If you get a settlement with a creditor, the IRS will consider the difference between what you owed, and what you paid to be "income". Just a heads up for when tax time comes around next year.

yeah you get issued a simple 10-99 for the forgiven debt but overall most poeple wont have that as a factor.

much agreed. but i tell ya, i work in car sales, and the most "proud" people that i deal with are the ones who keep coming back every year or two to purchase a new vehicle and trade in their barely used one. each time making their monthly payment go up to payoff their negative equity, whining and fussing all the while complaining that a 900.00/month payment on a 20k dollar car is outrageous.

punch them.

i really want to, but that would make it a lot harder to sell them something.

eh. details.

details? idk...if you came to buy a car from me, and i punched you, would you still buy from me?

i think i'm confused here.

That would depend on if I deserved it or not... If I was doing that crap, then I would deserve it.

Every month we recieve a little booklet thing from our rental agency for our apartment. This month it has a section labeled "Understanding the credit score system: What it means to you." Towards the end in a part labeled "Some points to remember" it says "- A history of late payments is wiped off your credit score after seven years."

Just wait till she tries to sell a house that she bought and finds there is a lien on it from a debt collection agency.

I refused to pay the state of Indiana income tax on income I didn’t even make in the state from 1984. Only lived there for 8 months my sophomore year of high school and had filed a federal income tax statement because I had a summer job in another state. Some debt collector who bought the unpaid debts from the state filed a lien on my house in 2003. This was the third state id lived in and the second house I had owned since not paying Indiana Income tax. Nothing I could do to sell my house other than pay the state income tax to the debt collector to remove the lien. Luckily I didn’t make that much money my sophomore year of high school so long ago.

Bob

I paid off $125,000 in CC debt in 1999 and haven't carried a balance since then. Paid off the house 2 years ago and the MSM 6 months ago. My goal is a credit score of ZERO (it drops ever time I check it).

What is interesting is that when we paid off the $125K we had 22 maxed out cards (12 were my wife's and she had not had a job in 10 years!) and I used to get a stack of fresh CC offers every week. I never get one in the mail now. In fact, a lot of my junk mail has stopped. I guess they realize that I am just not a good customer any longer.

I've read several of your posts on this...and you're still my hero.

We unfortunately still use our card for gas, and pay it monthly, just for convenience.

I would appreciate any tips you have on living frugal though...you seem like a pro. Anything you've written up anywhere besides here?

I was writing a long post but I will start a separate thread "How to live within your means (and be happy)..."

https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t42130/#post496372

Thanks

credit can be good.

like using an airline miles card for paying your bills/rent and then paying it off at the end of the month. free miles!

We use credit cards for most everything. Rarely carry over a balance though. Between investment savings and paying down mortgage debt which is our only debt we don’t carry large cash reserves so occasionally we leave a balance for a month on the CC usually it is when we have to fix something that cost allot and isn’t a normal thing that is budgeted for.

My car expenses are part of a budget. Freaking hard to fallow that budget. when we got married my wife had 60k in credit card debt plus student loans.

Bob