Could really use some advice??

[shortyg]

Hi everyone.

I recently joined this forum and having been reading a lot of great information. I have a few questions for some of those who have gone through bk or know a lot about it.

I am looking at possibly filing bk, but unsure if its the right choice for me. I have a lot of collection accounts and things that have been written off/charged off. I have an auto loan that has a lot of late payments but is current. I do not own a home. My credit has been bad for some time (my score is about a 515) so I can't even get credit or a loan right now to begin with. I've looked at trying to fix my credit but after trying for a while I pretty much got nowhere.

I would like to have a fresh start so that I can make smarter choices and gain better credit again. I am just not sure what I should do. I'm 25 by the way, not sure if that matters.

Thank you everyone, I could really use some insight

[shortyg]

Also to add on... I am a stay at home mom, who is also a full time student. My husband is currently unemployed and is also in school too. So money is very tight.

[momofthree]

Honestly, if you don't own a home and neither you nor your husband have jobs, there is nothing the creditors can do to you. I suggest waiting to file until you have a better means of supporting yourselves. That way, if (heaven forbid) something bad happens & you rack up a bunch of medical debt or something, you won't have already played the bankruptcy card.

[shortyg]

Thanks for the response. I see what your saying, but a lot of the bills in collection are medical related. Others is older credit cards that went unpaid or other random bills that never got paid.

[LostNFound]

Just curious if you would mention how much your debt is?

The only reason I ask is that I had a friend (several years ago) who was in over her head financially. She couldn't take it anymore and filed bankruptcy. Do you know how much it was for? $12,000.

Yep. So 3 years after that, she had a baby and there were several medical bills that came in. She struggled to live and her and hubby's combined income was slightly higher then what it should have been to receive any financial help from the state. They've struggled their entire marriage. Both are educated, by the way, with 4 yr degrees. But the employment level dropped and neither of them are able to work in the field that that studied in college.

My point is....sometimes, it can seem like your really in over your head. However, think about your circumstances down the road. Is it possible that it could get worse before it gets better? I remember being 25 and struggling financially. That was then....now I have 3 kids, 2 dogs and a huge mortgage. Life can get complicated, really fast.

Take some time to think about this before you do it. I'm not sure I would consider it if I was you...not yet anyway.

[StartingOver08]

Yes, lostnfound has a point. Maybe we can help you formulate a plan if you post your income and your debt and the status of the debt.

[shortyg]

My debt is about $20K. A lot of it is from medical bills that I was unable to pay, others is credit cards and other random bills. I am trying to get in a better place, I will be done with school in a few months and have pretty good health insurance now (i didn't before). I am married, have a daughter, and everything should be getting better as far as getting back on our feet. I would like to be able to buy a house and such in the future, but unless I do something, I will not be able to

[DeadManCrawling]

Hi shorty,

I would not file at this time, if I were you.

As long as you and your husband are both in school, there really isn't any need to clear the bad debts. You have no real assets and nothing that can be taken from you. You will get calls and letters, of course, from collectors. But if you have nothing to collect, they can't do anything. If they get judgments, those can later be cleared.

I understand your desire to buy a house, but believe me, the housing market will be there, ready when you are. I doubt we will see any meaningful recovery in housing for 6-10 years.

The other posters gave good advice regarding potential medical and so on.

To make it more clear, from my view: Filing BK removes almost all debt in an instant. But, in your position, you cannot be assured that the same types of debt won't just continue to pop up again, from any number of scenarios.

Once you or your husband are out of school, or about to land a source of income that could be garnished, that would probably be the best time to file.

Since it can only be done periodically, the point is, why not wait until every possible debt has piled up, and there is a good chance of finally moving into positive territory in the future.

Of course, it is all your decision, but I and other posters, from our experiences, are hoping to help.

Good luck

[jamesd1967]

the most that they could do to you is garnish your wages, but that is very highly unlikely.

[shortyg]

But how do I even get a chance at gaining better credit when I have so much negative stuff on there for 7 years. With bk it whipes it out and I can build it back in due time, not so much with my situation now

[momofthree]

But how do I even get a chance at gaining better credit when I have so much negative stuff on there for 7 years. With bk it whipes it out and I can build it back in due time, not so much with my situation now

BK wipes out your liability, but the negative accounts still stay on your credit report for 7 years until they drop off, bk doesn't change that.