After almost 2 years and 6 months my Chapter 7 case is finally closed. Why the delay, only the Trustee knows. Or not. Where did it go wrong, I don't know. I don't care anymore, anyway. I'm beat. The system won. I didn't even have the mental power to enjoy the letter. The ordeal lets me 50 pounds heavier, morbidly obese, severely depressed, and with acute anxiety. The only reason I didn't blow my brains out is that I was too ashamed of my son. I'm trying to show him that I can come back. Because America loves come back stories, eh?

I made all the mistakes in the book, I over extended, I used my house like a personal piggybank, the credit cards like my personal bank accounts, being sure that the house prices will go nowhere but up and the jobs will be there for ever. The awakening was brutal. The price paid was too great, though. We tried to be proactive, to work out settlements, the banks laughed at us. Then the collectors laughed even more. Bank of America still laughs ... they still didn't foreclose on the house, after 3 years since we abandoned it.

Now, if I have a credit card balance from one month to the other I cannot sleep at night. I wake up and I pay it. I can't wait to finish paying my cars so I can start saving.

Thank you, Forum, for helping me through these difficult times.

Stan