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Looking for advice from all you wonderful people
I fully understand you can't give me legal advice, but I'm just looking for anyone with personal experience in this to tell me what might be best. I am in a position where I might need to file bankruptcy but I want to avoid that, obviously. Has anyone here ever had to go through this? How long does it take before you are able to be able to get a job / rent a place to live after that, once you've screwed over your credit so bad? Can you get fired or go to jail for filing?
I accumulated too much random debt to pay it down each month, and I can't find a job that pays more than about minimum wage. Maybe if I worked full time or more, I could do this, but I had major surgery and can't physically work full time. At the same time, I don't seem to qualify for disability or unemployment help.
I'm trapped and drowning. Has anyone been through this and made it back to being able to live normally? Is there some option I am missing? Consolidation is my last chance, but I'm not sure I will be approved for that.




I would suggest that you consult a bankruptcy attorney sooner rather than later. I've never filed myself, but a very close friend did so about 3 years ago. She tried for a long time to pay down the debt, and when she eventually filed for bankruptcy realized that all the money and time she'd spent had been essentially wasted. If you know, for certain, that the debt you have is beyond your ability to pay, it's better to get it over with so you can start the process of rebuilding. Especially if you don't own a home and would like to qualify for a mortgage eventually, you want to give yourself time to get your credit back.
Bankruptcy generally doesn't wipe student loans, so if those are a significant portion of your debt you will probably still have that part even if you do file. You may qualify for a hardship discharge, but that is different from a standard bankruptcy. But any bankruptcy does pull student loans out of default and you can then apply for income-based repayment options which are based on your discretionary income.
I don't know about renting, though. Many places won't take someone with a bankruptcy, so that's something you'd need to explore. Are you currently living someplace you could stay for several years?
Oh, and you can't be jailed for private debt, so you don't have to worry about that! I'm sorry you're going through this, and I hope you find a solution that works for you!
All the previous advice is sound. Study your rights so the creditors don't eat you alive. A good bankruptcy lawyer will educate you and guide you through the process. It has been many years since we filed and things have changed, but the option is there for a reason. Bankruptcy is certainly better than homelessness or long-term dependency.
It will be harder to rent for several years after filing, but if you can prove that you always paid your rent and utilities, you can still find landlords who will take you. It may be best to be prepared to stay put for a while though.
We filed ten years ago. Since then my husband has retooled for a new career and we've built our credit back up to excellent standing. It just takes patience and a plan.
When you file, if you do, do they come and take everything away from you? Any solid object of value?
No. Things you you own and need for daily living, you keep. They won't take your kitchen table and your paid-for 2003 Nissan Sentra, but you will lose anything that you've put up as loan collateral or on which you still owe money.
You can also sometimes negotiate to keep paying certain creditors if you need to keep something like your car.
My parents gave me a paid-off car. I guess I'm worrying they will take that, and I will be trapped... no transportation to go to work!
My parents gave me a paid-off car. I guess I'm worrying they will take that, and I will be trapped... no transportation to go to work!
My experience is that they won't take away your means of transportation since you need it for work. They don't come through and sell all your stuff and leave you bereft at the curb. Put those visions out of your head.
You will have to make some spending changes and start over on building your credit, no more depending on credit cards or loans for quite a while, but that's a good thing right? We kinda need that anyway? It lifts the burden of overwhelming debt so you can go to work and use your wages for the essentials of life.
On a side note, buying a car within a few years after bankruptcy is easier than one might expect. Since you're barred from filing bankruptcy again for a certain number of years, some creditors will see you as a reasonable risk.
Yes, I am better at spending now - but all my earnings go to paying off minimum payments on old bad habit cards that I cannot make go away :(
I am most afraid of not being able to get a place to live after. My parents could possibly kick me out, from disgust - and they are pretty abusive anyway, so I am desperate to escape. I don't want to be trapped with them. I'm here because if I wasn't here I would be homeless. But God, I really need to get away from here.
Sound like a reputable credit counselor might be a good step right now, just be careful of scammers. That consolidation attempt is a good first step on your part, but it's a partial fix. You can sometimes get creditors to write off part of a debt and still stay in good standing. They'd rather have some money than no money.
If you need to change your living situation, it's better to do so before you file for bankruptcy. As others have said, explore credit counseling and consolidation first, of course, but if you do decide to file for bankruptcy, you'll have time to get things in order. It's not an immediate process.
If you can find a place to rent that you'd be happy in for a couple years, and you know for 100% certain that you will be able to pay rent and bills there (that's important, it's no good declaring bankruptcy and then starting right back with late and missed payments), you can sign a lease and get moved in before you file for bankruptcy. You won't be evicted for filing while you live there, as long as you are paying your rent and agreeing to the terms of the lease. If your parents will allow you to keep the car (and if they legally put it in your name, they can't take it back without your permission) you'll have transportation that will not be taken away by the court. The goal of bankruptcy isn't to make you destitute so your creditors can be paid off, it's to give you a chance to survive (at the creditors expense). That's a risk that creditors take when they offer credit, so don't feel bad about that. The losses from defaults are built into their business models, and they can afford those losses - you cannot.
I see - that's good advice. Thank you, Stella!
My first bit of advice is to contact a credit counselor and financial advisor in addition to a bankruptcy attorney.
They're a little salesy but I hired Credit Doctor out of New Mexico (They work with anyone nationally). You can ALWAYS work with creditors. Always.
I can't do bankruptcy because all my debt is student so I could never get rid of it anyway, but my personal advice is that bankruptcy is the last choice you'd want to take.
also if you have "random debt" that sounds more like credit cards and small things here and there rather than a few large notes (like a house, car, business loan). and again would recommend exploring credit counseling. They essentially help you negotiate with creditors and document everything. You have rights as a credit consumer, and collectors hope you don't know that.