Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Stop Paying Bills

The biggest single bill most Americans face each month is the mortgage. You may never have to pay yours again, if you're willing to do a little homework. Most home loans and some business loans in the USA have been processed through MERS, Mortgage Electronic Recording Systems, which are rife with fraud, including the scandalous process of robo-signing, hiring people off the street to affix forged signatures to documents. Often these processes avoided court filing fees, which are required by law.

You don't need to hire an attorney, but you will want to learn the local process to request a restraining order. You want the court to tell the bank they cannot collect upon your mortgage until they prove that they hold the note. The court should be on your side. Not only are you right to be resisting a criminal institution, the judge is likely an elected official who'd like to be re-elected, and the banks have been avoiding court costs. Some courts are missing millions in such fees.

The process is a sort of legal ping-pong. You will make a filing. The bank's attorneys will respond, hoping to intimidate you. You will respond, with truth on your side. Eventually, the judge will issue a decision, which may be appealed. It may well go on for years, but when the restraining order is in place, your time will be well compensated. You can afford to dedicate yourself to careful study of law.

I've met a couple who had their restraining order upheld in the 11th Circuit Court. They continue to fight, to work toward healing themselves and to build their community. They are well prepared to teach from their vast experiences. There are others who are winning against the banks. Together we're stronger than as individuals. The balance of power will shift when the whole truth is known.

This may not be your biggest opportunity to save. More than half of working Americans spend more than half of their working hours earning their car, with insurance, fuel, maintenance, licenses, and etc. There are many good reasons to learn you can live without a car.  When you have no more bills to pay, you won't want your car to drive you to work.

Credit cards are generally unsecured loans, meaning the only way they can force you to pay is by garnishing your wages within a specific time period. You may want to investigate bankruptcy or you may just want to change phones or ignore them. Forwarding their irritating mail far away can be effective.

Where else are you spending money? Utility bills can often be replaced with a one-time upgrade of your home to use direct sunlight for heating and lighting. Often an attached greenhouse and good insulation will do the trick. The greenhouse can also help bring food costs down, while providing much better nutrition than any store.

Voluntary simplicity is really just an ecological twist on good old fashioned frugality. Buy very few high quality items and use them thoroughly. Use permaculture to build the paradise you want to live in. The stakes are high. The time is now to change your life.