#i think it would be interesting if he got this status as 'gift' or 'repayment'

[colonp]

it's really interesting to me how moondae thinks it's karma in a bad way that he's got the 'debut or die' status when everything we learn about his time as a fancam seller has shown that's he's actually helped quite a few people in the industry and their fans

[coffeewithmom]

Passion, Purpose, and Paying Bills

Passion, Purpose, and Paying Bills

"I can't wait to grow up and do whatever I want!" I must have thought this to myself a million times as a teenager and I'm sure my mother was tired of hearing it mumbled under my breath after she would tell me to do something I claimed was pointless or " ruining my life". Little did I know that growing up would mean I would find myself begging God to turn back the clock so that I could once again deal with problems that at the time seemed huge but were in fact small potatoes. As I grew up and life chin checked me on a regular basis I realized that being an adult was not glamorous at all. In fact, adulting is closer to watching a plane crash knowing the people inside had no clue today would turn out to be a blaze of sorrow and disappointment. As I sit in my hotel room eating take out and dreading the alarm clock going off for yet another 12 hour shift I have come to the conclusion that the myth of adulting being easy was a cruel joke played on me by every person who told me how amazing my life would be when I was older.

Life isn't all cakes and pies and does at times feel like a long Greek tragedy but this saga of tasks I don't feel like doing didn't happen overnight. It started in my teens. When I turned 18 life was new, fresh, and full of possibilities. I was finally "grown" and was ready to face the world with a smile. That smile quickly turned into crying in my hands as the harsh reality of college debt, credit, and failed relationships grabbed hold of me.

You see I knew college was expensive, but I was always told it was a must do, so I naively thought some magically money fairy would fix it all because I was smart. WRONG! My " money fairy" had a name, SALLIE MAE and as sweet as a name like that is trust me she is a cold-hearted witch! LOL Sallie in a smooth click of the mouse, and glide of then pen gave me my college dream in exchange for holding my finances hostage for decades to come, and I willingly sold my soul to her thinking I had no choice if I was to ever be successful. I had no idea at the time that my dealings with Sallie would impact where I lived, what taxes I got back, which cars I would drive, and what standard of living I would accept for years to come. With a bat of her money green eyelashes she gave me the cost of my education while backhanding me with interest payments and unrealistic repayment options some of which would lead me to walking away from college on more than one occasion (4 to be precise) each time leaving me a little more broken, and a little more broke. While, college debt wasn't the only bump in my drive through adulthood it has truly become the first pothole in my drive to my dreams. That debt has forced me time and again to make life choices I never imagined in or to keep my head above water.

As if the debt wasn't enough the hopeless romantic in me decided it would be a great Idea to get married young. By my 23 birthday I was Mrs. Elisa Dawson. Married in a small ceremony in New York with a handful of people in attendance what should have been the happiest day of my life was the beginning of my own emotional downfall. Through the course of my marriage I learned firsthand what shame, guilt, fear, and heartbreak felt like. I watched as my loving partner turned into a monster and instead of being the strong woman I portrayed myself to be I became a shell of my former self. The abuse and isolation I endured while married was yet another harsh reality of adulthood teaching me that not every smile is displayed in love and that people who say they love you can manipulate and lie to you if it means them getting ahead. I ended my marriage adding 20k in debt to my mountain of school debt, accumulated a massive medical debt from nervous breakdowns, which ended up triggering a full body shut down that I still deal with every day and to put a cherry on top I gained a healthy helping of trust no one.

Being divorced, an abuse survivor, failing to cope with my miscarriage, and now being painfully aware of the mind games people can play my trip through being an adult was starting to feel like I was spinning my wheels in the sunken place with no chance of a nerdy friend coming to my rescue. This new status of divorcee led me to my first glimpse of my passion. During this time when I thought nothing would ever go right for me I found myself in a delivery room for the first time. No I wasn't there for me but actually a complete stranger. My job as an IT person in the hospital allowed me the opportunity to be a fly on the wall during the miracle of child birth. Watching the strength needed to bring forth life I knew I wanted to be in that room again but in a more active role. At that moment I knew I wanted to spend my life making that day in a womans' life the happiest experience I could. Becoming a voice and informed supporter for women as they came so close to death to see a portion of themselves manifested outside their bodies was the light at the end of my tunnel. Before this moment I had always done what I was good at but didn't necessarily love because I was told I had a good job and would be crazy to leave it. But, this brush with something that would become a life changer for me also came with the crack of the whip from adulthood.

Adulting and finding my passion meant making choices that would affect me financially (school yet again), working less (which meant lifestyle changes), and doing all I could to stay healthy enough to pursue this tiring career. I figured with all I had endured I was ready to face this challenge and then adulthood tapped me on my shoulder and said wait sis did you forget you can't work less you have a tremendous amount of debt ? I slapped that thought down saying NO ! I didn't forget but I have a passion now so it will all work out. Then adulthood got back up and said," but honey what about your body issues you can't stay up all hours of the night without being swollen and in pain so how can you help them when you can't walk?" To that I said NOT TODAY SATAN! I will manage because I have to, I HAVE A PASSION NOW REMEMBER! Then Adulthood hit me with the one two punch and said," Girl need I remind you that you failed at having a baby of your own so watching others may trigger you and leave you broken emotionally?" I was always told you have 3 chances or arguments to change a persons mind and that third one did the trick for me. Now my passion I had waited years to find seemed like yet another fantasy and once again I found myself lost.

Being an adult with no clear direction, a waning passion, and more responsibilities than I ever I looked myself in the mirror and said what now?

Then, like a tidal wave crashing on a shoreline came my purpose. If you had asked me years ago what purpose meant my answer would have been shallow and even literal without any real understanding. Today I recognize purpose not only as a reason for doing something but also as an unyielding and all encompassing way of life. To walk in your purpose is to lead your life moving always with your end goal in mind, not being deterred, or letting fear of failure turn you away. Finding your purpose is not always easy and sometimes it finds you at your lowest and most forsaking moments.

 The moment I found my purpose came after laying on my office floor crying for hours because for the first time in my life I was working hard and still found myself broke. Prior to that point if I was broke, homeless, or both I could always trace the root of my situation and recover but for the first time I was struggling and despite working hard, being in a loving relationship, and bouncing back from numerous hardships I still came up wanting. I had to " rob Peter to pay Paul", turn off my cable, and sacrifice the everyday luxuries to stay afloat, and I was failing miserably at coping. It was in that time that I shared my dream of birth work with my boyfriend who encouraged me to go for it in any way I could. I told him my health left me feeling like I could never do the work but what if I wrote about it? What if I shared my passion for motherhood and women in general in a way that still kept me close to the field without being limited by my physical obstacles. I brain stormed on how to make this possible, taught myself to build a website, and started writing. I found that in putting who I am on paper that all I have been through was for a reason. I asked God to lead me to my purpose and through breaking me down he gave me a chance to truly be happy. He spoke to me and through me as I laid bare my soul to strangers and from the first moment he found ways to show me I was moving in a direction he agreed with.

There have been moments I wanted to quit, time I had to stop to heal, months when I was silent and detached but the fire for women, health, and happiness never left me. The fact that regardless of what I came up against I always found my way back to this life of writing showed me that true passion and purpose never leave you. This journey showed me that no matter what happens from failures, heartache, naysayers, and brokenness if your heart is open and your ears clear God will speak to you and make a way where you see none. True purpose is not found laying on the ground it's forged in the moments that force you to pick yourself up again. * Alexa play We Fall Down by Marvin Sapp*

In all seriousness having found my passion, and embracing my purpose adulthood would still not be so quickly silenced. With its money green flag raised it reminded me that while I love to write I still had bills to pay. Now I don't know if your aware but there is a reason people like me are called " starving artist" lol. It's because until you make it big money is TIGHT! I had all these ideas about how grand it could be and the many ways to monetize my gift but the coins were a bit scarce in the face of my dream. They say secure the bag but being a writer I would be happy just feeling secure lol.

That being said if I was going to do this it meant maintaining my full time job while building my brand. It is at this point so many young entrepreneurs give up on their dreams. Being on your own is great but it takes money to make money and most people myself included find it hard to put 100% into a dream when bills come in the mail daily. Between my living expenses, paying on student loans, and lowering debt putting money into something that would take a long time to yield a return seemed irresponsible. I prayed on it, talked to my partner, and reminded myself that bills and money come and go but that passion and acknowledgment of purpose is rare and cannot be ignored. I buckled down, promised myself that even when it gets hard I won't quit again, and made peace with the fact that dreams aren't built in a day even when you feel your walk has been divinely ordained. I wake up everyday ready to tackle another 12+ hour day at work, with notebook in hand to write whenever I can, and continue to put myself out there until the day my gift leads to a consistent paycheck. Until that day comes like so many others who have chosen to invest in themselves I will PUSH, PRAY, and PROCEED continually pursuing my passion, forever reminding myself of my purpose, and grinding it out so that I can keep paying the bills! In other words I plan to KEEP QUEENIN’

[sabrinajulie]

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Compared to Other Debt Solutions

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is known as a reorganization bankruptcy because it allows you to file for protections under the Federal Bankruptcy Code while repaying your creditors; effectively reorganizing your debt. Because I am a bankruptcy lawyer, we file chapter 13 cases on a regular basis. A chapter 13 is very different from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and offers far greater benefits over third-party financial services such as debt consolidation and credit counseling.

What are the advantages of Chapter 13?

While many third party companies have sprouted up over the last several years claiming to work wonders with secured and unsecured debt, the power of the Federal Bankruptcy Code has been an established part of American society for decades. Many of the fly-by-night debt consolidation, debt settlement, and credit counseling programs make empty promises, but Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a proven and effective way to utilize federal laws to get out of debt.

The automatic stay

The instant your chapter 13 bankruptcy is filed, the automatic stay guarantees that collection efforts are stopped in their tracks. This has the effect of halting collection efforts from phone calls, lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions and even foreclosure. Debt consolidation programs on the other hand have no legal authority to stop any kind of collection activity. Furthermore, some unscrupulous debt consolidation firms have been known to take large fees and leave their clients to the mercy of the collectors when the inevitable garnishments and credit card lawsuits begin.

Asset Exemption

Unlike debt consolidation, Chapter 13 bankruptcy offers protection on secured assets for a total of over $1 million, as well as providing protection for unsecured debts of up to roughly $330,000. One can even exempt retirement accounts, ensuring a better financial future. While the process of reorganizing debt through bankruptcy can be considered a consolidation, it’s a world away from the financial service that seeks to take out an even bigger loan to cover debts. One of the widely criticized aspects of third-party debt consolidation is the practice of taking out a large home equity line of credit to cover unsecured debts. This is essentially trading debt on credit cards for a debt on one’s shelter and home. Chapter 13 bankruptcy offers a guided solution for people to pay down unsecured and secured debts without risking losing their home to foreclosure.

Reduced Payback Amount

While the exact amount depends on the Bankruptcy Court where it is filed, your debt can be reduced by as much as 90% through skillful negotiation by experienced attorneys. Debt consolidation does not reduce the principal owed, and there are additional fees included. Debt settlement may be able to reduce the amount of debt, but the amount of debt that is reduced is often subject to extensive IRS tax liabilities! Furthermore, these negotiations often require a lump-sum payment, and chances are if you’re struggling to make ends meet, you haven’t got thousands of dollars hidden in your mattress.

On Your Terms

Debt consolidation and credit counseling programs are often at the mercy of creditors. If the creditor decides to file a lawsuit, garnish wages, or attempt to repossess or foreclose on property, these services can only stand by and watch. Creditors maintain their power. Chapter 13 bankruptcy on the other hand puts the debtor and their attorney in control. Creditors are the ones who must comply with the program. In fact, they are prohibited by law from making attempts to collect their debts from the individuals involved – they get what the court gives them.

Limited Timeframe

Chapter 13 bankruptcy usually has a repayment period of 3 to 5 years that is set up in accordance with the individual’s ability to pay, income, assets, total debts and other expenses. Once this term is completed, any remaining debt liability is considered “discharged,” or wiped away for good. Debt consolidation and credit counseling can last for years without making a significant impact. Some of these organizations have even been sued by the federal government for taking their clients’ payments without getting them out of debt. Even the organizations that comply with the law do not always obtain consistent results for their clients, because they offer incremental steps for problems that often require immediate and significant action.

No Interest or Late Fees

As soon as Chapter 13 is filed, interest and late fees on most types of unsecured debt cease to accumulate from that moment on. Debt consolidation at its best can only reduce the interest rate. The same result can be accomplished by an individual simply calling their bank and attempting to negotiate a lower rate on an existing loan. In addition to that, the debt consolidation companies are receiving a portion of the funds, either directly or indirectly. Either way, it creates an incentive for the debt consolidation organizations to drag out the process. This is a contributing factor to why many debt consolidation plans fail.

Your Best Interests

When filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, your attorney has an obligation to always do what is right for you, the client. Violations of this are taken very seriously and can result in an attorney losing their license (being disbarred). This is why if you hire an attorney you can expect to see real results and not have to worry about a conflict of interest.

Pay Necessities First

Unlike a debt consolidation program, chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to pay your most important bills first: your property and taxes. Unsecured debts get any leftovers after your vital bills have been paid. Since debt consolidation providers often only deal with unsecured debt, it can have the unwelcome effect of focusing an individual’s resources on credit card bills, while their property goes unpaid and potentially becomes foreclosed upon.

Free Consultation with a Bankruptcy Lawyer

When you are ready to file bankruptcy, call Ascent Law now at (801) 676-5506. Attorneys in our office have filed over a thousand cases. We can help you now. Come in or call in for your free consultation.

Ascent Law LLC8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite CWest Jordan, Utah 84088 United StatesTelephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Litigation Law Firms

Asset Protection with Swiss Banking

Litigation Attorney

Utah DUI Lawyer

Top in SLC Utah Accident Attorney

Lawyer to Get Inheritance in Utah

from Michael Anderson http://www.ascentlawfirm.com/chapter-13-bankruptcy-compared-to-other-debt-solutions/

from Top Rated Utah Lawyer https://topratedlawyer.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/chapter-13-bankruptcy-compared-to-other-debt-solutions/

[ebvbechvkwv-blog]

DEBT! THE NEW SLAVERY!

I have and will always love and look up to Thomas Sankara because of how much of a visionary he was. His forward thinking ideologies made him capable of foreseeing many of the issues that plague the African society and community today. These same ideologies are what got him killed but exactly what we need today to deal with these same issues that plague Africa in this case very specifically debt. This article by Paula Akugizibwe on thisisafrica.me explores Sankara’s ideologies on debt and financial slavery.

Thomas Sankara, former leader of Burkina Faso, was the apparent opposite of everything we are often told that success should look like. Mansions? Cars? Who? What? Get out of here. As Prime Minister and later as President, Sankara rode a bicycle to work before he upgraded, at his Cabinet’s insistence, to a Renault 5 – one of the cheapest cars available in Burkina Faso at the time. He lived in a small brick house and wore only cotton that was produced, weaved and sewn in Burkina Faso.

Going by his lifestyle, Sankara was the antithesis of success, but it is this very distinction that enabled him to become the most successful president Africa has ever seen, in terms of what he accomplished for and with his people. Sankara would not have chopped P-Square’s money given twice a chance – in fact, he might have sat him down and taught him a thing or two about the creeping menace of pop culture patriarchy – because Thomas Sankara, “The Upright Man”, was a feminist. In this and many other ways, Sankara was the African dream come true, the only living proof that hopes of African independence are not dead on arrival.

His life ended with a bullet which, according to the testimony of some involved in his assassination, was ordered by former Liberian president Charles Taylor with the support of the French and American governments, and delivered via Blaise Compaoré – Sankara’s long-time friend and colleague, and the current president of Burkina Faso. Four years prior, when Compaoré and Sankara had jointly staged the popular coup of 1983 that made Sankara president, Burkina Faso was one of the poorest countries in the world. Under Compaoré it still is – so much so that the dire circumstances led to a series of violent protests last year.

During the years of Sankara’s administration, things were turning around, especially in the areas of health, education and the environment. Mass vaccination campaigns were rolled out with a level of rapidity and success that was unprecedented for an African country at that time. Infant mortality rates dropped. School attendance rates doubled. Millions of trees were planted in a far-sighted effort to counter deforestation. Feminism was a core element of political ideology, manifested through improved access to education for girls, and inclusion of women in leadership roles. Sankara introduced a day of solidarity in which men switched traditional gender roles – going to the market, running the household – so as to better empathise with what women handle on a daily basis. It was Africa’s greatest success story.

Members of a crowd hold a placard written ‘Thomas Sankara, look at your sons. We carry on your fight’. Photo: Gardens of Freedom/Twitter

How was this achieved? In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Sankara reflected on the state of Burkina Faso at the time that he had come to power, stating that “The diagnosis was clearly sombre. The root of the disease was political. The treatment could only be political.” And Sankara did not hold back with the treatment. As soon as he came into power, he set about razing the conventional structures of power and inequality.

Gone were the days of politicians living lavish lives sponsored by taxpayers’ money – Sankara issued salary cuts across the board, including for himself. The fleet of Mercedes Benzes for high-ranking officials was done away with, and the cars replaced by Renault 5s. Land and oil wealth were nationalised. While the masses celebrated, the country’s elite was enraged as decades of class inequality, which had previously favoured them, suddenly came into jeopardy.

The international community, whose interests were vested in the status quo, were also disturbed by Sankara’s radicalism, not least when he started calling for African countries to reject debt repayments. From the 1970s onwards, newly-independent African governments had begun to rapidly accumulate huge amounts of debt from rich countries and the Bretton Woods institutions: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As the Cold War intensified, such loans were increasingly used as a tool for securing political support from key countries – even governments that were patently corrupt and would inevitably default on repayment, such as Mobutu’s in the DRC, were readily provided with billions of dollars in credit.

In one of his most famous speeches [above], delivered at the summit of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) in Addis Ababa in 1987, Sankara issued a passionate call for a United Front Against Debt. “We think that debt has to be seen from the standpoint of its origins. Debt’s origins come from colonialism’s origins. Those who lend us money are those who had colonized us before,” he declared. “Under its current form, that is imperialism-controlled, debt is a cleverly managed re-conquest of Africa, aiming at subjugating its growth and development through foreign rules. Thus, each one of us becomes the financial slave, which is to say a true slave…”

At the time of his speech it was clear, just a couple of decades into independence, that African countries were quickly becoming financial slaves. Interest rates rose sharply in the 1980s, but governments continued to borrow more and more. Between 1982 and 1990, African debt doubled from US$140 billion to US$270 billion. Sankara rightly predicted that this would cripple African development for generations to come. Despite debt relief programs, which have resulted in increased spending on health and education in African countries, Jubilee Debt Campaign estimates that in 2008, low income countries paid over US $20 million a day to rich countries.

Their decision-making power is also constrained within the limits of orders given by the institutions and countries to which they are indebted. Strangely enough, while these orders demand decreased public spending for example on health, they don’t seem to have made a dent on the perpetual rise of Africa’s waBenzi clan: politicians rolling in flashy Mercedes Benzes bought with taxpayers’ money. And to make matters worse, with access to new creditors – especially China – many African governments are once again sinking into the vicious cycle of debt dependency that Sankara foresaw.

His Foreign Policy Advisor, Fidèle Kientega, explains how this foresight was shared with ordinary people. “Sankara did not dictate to people or force them to work. He told them about the mechanisms of getting loans…He said that they could relax at home and ask him to borrow money from the neo-colonialists, but that they would have to bear in mind that they and their children would have to pay back the loans with interests. Consequently, his government would find it difficult to provide universal education and health care because he would have to spend a greater chunk of the meagre tax revenues in servicing the debt. They could also beg for aid but then they would remain beggars forever. The people got the message and were motivated into working harder.”

Stories of Sankara tend to focus on his radical policies, but it is this approach that was probably the most radical of all – his efforts to bring discussions and decisions, “the apparatus of democracy” as Kientega puts it, to ordinary people. He was able to do this not only because he had political commitment to the proverbial grassroots – as many leaders claim to do – but because, through the choices he made, he positioned himself as their equal. Sankara made personal sacrifices that no other president has ever made, and did not view them as sacrifices, but as an act of solidarity, of African pride. In his view it was only through collective commitment to such sacrifices, which he hoped would one day be viewed as “normal and simple” actions, that Africans could begin to work their way towards self-reliance.

Despite Sankara’s incredible oratorical gift, the message came across even more eloquently through his actions: it is better to live a simple life in freedom, than a fabulous lifestyle in economic chains. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, most African governments did not share his philosophy. In a recent series of debates on democracy organised by TIA, people from Ghana, Kenya and South Africa all expressed a lack of faith in their countries’ democratic systems. Why? Because, they said, existing political systems across the world don’t answer to ordinary people – they answer to money. African governments are first accountable to rich countries, then to their own local elites; and finally, if convenient, to the people.

Africa’s heavily indebted poor countries. Graphic: World Bank

In a world that only answers to money, everything is for sale – democracy, freedom, dignity, integrity. Thomas Sankara bucked this trend, and in so doing struck at the very core of the international system of control – because for once, the world was faced with an African leader it could neither buy nor co-opt.

And because he was not for sale, Sankara had to be eliminated, buried in an unmarked grave whose whereabouts are still unknown. To this day, Sankara’s family and supporters in Burkina Faso and around the world are still fighting for justice, some in the face of death threats. Meanwhile, despite the fact that some of the fastest growing economies in the world are now African, and the fact that poverty rates are falling, so much of our energy now and for the foreseeable future will have to be devoted to further reducing poverty levels relating to decades of political selling out. And the selling out continues, even as our economies are bouncing back. Why do our leaders keep selling us out? Same reason we all sell out – for nice things. “Where does this debt come from anyway?” Sankara asked. “Did we need to build mansions…or foster the mentality of overpaid men among our officers?” This last question, in particular, has become more relevant as we learn of just how much money Africa’s elite have been salting away in foreign accounts even as their countries’ foreign debts mount: ‘Capgemini and Merrill Lynch estimate in their latest World Wealth Report that Africa has about 100,000 “high net worth individuals” with a total of $1.2 trillion in liquid assets. The debts, on the other hand, are owed by the African people as a whole through their governments.’

Of all the holy cows in the world today, materialism is probably the deepest and most universally entrenched – from home to school to pop culture. This entrenchment is necessary to preserve the current system of inequality, because it opens us all up to compromise, to co-option. How much would you sell your values for? How much do you sell your values for? Sankara demonstrated that the make-or-break of freedom is not so much about heroes and politics as it is about the very personal struggle between principles and cash-money.

A week before he died, Sankara said, “revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, but you cannot kill ideas”. And so, for us today, the final challenge rests not in finding more Sankaras, but in becoming them – in bringing these ideas to life. “You have to dare to look reality in the face and take a whack at some of the long-standing privileges,” Sankara said, “so long-standing in fact that they seem to have become normal, unquestionable.” And that’s the most daunting thing of all, because it requires a struggle with the person in the mirror.

https://thisisafrica.me/debt-cleverly-managed-reconquest-africa-thomas-sankara/