Stress comes and goes

[tightgrip]

We went for our first consultation on the 25th of January and we have been gathering up all our required documents such as 6 month pay stubs, 6 months of bank statements, titles and registrations, life insurance policies, 401K statements, all the good stuff they want. After adding up all our income for 6 months we are just about at 46,000 for the past 6 months which puts us well over the median.

My husband quit working all that overtime that he had been having to work so we could keep up with all our bills. So January 25th we quit paying all our cc's and our secured debts we were going to surrender in the BK process. The only hard thing about this process right now is not actually knowing when they will come and repo our 3 secured debts.

After our consultation I was relieved that their was actually a road that could lead us to the end of this nightmare we have gotten ourselves into but then with our income being so high from all the OT worked we are looking to wait to file in approx. 4-5 months now to get that regular time income with no OT!

My question to you all is after you quit paying all your stuff how long after did you file and did anything happen in that time between stopping payments and filing? I got my self through the whole thing of knowing this is what we have to do, that was hard, then it got easy knowing we were doing something, now knowing we may have to wait 5 months almost gives me anxiety!

I wish it were easier for us and then having to be so down all the time its hard cheering myself up, but just to know one day we can get a fresh start at things and have a better life for our kids without worrying thats nice to look forward too!! Thanks!!

[AngelinaCat]

Hi Tightgrip, hang in there. It DOES get better--it really does. Though since you've just started, it doesn't seem like it.

If you have to wait for a while to file because of the OT, try not to sweat it too much. You might get threatening letters regarding the three secured items, but it takes a while for the wheels of the legal process to get creaking along, and at each point when a motion is filed, the other side has between 20-30 days to respond, depending on your local district. All of this eats up time, and time can be your best friend right now. I know you want it all over and done with NOW. But it will be by and by, you will wonder where the time went!

[Dannmcg357]

Seems different people have different comfort levels, meaning what they can with stand as far as harrasing phone calls and threats go. My experience with GMAC, they threatend repo after 8 weeks ( 2 payments and third due). CC can only bark and they are the worst at threats. The thing I was concerned with was the additional damage to my credit during this time. Hope that helps.

[dancersmom22]

Hi, we quit paying unsecured debt in July/August, and we too have to wait to file until my husband's OT falls off the 6 month look back on income. We retained an attorney in late Sept., and he told us to refer all collection calls to him. The first couple of months were horrible, with tons of calls everyday day - GEMoney Bank was the worse -- we gave them our attorney info. many many times. Things have since quieted down. Although, we did get our first call the other day from a charged off CC, that had been sold to a JDB. I gave him our attorney contact info, and he was very nasty & sarcastic, telling me, "have a great life not paying your bills". I just hung up, he wasn't worth my time explaining all the health issues/surgeries our family has faced in the last 3 years. We're planning to file in May/June to protect our 2009 tax refund. But, the stress in our life is already better. My husband isn't working 80 hours a week, and we're doing fine managing our finances. Hang in there, it does get better.

[tightgrip]

Thanks for responding! The nice thing is that my husband doesnt actually have to work his days off now to get that extra money. He was having to work his 80 hours and on top of that work 20 hours extra ( 2 days off) just so we could get by. Its soo nice that he can actually have his 2 days off to spend with us and not have to work. I just stopped paying my cc's last month but our 1st vehicle is in the range of about 60 days past due. Its been really hard and I think the waiting game is what plays with my head! We have only had one creditor call and we gave them our attorney's number and haven't heard back since. I'm sure the wave of calls will hit soon and we are prepared to just send them our attorney's way! So I guess here is too waiting. We may not have to wait though we are waiting for our attorney to review all our past stubs and statements and then we will go from there but right now we are thinking if he wanted to wait for the OT to drop off it will be around May/June also that we will be safely under the median!

[waitinginmo]

My stress comes and goes to this day. I imagine the stress will be completly gone after I am "closed" which should come next month. I cant stand the wait. I will say that I for the most part stressed over things that I shouldnt have. I know you hear everyone say things like the 341 was so easy, but if your like me you wouldnt have believed it and thought your case was "special". LOL However all of this has been a complete breeze and It is more of the guilt I think that it stressing me!

[momisery]

For us there was nothing to repo after all was said and done. We stopped paying our CC's and then filed within about 90 days though. The rental in GA we stopped paying on in March 2009 and it should be sold in March 2010. The home in MO we stopped paying I think in May and it will also be sold in March 2010. Meaning March and May were our last payments. I had hoped we had more time in our house in MO, we are looking for a place to rent right now and the BK so far has not been as much of an issue as our rescue pets have been. 2 dogs and 2 cats create issues for renting! But we are working on it, I would hate to give up anyone of them as no one else would take them I am pretty sure. Overall I am glad it is over with, but often I still feel anger about being forced into that position.