Natalia Lusinski Student loan debt is a big financial burden for many people. In fact, Americans owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, according to data from the Federal Reserve. While some may find themselves forced to defer or default on your student loans, it's better if you're able to come up with a system to pay them off — and within a modest time frame. There are two primary reasons to pay down your student loan debt in a reasonable amount of time, Maizie Simpson, data and news editor at Credit Karma, told Business Insider via email. "The first has to do with interest: The longer you draw out your repayment period, the more interest you'll end up paying," Simpson said. "The second reason is that the longer you have student loan debt, the longer you might put off big life decisions or making investments in your future, such as starting a family or contributing to a 401(k)." When it comes to paying off your student loans, no matter how intimidating the debt amount is, making an actionable payment plan is key. Here, Elyssa Kirkham, a finance reporter and student loan expert for Student Loan Hero, who paid off a substantial amount of debt herself, took us through a 10-step plan for paying off your student loan debt. 1. Know what you owe Kirkham said that the first step in repaying your debt is to know your debt, especially since you might have taken out several student loans with various lenders. "Many people avoid thinking about or looking at their student debt too closely for a simple reason: Student loans are a huge source of stress," she said. She suggested using the National Student Loan Data System to find any federal student loans you took out while in college. "You can also find both federal and private loans listed on your credit report, and check that you're making the proper payments on time each month," Kirkham said. "In addition, record the current balance and interest rate on each student loan." 2. Triage your student loan debt If you are in danger of or already missing student loan payments, Kirkham advised that you try to triage them. "First, switch federal student loans to an income-driven repayment plan to lower monthly payments," she said. "Then, apply for deferment or forbearance to pause payments if you hit a major financial setback, such as losing a job." Many private student loan lenders also provide an option to defer payments, Kirkham said. "And keep in mind that unless you have Direct Subsidized Loans, deferred student debt will continue to accrue interest and your balance will increase." 3. Assess other financial considerations Kirkham said to consider if other financial goals need attention before you can go gung-ho on student debt. "If you have other debt, like credit card balances, that are costing you more than your student loans are, it might be wise to pay these off first," she said. 4. Get — and keep — your living costs in check Kirkham suggested that you keep your biggest monthly costs as low and affordable as you can. "I got married right out of college, and my husband and I had borrowed over $40,000 to pay for our educations," she said. "We paid off my student loans right away — about $17,000 within three years of graduating — and we just paid off the remaining student loan balance in July 2018!" She said that keeping her lifestyle in check was a huge factor that enabled her to pay off her student loans in a timely manner. "I chose more affordable apartments, for example, and shared a car with my husband for years to put off buying a second vehicle," she said. Kirkham said to take a look at your own monthly spending and rework your budget. "Outline recurring expenses, be critical, and see if there are any you can cut out or trim down," she said. "For instance, can you keep just one of the three video streaming services you're subscribing to? Each dollar you trim from your expenses means an extra dollar you can use to pay off student loan debt." 5. Decide how much to put toward student loans "Once you calculate your set expenses, look at how much is left over," Kirkham said. "This is your discretionary income — money that you are free to decide how and when to spend." She says you should decide how much of your discretionary income you want to put toward making payments on your student loan debt. "It's best to set a firm dollar amount that you can pay each month," she said. Kirkham said that although you feasibly could afford to put all of this toward your student loans, it's important to be realistic. "You want to create a spending plan you will actually stick to," she said. "Try to cut back on this optional spending without making yourself miserable. For example, I learned to DIY what I could: I cooked at home, worked out at home, and even learned to give myself a pretty great self-manicure." 6. Make extra student loan payments each month Make additional student loan payments each month by setting up an automatic, extra payment to go through after each deposit, Kirkham said. "This puts your student debt goal first and keeps it on track, instead of putting it at the mercy of your spending habits." However, she said to check your monthly statements to make sure your extra student loan payments are applied properly. "Some servicers will count them as advance payments instead of applying them to your principal, for example," she said. 7. Target high-interest student loans first with the debt avalanche method You may be familiar with the debt avalanche method of paying off credit cards, in which you pay off the highest-interest card first. Well, the same goes for student loans. "As you pay down this balance, this will also lower the amount of interest you're being charged each month, so your dollars are used to actually lower your principal and get you out of debt," Kirkham said. "If you pay off this first loan, you simply put the amount you were paying (including both the monthly payment and extra payments) toward the student loan with the next-highest interest rate." 8. Refinance certain student loans Another way to target high-interest student loans could be to refinance them, Kirkham said. "Private student loans and PLUS student loans, in particular, tend to have high enough interest rates that it could make sense to refinance," she said. "You'll need to be well-qualified, but taking this step could help you replace your high-interest student debt with a new private student loan at a lower interest rate." 9. Put any windfalls or raises toward your student debt Kirkham suggested looking for "extra" income that you can use to take a chunk out of your student loan balances, such as tax refunds, bonus pay, cash gifts, raises, and income from side hustles. "In particular, focusing on growing your income through earning raises, trading up to a better job, or starting a side hustle can be great ways to generate more money you can use to target student debt," she said. 10. Pace yourself and stay motivated "Paying off student loans is a marathon, not a sprint, and it requires similar skills and strategies," Kirkham said. She said to pace yourself and find a budget and student loan system that works best for you. "Keep your eye on the prize and stay focused on your goal of paying off student loans," she said. "Track your progress and celebrate your wins as you go, from the first extra payment you make to the first student loan you pay off to the last payment you ever send a student loan servicer."  Copyright © 2018 Insider Inc. All rights reserved.

  It is unusual for creditors to be awarded an administrative expense in chapter 7 cases for post-petition fees incurred in discovering assets for the estate.  This was allowed in In re Javed, 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 3135, (Bankr. D.Md., case #17-20067-MMH 11 October 2018).  Here, a took a 2004 examination of an individual chapter 7 debtor prior to the meeting of creditors, thereby assisting in the discovery of prepetition transfers from the debtor to family members.   §503(b)(3) of the code permits requests administrative expense claims for "the actual, necessary expenses ... incurred by ... (D) a creditor, an indenture trustee, an equity security holder, or a committee representing creditors or equity security holders other than a committee appointed under section 1102 of this title, in making a substantial contribution in a case under chapter 9 or 11 of this title."  11 U.S.C. 503(b)(3).  Reasonable fees incurred for such an allowed claim are themselves allowed under 11 U.S.C. 503(b)(4).  The majority of courts reject allowing §503(b)(3) claims for substantial contributions in chapter 7 cases.  "'[w]hen a subsection directly addresses the type of administrative expense sought, the restrictions in it cannot be avoided by appealing to the non-exclusive nature of § 503(b).'" In re Engler, 500 B.R. 163, 174 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2013). Other courts take a totality of the circumstances approach,  "[w]e have noted previously that the Bankruptcy Code itself encourages an expansive reading of § 503(b). The statute explains in § 102(3) that the terms '"includes" and "including" are not limiting[.]' ... Consequently, we held that Congress's failure to expressly designate a given expense as allowable under § 503(b) does not mean that it is excluded."   In re Connolly N. Am., LLC, 802 F.3d 810, 816 (6th Cir. 2015).   The risk in a chapter 7 case is that actions by creditors could conflict, undermine, or duplicate efforts by a chapter 7 trustee.  Allowance of such expenses are more reasonable in chapter 9 and 11 cases where the debtor typically remains in control of its assets.   Chapter 7 is intended to provide a breathing spell to stop the race to the courthouse steps.  Thus, there should be a general presumption against awarding substantial contribution claims to creditors in chapter 7 cases, with the burden of proof on the creditor to show that such actions were necessary under the circumstances and provided a substantial benefit to the estate.  The court found that the creditor should not be compensate for actions it took after the active engagement of the chapter 7 trustee, such as sharing its valuation assessment on real property being sold by the trustee.  The increased distribution to the creditor resulting for the higher sales price adequately compensates the creditor for this effort.  On the other hand, the actions taken prior to the active engagement of the trustee streamlined the collection efforts of the trustee in recovering four vehicles for the estate.  The creditor's prepetition litigation and familiarity with the debtor allowed it to move more quickly than the chapter 7 trustee initially, creating efficiencies for the trustee and the estate, and allowing swift recovery of the vehicles by the trustee.  The court thus allowed an administrative expense to the creditor  of $7,987.50 for the attorneys fees incurred for the time period prior to the closing of the final meeting of creditors in the case.  The court noted the trustee did not oppose the application.Michael Barnett hillsboroughbankruptcy.com506 N Armenia Ave., Tampa, FL 33609-1703813 870-3100 

Understanding the bankruptcy process can be a daunting undertaking. However, if you break it down into manageable sections, it can be easier to understand. Keep reading the following sections to learn more about the bankruptcy process and how it applies to your individual situation: Bankruptcy Explained, Bankruptcy Types, Why Should You File Bankruptcy, When Should You File Bankruptcy, and Bankruptcy Costs. The post Understanding Arizona Bankruptcy appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorney.

The September 2018 New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) sales results have been released to the public. And as is our practice, provided below are Jim Shenwick’s comments about those sales results.1. The volume of transfers rose from August. In August, there were 54 unrestricted taxi medallion sales.2. 44 of the 54 sales were foreclosure sales, which means that the medallion owner defaulted on the bank loan and the banks were foreclosing to obtain possession of the medallion. We disregard these transfers in our analysis of the data, because we believe that they are outliers and not indicative of the true value of the medallion, which is a sale between a buyer and a seller under no pressure to sell (fair market value).  One transfer was an estate sale for no consideration and another transfer was from the dissolution of a partnership, which also does not reflect fair market value and which we have also excluded from our analysis.3. However the large volume of foreclosure sales (approximately 81%) is in our opinion evidence of the continued weakness in the taxi medallion market. 4. The eight regular sales for consideration ranged from a low of $160,000 (three medallions), $175,000 (two medallions), $180,000 (one medallion) and a high of $200,000 (two medallions).5.  Accordingly, the median value of a medallion in September was $175,000, the same as in August.In Jim Shenwick’s opinion, the new NYC law restricting the number of Uber, Via and Lyft licensesdoes not seem to have yet increased the value of taxi medallions.Please continue to read our blog to see what happens to medallion pricing in the future. Any individuals or businesses with questions about taxi medallion valuations or workouts should contact Jim Shenwick at (212) 541-6224 or via email at [email protected].

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects us all from illegal searches and seizures. The rationale behind this fundamental principle is that we, as citizens of the United States of America, have an expectation of privacy, one that cannot be violated. Therefore, the police must have a basis for infringing on this important […] The post Can I Sue the Police for Illegal Search and Seizure in Pennsylvania? appeared first on .

Aaron ElsteinLomto Federal Credit Union of Queens, which failed last year after taxi loans unleashed a shower of red ink, was acquired today by Teachers Federal Credit Union.The acquisition comes exactly a month after Teachers Federal acquired another Queens institution done in by dud taxi loans: Melrose Credit Union. Lomto and Melrose, along with the failed Montauk Credit Union and First Jersey Credit Union, were specialists in lending to buyers and owners of taxi medallions, the metal plates that confer the right to drive a cab. Before the rise of ride-hailing apps in 2014, the value of a taxi medallion soared to more than $1 million, and lenders came to see the loans as virtually risk-free. New York taxi medallions now sell for less than $200,000, often in foreclosure auctions.Signature Bank and Medallion Financial also have reported big losses from taxi lending. The unraveling of the business has taken a toll on cabbies and medallion owners.The city's leading medallion owner, Evgeny "Gene" Freidman, pleaded guilty in May to tax fraud related to his taxi business.And on Sept. 18 Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, divested 10 medallions he controlled. The city forced the sale after Cohen pleaded guilty in August to eight criminal charges, including tax evasion related in part to the concealment of income generated by his medallions.Copyright © 1996-2018. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Katy Stech Ferek WASHINGTON—The legal professionals who ensure people going through bankruptcy aren’t hiding assets are pushing lawmakers for their first pay raise since 1994, saying the robust oversight of the country’s personal-bankruptcy system is at stake. In a House hearing on Wednesday, consumer-bankruptcy experts said the pay for the watchdogs, called bankruptcy trustees, should be doubled to $120 per case. The experts said trustees play a vital role in the bankruptcy process by making sure people don’t hide valuable possessions and by returning recovered money to people and small businesses who are awaiting payment. Many are drawn to the work not for the pay, but for the prestige or public-service aspect. For most bankruptcy cases, they get only a flat fee, currently $60—far less than what they could earn for other legal work. Roughly 1,100 trustees monitor chapter 7 cases, the most widely used form of bankruptcy for individuals. But during the hearing before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, experts testified they worried that the stagnant pay would lead to fewer competent, honest applicants. Last year, 20 candidates applied for every open chapter 7 trustee position, down from 58 in 2010, according to the Justice Department, which runs the program. At the hearing, Rep. Tom Marino (R., Pa.) agreed with witnesses, calling trustees “vitally important” to the bankruptcy system. Mr. Marino is co-sponsor of a bipartisan bill that would raise trustees’ pay.He said lawmakers agree the increase is necessary but they have “different paths to getting there,” referring to who should pay for it. Trustees can uncover money and return it to pay off a bankrupt person’s debt to small businesses, credit-card companies and other individuals such as ex-spouses, Illinois trustee Neville Reid testified at the hearing. Taxpayers also benefit, he said, noting that chapter 7 trustees distributed roughly $170 million to state and federal tax authorities in 2016. “Trustees frequently uncover schemes and wrongdoing that lead to prosecutions that prevent further injury or achieve justice for innocent people, even though the trustees frequently do not recover the value of their time investigating such matters,” Mr. Reid said. The bill discussed at Wednesday’s hearing has support from two influential blocs, the American Bankers Association trade group and consumer-bankruptcy advocates. Several similar proposals have failed in the past. The latest legislation would fund the pay increase by making bankrupt individuals pay higher fees.Some lawyers and consumer-focused nonprofits are urging Congress to find another source of money to pay for the increase, such as a new fee for those filing requests for payment from someone going through bankruptcy. Chapter 7 allows a financially troubled individual to sell property to repay certain bills before a judge cancels some unpaid debt, such as credit-card and medical bills. Last year, 472,190 individuals and couples filed for chapter 7 protection. Trustees can also receive a second form of compensation beyond the flat fee: money from selling possessions and property valued above the limits of what a bankrupt person is allowed to keep. But cases with trustee sales are rare, occurring less than 10% of the time. Under federal law, chapter 7 trustees review lists of individuals’ possessions and expenses and later question them in person. The compensation structure gives trustees incentives to look for hidden assets, but the model isn’t always successful. Jason Gold, a Washington, D.C., trustee, said that in at least 2,000 cases—nearly 8% of the total he has taken since 1989—he has spent a few hours to several days on a case only to realize there are no additional assets to sell. Overall trustee compensation has fallen over the past six years, including an 18% drop in annual pay last year, Justice Department officials said. The decline comes as the number of people who file for bankruptcy each year has fallen since a 2010 peak. Meanwhile, the number of bankrupt people who are so poor that they don’t have to pay the fee has increased in recent years. The number of chapter 7 cases with waived fees has grown to 4.7% in 2016 from 1.9% in 2007, testified Raymond Obuchowski, a Vermont-based trustee. Mr. Obuchowski has grown a long beard in protest of trustees’ pay, saying he won’t shave until Congress authorizes a raise. Some consumer advocates say the low pay and drop in filings have driven trustees to be more aggressive in an attempt to boost their compensation. Tara Twomey, executive director of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center, said trustees have gotten more creative in their recovery efforts since 2010, including by trying to sell property that bankrupt people would have historically been able to keep. Others have sued colleges to claw back tuition that bankrupt parents paid for their children. Ms. Twomey supports the compensation increase but doesn’t want bankrupt people to pay for it. She and other consumer advocates said that a 2005 law already increased the costs of a system designed to help people who are financially struggling. Rep. David Cicilline (D., R.I.) said he wouldn’t vote for the bill in its current form, saying the cost of bankruptcy is already “a great challenge for many people.”  Corrections & Amplifications Jason Gold became a chapter 7 trustee in 1989. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it was in 1998. (Sept. 26, 2018)Copyright ©2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Oftentimes, claimants will wonder can I still receive disability benefits if I have a drug or alcohol addiction. This answer is a resounding – maybe. More specifically, although drug or alcohol addiction may substantially interfere with a Claimant’s ability to perform gainful employment on a regular and sustained basis, the addiction cannot be the basis […] The post Can Substance Abuse Prevent Me from Obtaining Disability Benefits? appeared first on .

For many years, homeowners struggled with attempting to modify their mortgage in hopes of saving their home. As a result, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was enacted in 2009 as part of the making of a home affordable program. This was a direct result of some of the careless and reckless practices of the […] The post How to Get a Mortgage Loan Modification After the HAMP Expiration appeared first on .

By Josh Ocampo | Sept. 21, 2018 Nic Hunt has been driving a taxicab in New York City for more than 30 years. Hunt’s best friend, Nicanor Ochisor, died by suicide in March. Friends and family members of Ochisor, who was also a cab driver, believes his suicide was the result of financial pressure due to increased competition for passengers with ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft.“I still have texts in my phone when he text[ed] me. ‘Half an hour I couldn’t pick up a passenger’ or ‘40 minutes, I couldn’t find a passenger,’” Hunt said on Mic Dispatch.Six taxicab drivers in NYC have died by suicide since November, sparking protests and rallies aimed at protecting drivers’ wages. Lyft’s revenue soared to $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017; in the second quarter of 2018, according to a Bloomberg report, Uber generated $2.8 billion in sales. 2017 also marked the first year Uber outpaced yellow taxis: Uber provided more than 400,000 trips per day in NYC that year, compared to around 300,000 per day for yellow taxis.Meanwhile, NYC’s taxicab revenue dropped 9% in 2016, and operating your own cab by purchasing a coveted taxi medallion also means drowning in debt for many drivers. NYC taxi medallions, often passed from generation to generation, were once considered safe investments — in 2014, a medallion was worth as much as $1.3 million. Today, many of those medallions are worth much less than what drivers borrowed to buy them, something many attribute to the rise of Uber and Lyft.According to retail website nycitycab.com, a medallion now retails for as low as $100,000. The cheapest medallion currently on the site is being sold as part of a foreclosure sale, a growing trend among taxi drivers around the country right now. In Chicago, 774 taxi medallions had been surrendered to the city as of May 22, 2017, with drivers unable to afford taxes and license fees associated with ownership. Many of those end up moving to foreclosure.“You sleep like two, three hours, then you wake up and you turn around in bed,” Hunt said. “It’s a difficult time, mortgage for the medallion, mortgage for the house. One time I didn’t feel good and I told my wife, ‘I’m going to the hospital, I won’t come home.’ I had an anxiety attack in my physician doctor’s office. So then I find out I suffer [from] depression.”But there’s hope for some cab drivers, at least, in NYC. According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s rulebook, one of its duties is to establish and enforce standards to ensure all taxi driver licensees remain “financially stable.” In August, NYC became the first major metro area to aid drivers affected by the rise of ride-hailing apps: The New York City Council passed legislation to “cap the number of for-hire vehicles for a year.” and to establish minimum pay rates for taxi drivers, the New York Times reported.“More than 100,000 workers and their families will see an immediate benefit from this legislation,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter. “And this action will stop the influx of cars contributing to the congestion grinding our streets to a halt.”Not everyone agrees with de Blasio. Thirty-nine council members voted in support of the cap on licenses, but Councilman Eric Ulrich was one of six who opposed it.“I believe in capitalism,” Ulrich said on Mic Dispatch. “Standing in the way of Uber, as I said on the floor with [the] City Council, would be like standing in the way of Netflix because we wanted to save Blockbusters from closing.”Uber communications manager Alix Anfang said the regulation will threaten “one of the few reliable” transportation options in the city.“As Uber continues to grow in communities outside of Manhattan, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that no New Yorker who needs a ride is left stranded,” Anfang said in an email.Uber drivers serve more boroughs than yellow cabs do, with 22% of Uber rides starting outside of Manhattan compared to just 14% of all yellow and green cabs (also known as Boro Taxis, a fleet of cabs deployed specifically for travel outside of Manhattan).Joseph Okpaku, Lyft’s vice president of public policy, reiterated the importance of its service for outer-borough travel in an emailed statement.“These sweeping cuts to transportation will bring New Yorkers back to an era of struggling to get a ride, particularly for communities of color and in the outer boroughs,” Okpaku said. “We will never stop working to ensure New Yorkers have access to reliable and affordable transportation in every borough.”And while regulations on Uber and Lyft could be good news for taxi drivers, it’s only a temporary solution — and only one of the issues affecting drivers who struggle to compete against corporate behemoths like Uber.“They stopped the bleeding now — no more bleeding for one year,” Hunt said. “But the fight is just beginning.”Check out episode 20 of Mic Dispatch above — only on Facebook Watch.© 2018 Mic Network Inc. All rights reserved.