got my 341 date

[BoomerSooner]

December 8th.
I'm so scared. It's like, I know we've been irresponsible for the past decade, and we've learned our lesson. I have a good job, wife and I are both full time students as well. We just got into the "buying things we can't afford" trap that so many do...long story short, about 45k in unsecured CC debt, all maxed out, and can no longer make payments. Two auto loans, both at 12% interest (ouch!). One of the cars, I'm going to give back. On the other car, I'd like to ride-thru or re-affirm, but I want to have some bargaining power to get an interest rate and principal reduction to re-affirm. Will they play ball? Wouldn't they rather do this than have to repo BOTH cars from me? The car we're keeping (wife's) is a 2006, cheap to maintain, and gets 40mpg on her 30 mile each way commute to school each day. We are hard working people who just made some mistakes. I hope I have a lenient trustee. We've gone to the envelope method for budgeting, and it's working great. I just can't wait to have this all behind us - but I'm really scared as to what to expect.

[eventsdj]

I can't wait to get my 341 date! I feel so "in limbo", as we are figuring out the right time to file.
You are on track to relief! I'm sure all will go great for you. That is typically the norm from everything I read.

[liz417]

Congrats on getting the BK ball rolling....
Don't stress about the 341 too much, you'll come back here after your 341 and wonder what all the stress was about???....Just answer the Trustee's questions honestly and you'll be fine...Hang in there

[BoomerSooner]

I can't get a straight answer from my lawyer on this:
on the car we want to keep (12% interest), we want to try to negotiate a lower rate and a slight principal reduction. Should I fall behind on payments to get them to play ball?

[BobMango]

I can't get a straight answer from my lawyer on this:
on the car we want to keep (12% interest), we want to try to negotiate a lower rate and a slight principal reduction. Should I fall behind on payments to get them to play ball?

I wouldn't. My advice (well actually my attorney's advice to me) would be to stay current and do a ride through, then call them up after and see if they are willing to lower the payment. Many credit unions will work with you. Sounds like you don't have the loan with a credit union though if you're paying 12%.

As to the principal reduction, I don't have a clue as to whether or not you have a shot there.

[drowningNdebt]

I'm going to tell you not to worry about it but your still going to Mine took a whopping 3 minutes at most. Name address and yes/no questions. Its simple

[HakunaMatata]

Don't worry about your 341! This is merely a building block for your fresh financial foundation!

I had mine yesterday. I had a few odd questions (what was the gas mileage on your car at time of purchase, what city was the dealership located)...not exactly brutal! Most were sworn in, asked if their BK documents were truthful and signed by them, and asked their last four digits of their SS. Provided you're not hiding anything and you can say "yes" and "no", you'll be fine!

I'd definitely stay current on your car if you want to keep it. You may or may not be able to negotiate terms. Regardless, the goal is to have transportation and a fresh start. Your current interest rate beats the likely 20%+ during/immediately following-BK, right?

Good luck!

[BoomerSooner]

I wouldn't. My advice (well actually my attorney's advice to me) would be to stay current and do a ride through, then call them up after and see if they are willing to lower the payment. Many credit unions will work with you. Sounds like you don't have the loan with a credit union though if you're paying 12%.

As to the principal reduction, I don't have a clue as to whether or not you have a shot there.

thanks for that. It's not a CU, but USAA - who a lot of my debt that will be discharged (including the other car) is with. I feel terrible, they have been so good to me.