It would be nice to see your personal list of creditors and amounts for everyone

[Overmylimit]

Actually no its not, Commercial Cleaning is the culprit

[relief13035]

It's strange to put it all out here in public, but at the same time relieved.

We are keeping our primary residence and the HELOC. $1315 + $420/mo.
Keeping a 2nd residence because my mother-in-law lives in it and she is low-income and makes the low mortgage payment. $481/mo (no out of pocket money for us)
Keeping both cars (not sure why yet). Mercedes @ $330/mo & '06 Titan @ $420/mo

But here it goes:

CitiMortgage - surrendering 3rd investment property $93,898
Flagstar Mortgage - surrendering 4th investment property $104,450
Capital One - $3,888
Capital One - $1,789
Bank of America - $5,462
Bank of America - $10,152
American Express Gold - $3,814
American Express Blue - $2,373
Chase - $1,575
Target - $5,352
Target - $4,383
CitiBank - $9,392
Lowes - $4,142
Household - $895
Washington Mutual - $402
Lane Bryant - $407
Home Depot - $380
Kohls - $259

Total = $252,311

Oh this is brutal.

[debtmonster]

I wonder if CEO's of the credit card companies ever surf this site and see how we are all communicating with each other.

[debtmonster]

I added some more CC's to my official list to turn into the BK attorney and it's now over $250k. Still lots more to go. Tomorrow I will have to research all of the old debt and contact old creditors to get full account #'s and updated addresses to where the BK court can send the notices.

[relief13035]

Man - it makes me sick. How in the heck did I spend over $9000 at Target??? What kind of freak shopper am I?

[debtmonster]

Man - it makes me sick. How in the heck did I spend over $9000 at Target??? What kind of freak shopper am I?

They should blame all of the ads for hypnotizing you.

[Flamingo]

Man - it makes me sick. How in the heck did I spend over $9000 at Target??? What kind of freak shopper am I?

It's because you had a credit card with a high limit with them; if you had to pay cash when you shopped there, you would not have purchased those items. Whipping out the plastic is so easy and having all that stuff that you don't really need half the time is so marvelous! Simple as that.

[relief13035]

This is just really hitting me hard today. We filed last week and I think the guilt is setting in in a HUGE way. I've walked around the house trying to figure out what the heck I spent all that money on. OMG I have some of the most stupid things laying around here. Did I really need a potpourri pot to make my house smell good or the fancy pillows on my bed to make it look pretty? I hope these feelings I am having are normal during the beginning stages of this process. I feel fortunate to have found this site so I can ramble and read what others have been though and find out what I have ahead of me in the coming months.

[inpain66]

My income 37 K a year..take home is LESS THAN 2K a month!!!!! Even if the credit cards and personal loans were gone I barely would get by with rent, student loan payments and car payment. I need my car cuz without it I would be jobless too.


I am starving..eating low nutrition foods like ramen noodles and sardines every meal. This is not living. I hate this

My debt:

Student loans 43 k

CU loan 10 k

Car loan 16.5 k

Citi loan 7k

Visa 3.5 k

Bestbuy 3.8 k

Homedepot 1k

Store card 900

store card 300

store card 900

How did I justify having these cards with my income?

I regret going to college. It is going to keep me poor for the rest of my life.

I am never going to get out of this

[debtmonster]

I didn't finish college and I was making as high as over $70k/yr.

But yeah, you're absolutely right... there's NO WAY to live on $37k anymore. $60k is the old $30k with inflation. The houses that used to be $95,000 are now $320,000. The gas that used to be $1.04 is now $3.04. The new cars that used to sell for $8000 are now $17,000. The milk that used to be $2.00 is now almost $5.00.

That's why your $37k doesn't go anywhere.

I am afraid to go back to college. I'm almost 41 and by the time I finished, I would not get enough usage out of a degree to make it work the while. I'm having health issues and don't expect to live long anyway.

[inpain66]

I just feel like the "American Dream" is crap.

I come from a working class family, busted my neck to get to college

I got great grades in college and won awards even...


I got out of school and wanted to give back so I took a job helping people.

Helping people does not pay well and here I am as poor as my clients...

This feels unfair!!

[Flamingo]

I just feel like the "American Dream" is crap.

I come from a working class family, busted my neck to get to college

I got great grades in college and won awards even...


I got out of school and wanted to give back so I took a job helping people.

Helping people does not pay well and here I am as poor as my clients...

This feels unfair!!

Depending on your age, you can always go back to school and change careers or better your degree. Lots of people have to do this throughout their careers as demand may change for certain positions or you will have to possibly consider relocating. Healthcare is the booming industry now with an extreme shortage of nursing and skill technical personnel (i.e., radiologists, medical assistants, ultrasound techs, etc.). Our life is what we make it. Unfortunately as you get older, it is more difficult to change things as there is definately age discrimination out there so choices in your 20s and 30s are critical.

[debtmonster]

I've been working in I.T. my whole life. In I.T., you are considered a dinosaur at 40.
My career is done. I have to do early retirement. I need my money now to last me until I die. I can't wait until I am 67. I will most likely die from cancer long before then.

[WoodSprite]

...there's NO WAY to live on $37k anymore.

I'm raking in the princely sum of $23,920 - before taxes. I was fairly amazed to find this statement from our local "living wage" advocacy center:

"A living wage is the amount of income and resources (such as health insurance) needed for an individual or family to meet its basic needs without public or private assistance. According to a study done for 2007 by the [local credit union], a single individual without children needs $20,450.21 for the year ($9.83/hour for a 40-hour week). "

No, this is not Arkansas - this is in NEW YORK. Upstate NY, but NY. These are kind, idealistic folks who give generously of their time and talent because they want to help those less fortunate, and they think I'm making a living wage. It must be true, though, since I'm ineligible for HEAP or any other sort of assistance.

I'm not complaining...I'm doing okay. I've made choices that put me here, rather than in the city where I was making good money - and I've never regretted those choices. I've got a tiny roof over my head, all the firewood I can split, reliable transportation, food to eat, and NO DEBT. And I ride our rural bus route with people who do qualify, so I'm reminded of how fortunate I am every day. I'm happy, and I'm grateful.

But man...how bad does it have to get before it hits the radar?

[hnhlvr]

Amex - $150,000
Capital One - $6,200
Chase - $13,000
Citi - $14,000
Discover - $30,000
Wells Fargo - $75,000
Wamu - $15,000

First $550,000
Second $150,000

$1,003,200 ............DOH!!!!

How did you end up with $150K on Amex? Was that a business loan?