March 2009 Debt Report
First, for the record, there was no February 2009 debt report. I didn’t have enough money to pay anybody except the IRS until it was almost March.
Starting Balances calculated post-bankruptcy (May 2008):
- Debts excluding student loans and 1st mortgage: $38,707
- Plus debts incurred between May 2008 and March 2009: $8,583
- 1st mortgage balance: $117,803
- Student loans: $48,774
- Total: $213,867
Current Debt Balances:
- Dentist: paid in full ($415)
- Attorney: paid in full ($449)
- IRS: $2,363.70 (TY 2007)
- LDR: $2,735.00 (Louisiana Department of Revenue, TY 2007, no payments scheduled yet)
- Chase HELOC: $4,617.52
- CFCU Visa: $4,776.16
- Capital One HELOC: $21,439.48
First mortgage balance: $115,698
Debt Balance excluding co-signed student loans and first mortgage: $35,932
Total debt including first mortgage, excluding student loans: $151,630
Student Loans:
- Co-signed student loans, approximate balance: $48,774 (got a letter from these folks; need a complete audit on these accounts; not sure this balance is correct)
Total balance including 1st mortgage and student loans: $200,404
Change since highest balance ($213,867 starting May 2008): $13,463
Discussion
All the bills are caught up, including utilities. I paid off the dentist and my bankruptcy attorney so I can proceed as soon as my 2008 tax return is finished. I took that to my accountant last week and it should be done by April 15 at the latest. In the meantime, I can fill out all the bankruptcy paperwork and collect all the supporting documents required to file.
Since I made significantly less money in 2008 than in 2007, I hope I will qualify for a tax refund which will pay off my IRS bill in full, or at least pay it down somewhat. Then I’ll be able to work on paying off my state tax bill.
I’m getting some maintenance done on the car, bought my son a much-needed pair of shoes and some summer clothes (on sale), bought myself a few essential pieces of clothing (on sale), got the front window repaired from damage from Hurricane Gustav, and got the dogs their annual check-ups and shots.
The upstairs toilet may be leaking, so I may have to come up with the money to repair it. I’m not sure it is in fact leaking, but if it is, it’s from the seal around the sewer pipe and that will have to be fixed.
Tutoring income will be up significantly this month because there are no breaks in the school schedule and I gained a lot more hours since last month.
I don’t really know how my online business income is doing right now because I haven’t updated QuickBooks with income and expenses since mid-February. I’ve been working a lot more hours and I haven’t been paying attention to P&L. I was also working on getting my taxes ready for my accountant and making sure QuickBooks for 2008 was up-to-date and accurate compared to my records. I’ve paid bills and there have been automatic deposits to both my PayPal account and my checking account. I plan to catch that up on my tutoring day off this week — Friday.
Student Loan Question
The student loans I co-signed were private loans, not federally guaranteed. I need to call my attorney and find out if those can be bankrupted because they are private. If so, they’re going with the rest of the debts, and it will save me nearly $50,000.
Does anyone have any idea about this?
Re: Student loans- Private student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcies filed after Oct 17, 2005.
Comment by Julia | April 21, 2009
Will the April Debt Report numbers be up soon?
As a hopeful blogger for money, wanting to start my own passive income career, I am interested in watching you set and measure your own goals! Good luck!
Comment by Ben Hill | May 4, 2009
Yes, I will be posting the April and May debt reports fairly close together. Tutoring and online business have been busy so I haven’t had as much time to work on updating this blog.
If you want a pretty steady income from an online business that is mostly passive, consider both a membership site (reoccurring income every month) and niche sites that sell either your products or affiliate products (or both). Also put advertising on your sites. I like AdBrite, which I will also be writing about soon in response to my dismissal from Google Adsense.
Comment by joubess | May 13, 2009
Hi!
I came across your blog (http://debtfreeorbust.com/) while I was going through some finance blogs. You have shared with us very valuable information, I must say..
Being impressed with your blog content, I would like to place your blog link in my finance related website/blog. If you allow me to do so and give me an opportunity to show my blog/website to you for link exchange purpose, then kindly contact me at: dorcia.wellington[at]gmail.com.
Regards,
Dorcia Wellington
Comment by Dorcia Wellington | May 14, 2009
Sherri,
When you started the blog, I thought you were being very open and direct in dealing with an unfortunate personal situation, so I stopped by to learn some techniques. But I can’t help but take note that you haven’t updated it for a couple of months now, and most of your attention seems to be focused on attempts to promote blogging for money. Very few people are able to make an actual go of that, that I am really quite surprised to find that you are Twittering about Yaro, and a lot of other topics, but generally, your debt and finances seem to have been on the back burner, except the recent notation about some paperwork for your BK.
In fact, it seems the money to be made in blogging is in selling blogging systems, not in blogging itself… but even that market seems to be saturated and a tough road…
So, is the cash flow from blogging now going to put you over the top and become a full time career? Or do you find yourself spending more money and time on the latest fads, so that it is in truth a very expensive and time-consuming hobby/distraction? If it is really working for you, then showing the expenses/income and cash flow would be very instructive as you update your debt and other fiances as well.
Keep your head up!
R.C.
Comment by Reality Chex | June 1, 2009
@Reality Chex: I’ve been out of touch because I’ve been busy, really busy.
I haven’t been blogging here or anywhere much because of my tutoring job. That is where I make most of my income now, and with Hurricane Gustav last September, end of school schedules have been all over the ballpark. My last student took the last final exam on May 26. Summer tutoring just began on June 1.
The tutoring company I work for closed as of June 1, so I’ve been busting my butt to get clients on my own, which has been easier than I thought it would be. I was informed on May 21. The former company owner will continue to give out tutor contact information and all former customers were informed of the closing so they can keep in contact with us themselves. I have all their contact info so I will email them in late July reminding them to start signing up when school starts. I also have lots of places to advertise free, and I’m getting a lot of inquiries, if not for summer, then for the fall semester, which starts in early August. The good news is I get a big pay raise by dealing with clients on my own. The bad news is I have to deal with clients, but I’ll manage.
I also have to write up a contract so I can have clients sign up and commit to tutoring month-to-month, and pay in advance of the month. That way I don’t get stiffed. That has to be done very soon, at the latest before the fall semester so I have my business and paperwork for clients in place. I also need to put up a website. That won’t take much time with WordPress.
The sites that make the most money are actually the sites that need my attention least. They have nothing to do with internet marketing or blogging. They are good, low competition but high demand niche sites. I make most of my money through eBay sales on several sites, Amazon on a few, and paid advertising on several. I do promote programs when one of my mentors has a new launch of a program I’ve studied, and May is a big launch month. I make a few sales here and there and those programs are recurring monthly income. It’s not a lot but it adds up when you have lots of sources paying a little.
I’m working on other areas of my online business when I have the time, which isn’t often. I’m working on my own products: a podcast and an ebook. I’m considering opening a membership site as soon as I find a niche without too much competition that will attract a decent sized membership. It won’t be in internet marketing or blogging. Content production will take a lot of time, but not all at once. It can be stretched out over time and I can put it first if I need to over any other content production.
I also freelance on building WordPress sites for others and helping local small businesses take advantage of free and low-cost marketing and advertising on the internet. That’s a growing niche. Lots of offline local businesses need help finding what the internet can do for them and make a big impact.
I am in a holding pattern because my bankruptcy is about to go to the trustee as soon as my accountant finishes my 2008 taxes. I’ll need to check with him Wednesday 6/4 if he doesn’t call me before that. He hasn’t finished because he required more info from me that I wasn’t able to deliver until early last week. I’ve also had to get all the paperwork organized for the trustee and get all end-of-May letters, statements, balances, etc. together now that it’s June.
I’m about to put up a May 09 debt report and a post I’ve been working on that replaces Google Adsense as an ad publishing platform. I hope life will settle down in the next few weeks and I can get back on a regular blogging schedule again.
Thanks for checking up on me,
Sherri
Comment by joubess | June 2, 2009