my house in Calgary (say, within the next 5-7 years) so that I can begin my life debt-free. My parents want me to keep the house so that I can have some sort of collateral/assets (?) in the future. I am arguing that the house is not really "worth" anything because I have loans that are 0,000 + interest. I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life paying off student loans if I don’t have to.

Any advice??

Thank you so much in advance.

~K
The first poster is right, it’s not a student loan. I was mistaken when I said that at the end.

Also, I am renting the property in Calgary for 00 (Canadian), which is around 00 US.

I don’t really anticipate moving back to Calgary. I love Canada and miss it a lot, but I can’t take the winters…lol. It does get warm in Canada, but not as warm as So-Cal!
Also, because I’m here on a student visa, I can’t legally work in the States until I’m finished school, except for working on campus (and I can only work 19.5 hours/week.). I checked and there aren’t any jobs available right now.

To be a Marriage and Family Therapist in California, I need 3000 hours of clinical work experience (which I will most likely be doing for free), so even though I could potentially work on campus, I would like to focus my time on getting my 3000 hours.

We have a 2004 X3 with ~31K miles. We bought it used with an extended warranty to 100K miles. We owe about K and have another 4 years on the loan. (Pmt 0/month) We are about even on the car as far as trade in goes. We are debt free exept for the car, a student loan and the house and want to start aggressivly adding to a current savings of K for emergency purposes and eventually get to where our paychecks are just for living expenses only, all other things paid off. (My husband and I both have state retirement and other retirement accounts.)
We really would like to have a bigger SUV (plan to have another baby next year), but don’t want to extend paying on a car any longer than we have too.

Any advice would be GREAT!!
Thanks!

Hi there

I’m looking for some advice on a joint loan issue i have. My ex boyfriend and I took out a joint loan aabout 18 months ago but split up 6 months later. we verbally agreed to carry on paying half each until it was paid up, but i am struggling to pay it myself. i have other debt and living expenses and i would like to break free somehow and get the payment down. possibly by speaking to the bank who the loan is with or with using an IVA. How does this affect the fact that it’s a joint loan? does he have to do the same action etc?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.