Crushing Debt

I struggled with whether to make Episode 100 something different, or business as usual with another Crushing Debt Topic. I hope you enjoy this combination of the two ... I take a look back at the topics we've covered and the guests we've interviewed, to get a sense of where we've been, and where we are, so we can produce great content for you for the next 100 episodes. If this is the first episode...

In this episode of the podcast we talk, again, to Christie Arkovich about student loan debt relief.  Did your parents co-sign for your student loan? Did your parents borrow money to pay for your education? Federal Parent Plus loans are exactly that, money that mom and/or dad borrow so their child can go to school.  In most cases, the child has an agreement to pay back mom and dad, but this agreeme...

This week's guest is a returning guest from Episode 92 ("What's Your Relationship with Money?").  In this episode we discuss how to B.O.U.N.C.E. back from setbacks. BOUNCE stands for: Beliefs Optimism Understanding Yourself Nurturing Connections Compassion Efficacy (having a sense of the ability to achieve or esteem) In this episode we talk about how to change or overcome your beliefs.  What are s...

In this week's episode, we interview Michael Watkins with Tampa Bay Advisory, LLC. Michael's company helps with tax incentive recovery - basically the ability to reduce a company's bottom line so that the company pays less taxes and makes more money.  Most people know this as cost segregation, which is the ability to depreciate certain asset classes on an accelerated basis different than other ass...

In this week's episode of the Crushing Debt Podcast, I get away from interviews for a bit and talk about Usury Laws. Usury Laws protect consumers from lenders who charge an excessive rate of interest.  I had a usury issue come up in one of my cases and I thought it would be interesting to explore the issue in the podcast. The issue is whether unpaid late charges on a mortgage can be "captured" as...

Welcome to the first Crushing Debt Podcast of 2018! In Episode 95, I interview Gordon Firemark, an attorney for the past 25 years, who helps artists, writers and producers achieve their dreams. Gordon is also a podcaster.  His show is The Entertainment Law Update Podcast .   Gordon and I discuss Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Law (copyrights and trademarks). Gordon also has The Law Po...

In this week's episode of the podcast (our last of 2017), I interview Michael Holmes with Delta Credit Restoration, which helps clients with debt settlement and credit restoration. Delta Credit Restoration is unique in that they will only seek to eliminate inaccurate information from your credit report, and they also try to educate borrowers to get better decisions around credit so that their clie...

In this week's episode, we have a returning guest, attorney Christie Arkovich, discussing student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Christie and I talked in Episode 50 about different ways to eliminate or negotiate student loan debt. Today, we talk about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program - which is a 2007 program instituted by President Bush, that allowe...

This week's guest on the Crushing Debt Podcast is Robin Lavitch with Surpass Your Goals.  Robin is a professional coach for businesses, professionals and tweens. Robin and I discuss your relationship with money, and how your mindset determines how much money you have! Do you experience a situation where you always struggle with having enough money, or do you think "I'll always be okay" and money s...

Nick Raithel is back as a guest on the Crushing Debt Podcast. Nick is back promoting the REI 7-Hour Book, a version of his 7-hour book system to help Real Estate Investors (REI) develop their own 7-hour book. Nick was previously on the show in Episode 64, and his system will help you: - Be viewed as an authority figure in the Real Estate Investor Space - Stand out from other investors (competitors...

Julie Shopa is a Profit First certified professional and, through her business, Clarity Finances helps her clients with bookkeeping and interpreting the financial health of her clients using the system created by Mike Michalowicz in his book Profit First.   The Profit First system focuses on the formula "Sales - Profit = Expenses" rather than "Sales - Expenses = Profit."  The system focuses on the...

This is the third Thanksgiving that The Crushing Debt Podcast has been in existence, but this is the first Thanksgiving where I have released an episode. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about what I'm thankful for in 2017. What are you thankful for in 2017? What great things have happened for you in 2017? Who do you want to mention in 2017? Please let us know all the great things that ha...

Polly Bauer is the go-to expert for all things credit. After 35 years as a global credit expert, including consulting with major credit card organizations and multi-billion dollar corporations, she believes that credit is the new money. It's energy. Past President & CEO of Home Shopping Network Credit Corporation, two-time award winning Author of books about credit, International corporate speaker...

In this week's episode, I interview Tonya Lonsbury, a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. I first met Tonya a few years ago when she worked for a marketing company, but then she left Florida to pursue some other opportunities in Tennessee and Atlanta, GA. Now, Tonya is back!  Tonya has a very strong background and understanding of the home buying and selling process as well as mortgage...

My community has a garage sale twice a year and in this Fall's community garage sale, a lesson occurred to me - presentation is everything. In episode 68 of the podcast, I analogized creditor negotiations with negotiating at a Garage Sale. In this week's episode, I share negotiation lessons that I learned from participating in our community garage sale, specifically regarding how an item's present...

Just a few days prior to Halloween, I get to discuss a scary topic - ZOMBIE DEBT !! You'll likely have a few Zombies show up to your house on Halloween, but we're talking about a different type of undead... Zombie Debt is debt that was eliminated because it is beyond the statute of limitations, it was charged off, it was eliminated in bankruptcy, it was paid off, or something else happened to make...

This week's episode is one of my favorites, because I get to share a success story around a client who was being chased (harassed) for over $21,000 related to the repossession of a jet ski.  The best part about this story is that I was able to convince the creditor to leave my client alone and drop the debt entirely - from $21,000 owed to $0 owed !! How did I do it?  You have to listed to the epis...

In this week's episode of the podcast, I look at the last 9 requests to Freddie Mac to take people off of their Exclusionary List.  If you want to hear more about the Exclusionary List, please listen to Episode 32.  This episode is about different things I've learned in trying to get people off of the List - my successes and failures. I would appreciate if you would share this episode with a mortg...

In this week's episode of the Podcast, we talk about debts that are non-dischargeable, meaning these debts are not eliminated by a bankruptcy filing.  The episode comes from from a listener question about a debt arising from domestic violence. Some examples of non-dischargeable debt include: - Certain Income Tax Liabilities - Debts that arise from fraud - Debts that relate to injury or damage rela...

In this week's episode, we interview Samantha Dammer, owner of Tampa Law Advocates to discuss Chapter 7 Bankruptcy for businesses. Samantha has been practicing just as long as I have - 18 years as of the recording of the podcast episode, and has been practicing bankruptcy in Florida for 10 years. Some of the issues we discuss: - When would a Chapter 7 be appropriate for a business - Why would a bu...

In this week's episode, I welcome my friend Matt Lapointe, an attorney with the firm Blalock Walters in Brandenton, FL. Matt and I were talking recently about the number of clients I have who all fear being taken to prison for failure to pay a debt - called debtor's prison.  In fact, debtor's prison no longer exists and so Matt, a self-described history buff researched the issue of debtor's prison...

I found an interesting article about success rates in Chapter 13, reorganization cases that I summarize in this week's episode. For purposes of the article and podcast, "Success" means that the debtor completed all payments in his Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  The results are interesting in determining: - Should you file individually or jointly with a spouse? - Should you file on your own or with an att...

In this week's episode, I interview Paul Moore with Wellings Capital, and author of The Perfect Investment. Paul and I discuss strategies to minimize tax liability.  As a disclaimer, neither me or Paul are CPA's, Tax Attorneys, or otherwise, but we both have some knowledge and experience with the material. We discuss strategies like: - Investing in Real Estate - Hiring a Tax Strategist - Use Cost...

In this week's episode of the podcast, I interview Jocelyn Paonita from The Scholarship System. This was one of my favorite interviews. Jocelyn was able to have her entire college education paid for by scholarships. The Scholarship System helps people find scholarships for students at all levels of education, wherever scholarships may be available. Student loan debt is a serious issue in our econo...

This week's episode was recorded during a Referrals for Life social at my house. I had 5 guests: Tom Fleming- TomF@BNI.com  (BNI Executive Director and Asentiv Trainer) Rob Kellog - R ob@FastBreakMarketingTeam.com  (Fast Break Entertainment and Brewing Up Business) Tiffanie Kellog - TiffanieK@asentiv.com  (Asentiv Trainer, Fast Break Entertainment and Brewing Up Business) Jason Avery - Jason@Avery...