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The United States government has passed the “cash for clunkers” law, giving Americans an opportunity to sell old cars for more than their value.  The CARS, or Car Allowance Rebate System, program gives a window to trade in or sell cars with low gas mileage.

If you have an old car, this might be the time to buy.  The program started on July 1st and is likely only going to be around for a limited time.  To be eligible, your car must be less than 25 years old, have a fuel rating of less than 18 miles per gallon, be in drivable condition, and have been in your ownership for at least one year.  Heavy trucks and cargo vans have different requirements.

If you think your car might be eligible, it could be a good opportunity to upgrade to a low fuel car from your big ugly old car.  Check out the CARS website for more details.  If you are going to finance it, be sure to check out my recent post on shopping for a car loan.

I took a big check to the bank yesterday and was worried that the bank would put a hold on my funds.  I had to pay tuition this week, so I needed access to the funds right away.  I was given $100 right away, but that left thousands still out of reach until the bank decided to give it to me.

I decided to look into the laws about holding funds, and thought you might appreciate a quick breakdown on Regulation CC, the Federal regulation on bank holds.

Regulation CC is the Federal Reserve rule created to enforce the Expedited Funds Availability Act of 1987.  Banks allowed to put a hold on personal bank accounts for one of several reasons.  The idea is to protect the bank from a loss if you withdraw the money and the check bounces.

The main holds are outlined below.  Information can be found at the Federal Reserve, though I found the chart below (from Wikipedia) to be the best explanation.  Remember, these are your rights.  If a bank violates the rules outlined below, they have committed a violation of law and should be held liable by the Federal Reserve.  If you think you have been wronged, or are being wronged, contact your bank first.  If that does not work, contact the Federal Reserve.

Rather than re-write one of the thousands of blog posts or news articles on the new credit card laws, I thought I would give you all a roundup here.  These are some of my favorites:

• Credit Card Reform Treats College Students Like Babies? – Poorer Than You

• Changes to the Credit Card Industry – Cash Money Life

• New Credit Card Legislation Buzz: An Interview with Wall Street Journal’s Mary Pilon – Wise Bread

• What the New Credit Card Rules Mean for You [Credit] – Lifehacker

• How will the new credit card rules affect consumers? – Wise Bread

• Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform – Consumerist

I had my big day in court. I showed up about 15 minutes early for my 10:00am court date, and had to wait until about 12:30 to be seen.

I was counter-sued by the defendant for damages to her car, which I had little worry about paying. On that count, I won.

As far as the bike, I did not win.

After going back and forth for over thirty minutes, the Judge said that the driver who hit me was 50% liable for the damage as she should have been paying better attention. He also said I was 50% liable for entering the street in a dangerous manner that led to the accident. As we were equally at fault, according to the Judge, both of our claims are dismissed.

So, I lost $31 for a filing fee. It was worth it to know what would have happened. I also had a life experience. I presented a case in a court of law. I hope I do not have to do so again. If so, I will be better prepared for what to expect.

Today is the big day. I am going to small claims court. You can see a picture of my bike and the car that hit me here. It is fairly straight forward. I was hit from behind. I will let you all know what happened and how my first small claims court experience goes.

I am in at 10:00am Mountain time. Wish me luck.

I have never done anything like this before, so I am kind of nervous. I do not know why, as I am comfortable speaking in public and I know my case front and back. Also, worst case, I don’t get anything. Best case I get $300 plus my $31 court filing fees.
I have made a deposition before for an automobile accident case. My deposition went very well and the side that I testified for did very well in the case.

(Top Picture) You can see the back wheel of the bike is severely bent and the kick stand is bent upward. That is from the car hitting the bike from behind and driving over the top of it.

(Bottom Picture) You can see with low detail in this photo that the front bumper of the car has a black mark from where it drove over my wheel. Directly above that mark there is a small black mark from where it hit my back tire while still vertical knocking the bike over. There is also minor damage to the black grill where the kickstand went into the air intake.

If you are taking advantage of side income or income from a hobby, you have two options. You can just make the money and pay personal taxes on it, or you can set up a company and operate through the company.

If it is a low risk company and has relatively low income, I would just run the money through my personal accounts. If you have a company, you have to pay taxes on the earnings twice. You will have to pay corporate taxes on the company earnings and personal taxes on the dividends you take out from the company.

Having a company, depending on the type, can be a big liability shield. If you are involved in something that has a possibility of law suits or legal disputes, a company is a big benefit. If you are operating as a person, you can be sued for a business dispute. They can come after your personal assets. If you have a company with a specified legal status, they can only come after the assets of the company. You do pay for that in taxes though.

So, the decision is not black and white. If you are going to make a lot of money or have any possibility of legal disputes, you should set up an LLC (limited liability corporation) or corporation. If not, it is probably best to just operate as yourself (under a DBA, which stands for doing business as).

Do you have a company? How do you operate?

This is straying more toward legal than financial, but it cost me money! On Tuesday on my way to work (while riding my bike) I was hit by a car from behind. The driver admitted fault and agreed to help pay for my bike, and because she “seemed nice” and trustworthy I did not file a police report.

Big mistake. She changed her mind and now says that it is my fault, but is still offering to help with the bike, just a lot less than I expected. Fortunately I was not injured (thank God), but I am out the money for a new bike less $50. The bike I purchased as a replacement was $20 more than the original bike, which I did not expect paid for. The original price, though, I thought was covered. Fortunately I did not have a super expensive bike.

This is a learning experience for me that I am passing on to you. Whenever an incident occurs, file a police report. She claimed responsibility initially. I wish I had a legal document to prove it. Thank God I wasn’t hurt.