Ms. Managing Money

 I am on the phone with a debt consolidation consultant right now.  His name is Jon Foley , and he was recommended by someone in Business Debtor Anonymous .  I had to sign up for their credit reporting service, Smart Credit, which costs $25/month.  I paid it for now, and I'll need to remember to cancel it.  Actually, Jon says he'll check back in with me before the next month and help me cancel it.    I have an American Express card with a balance of $10,000-ish that isn't on my credit report.  So does that mean that I don't owe it?  It sounds like they have a window to pursue the debt after the business is officially dissolved.  I will make sure the paperwork is all correct with WA state to officially dissolve the business.   Since it's not showing on my credit report, Jon says that I'm not a personal guarantor of the debt.    With AmEx, I accepted their offer to enroll in their program to help me.  The terms of ...

 My name is Meg.  I'm already feeling my emotions well up as I begin to type about how I lost enough money to put me at the brink of bankruptcy.  This blog is about my recovery, real time.  My goal right now is to get back on my feet and be able to take care of myself and my daughter comfortably.   Long story short, I started a business that failed.  I wanted to save the planet with public transportation to recreation.  I bought a fleet of old school buses and started running routes on a regular schedule with individual ticket sales to the ski areas in the winter and to the mountains for hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing in the summer and out to The Gorge Amphitheater for all their concerts.   I think the business itself would have done well, but I made more than one disastrous hiring decision.  All in, I lost about a quarter million dollars, all in debt I took on.  Some of it was money from friends and family (thank...