$900 tax bill due immediately

[organica]

:wall: Got this in the mail yesterday- it seems I owe back taxes on my disability payments for 4 years & they want it now.
I called Revenue Canada & it's for real.
I owe almost $600 now to phone company & power company for bills that are over a year old.
I take home $1200 a month in wages, spend $550 on rent/power/phone, & $100 a week groceries/pet food, plus about $125 in transportation. Then the driving lessons that are a condition of my emplyment are $160/month. I am actually operating at a deficit, I realize.

[Amy SF]

Is there anyway you can arrange to pay off the $900 in installments?

[Kiz]

Yes, offer to pay it off. They can't take what you don't have. Change phone and power companies, start voluntarily paying them off at $10 a fortnight. That way when (if) they take you to court you cann prove you tried to pay. The judge will likely agree to let you keep paying it off at the same amount. $100 a week seems an awful lot for food - how many pets do you have?

And finally, the driving lessons, if they are a condition of your employment you employer should be paying for them.

[organica]

Thanks. I'm thinking I will offer everybody $25 a month & start paying next month. I have a feeling they won';t like that, but as you can see I'm not flush with cash despite working full-time.

[Kiz]

I've been in similar financial straights. Best thing you can do is what you plan to do. No, they won't like it. They'll all think they should be paid first. But they will all (or should) understand the best way to get their money is to have you pay it off. So pay 'em off and thank God we don't have debtors prison anymore. Most companies would rather get a piddling little amount per week than see you go bankrupt and have the whole lot written off.

[prairie_girl]

Organica,

CCRA will take payments, don't worry. Call them, they're actually pretty nice. They'll work w/ you. Caroline and I are dealing w/ them right now and they're being really nice about our situation.

[Coney]

My greatest sympathies to you. I hate getting slammed like that. Doesn't Canada have health care that pays for disability? I thought they were cool that way.

You can sometimes take out a very low interest loan for stuff like that, then pay the bank $25 per month, instead of dealing with angry companies.

I have a friend that did that for their CC debts. Instead of paying lots of people small amounts, they paid the whole thing off and just owe the bank a more reasonable payment that they can afford.

[kpickell]

I couldn't get out of debt either if I lived your lifestyle. You have got to stop living above your means. It's becoming a constant theme.

[lewburg]

Could you get a part time job for a few months to pay it off? I know it's not fun, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! I owed money on a credit card from college that was haunting me, so I got a waitressing job for a month and every penny I made went toward my debt. It only took a month to pay it off and it felt so good!

[msbunnicula]

Can you cut down on your grocery bills at all? I know that you won't want to cut down on your organic produce, but could you cut down on convenience foods and stock up on whole foods?

[organica]

Thanks all. I will be sending them monthly cheques for $75 this week, post-dated. If they don't like that, I'll consider bankruptcy again because I refuse to compromise my health & safety to pay a bill I feel is unjust in the first place.

The taxes are due for my DISABILITY PENSION, not paid work. Provincial disability is not taxed., but I collected Canada Pension, & it';s apparently highly taxed, although I only got $500 a month from them.

Kpickell, I am not leading a crazy expensive lifestyle with things like a car, children, hobbies, etc. I never take a vacation.. All my clothes are old & secondhand. All I buy is food, toiletries & pet supplies, plus the supplements I need. It is insulting that the few small things in life that keep me on an even keel are considered "luxuries". I work damn hard & only earn a small income, & I'll be damed if I am going to pay big companies & the gov't before I take care of my own health & that of my 5 rescued pets.