One Year Later..........

[okiebk09]

Tomorrow is one year out from discharge. I like to come one here every once in awhile and tell the newbies that there is hope for a fresh start. We had a CH 7 no asset case. We kept our house but did NOT reaffirm the mortgage with Chase. One year out and no problems with them. We have secured a LOW car loan with our Credit Union and a low payment to restablish credit. We have managed it easily. We have one other car that is paid for and not the nicest thing but is dependable. We have had a fresh start and life is 100% better. So to those of you trying to decide if it is worth it to file...i think that is a personal decision but i want to tell you not to worry about the "stigma" of bk. We have had no issues and no one knows. You learn that you don't have to apply for credit cards and that if you don't have cash well then you don't need that item. It has been such a freeing experience and it also makes you think twice about what you spend and makes you happy to know that every time you go to the store you ARE paying for it then. So I encourage you all to take control of your life and do not be indebted to this world. We all make mistakes but the important aspect of the process is to learn from it. I hope you all take control and become as debt free as possible.

[screentest]

Thanks for the encouraging words. After spending years on the financial treadmill with no way off I also succumbed to the realization that I am bankrupt. I cant possibly get away from my debt load so I finally found this site and retained an attorney. I am still 7 weeks out from filing.

Now that I made it this far, I just hope the BK process goes smoothly and I get to the other side without any problems. I could not handle being forced into a chapter 13. I am fine with the BK label, I will recover.

Its nice to hear from those that have gone before us. It is very encouraging.

Thank You

ST

[ryan]

This is a great post/report....Its encouraging to hear stories like this. I haven't used CC for 8 months and had forgotten what it would be like to live without them. I had also forgotten that I'd never even had a single CC until 30 years old.

You're right - it is manageable.

[spikelavende]

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I am just a few days post-filing and feel like I can breathe for the first time in seven years. It tooks years and years of barely getting by just to pay the minimums on my cards, yet had nothing to show for them, as the interest was insane, even though they weren't being used. I struggled for so long because I was afraid of the stigma of bankruptcy. Now my only regret is that I didn't do this earlier. Like you said, if you can't pay cash, you don't need it -- it's scary to live without the safety net of credit cards, but it's also a great feeling to have your life back again. Next week I plan on answering my phone again.

[tanmag]

Thank you for your encouraging words. I'm glad this has all worked out for you and I so look forward to that day :O)

[KAKRN97]

Glad to hear you are doing well! I hope to be where you are soon! I just dropped off all the paperwork and $1200 payment at my lawyers office this morning.

[Ann]

Yes, we need more encouraging reports like this! I too am sorry I didn't realize this much sooner. I have not used a credit card since August 09. One thing I LOVE about not using them is the fact I don't have to worry about PAYING them! There was never a week that would go by that I didn't owe some credit card company something. Cash is so much better. Like the previous poster said going to the store and paying on an item just knowing it is paid for BEFORE you leave the store is wonderful. Now if we need something we know we have to budget for it or we just don't get it. We know food, utilities, housing and gas for the cars come BEFORE anything else. I pray for the day that I can come back here and tell my successful story a YEAR LATER!!!

[nceguyfromne]

Amen!

I just had my 341 meeting this morning and already feel the burden lifted. I've learned an important lesson in all this. If you're bankrupt, you're bankrupt. Bankruptcy is not just a decision, it's a state of being. If your ongoing/long-term expenses are higher than your ongoing/long-term income and unsecured debt is a major factor, then you're probably bankrupt. I was bankrupt for about 3 years before I could finally say it out loud or even admit it to myself. Somehow, I kept finding the money to keep making the payments month after month and that was all that mattered in my narrow mind. I had once had "perfect credit" and wasn't about to admit defeat. I'd suffered some setbacks after my divorce 4 years ago but thought I could come out on the other side an "honest man." It took getting remarried, laid off and then watching my interest rates and minimum payments skyrocket after Obama's "credit card reform" to finally realize I was in fact bankrupt and it was never going to work. I didn't want my new family paying the price for my debt for the next twenty years.

Ideally I would have made this decision 3 years ago, but better late than never! Best wishes to all of you going down the same road. Trust me, it's worth it!

[daglo]

Tomorrow is one year out from discharge. I like to come one here every once in awhile and tell the newbies that there is hope for a fresh start. We had a CH 7 no asset case. We kept our house but did NOT reaffirm the mortgage with Chase. One year out and no problems with them. We have secured a LOW car loan with our Credit Union and a low payment to restablish credit. We have managed it easily. We have one other car that is paid for and not the nicest thing but is dependable. We have had a fresh start and life is 100% better. So to those of you trying to decide if it is worth it to file...i think that is a personal decision but i want to tell you not to worry about the "stigma" of bk. We have had no issues and no one knows. You learn that you don't have to apply for credit cards and that if you don't have cash well then you don't need that item. It has been such a freeing experience and it also makes you think twice about what you spend and makes you happy to know that every time you go to the store you ARE paying for it then. So I encourage you all to take control of your life and do not be indebted to this world. We all make mistakes but the important aspect of the process is to learn from it. I hope you all take control and become as debt free as possible.

I would like to file a 7. We have no assets, are underwater with our home by about 250,000, and we have no retirement, savings, assets, etc. We just have alot of debt, about 60,000, and would like to file a 7. A 13 is what they told us we would have to do, but the payment was too high to make, leaving us with about 200 a month for food and extras! We didn't go with that attorney, and are just waiting it out. Time is running out, as I got my first judgement today.

[nceguyfromne]

re: daglo

daglo, you should consult another attorney or do some further research of your own on your particular situation. There aren't many people who can't qualify for Chapter 7 and *have to* file Chapter 13. Of course there are circumstances when 13 is the better option, but if you are underwater on your mortgage and have no other assets, then I can't really see 13 being the better option for you since you have no need to protect any assets.

[tmoschetto]

Nice post! I just got my discharge in April and looking back, I wish I had filed years ago instead of hanging on making minimum payments and stressing. Now I actually feel like I have optimism for the future.

I have to admit, I felt filing for bankruptcy was some sort of moral shortfall...until I was able to separate the emotion from it and make a true business decision with regard to my own personal financial life.

It is sort of scary not to have the "safety net" of being able to use credit cards in an emergency, but my main focus now is building my savings, both long- and short-term, so that needs are covered, wants are saved for, and emergencies can be handled by planning ahead. My emergency fund is where I am putting all my money right now because something ALWAYS comes up at the worst possible time. It's just nice to feel proactive and in control now, instead of feeling dread and like I was just treading water before filing.

[Jackdog]

Thank you for your encouragement. I'm still a few months away from filing but I'm really enjoying living off cash only. The simple things that I haven't been able to do in years trying to get ahead on debt. Grocery shopping number one. I used to stress every time I went to the grocery store because all the money was going to debt and there was barely anything left over for food, clothes, all the things we really needed. Now I go I pay cash and I can afford so much more than before. My bank account no longer has the 2-20 dollars it used to have in it every week after the bills were paid. No longer living paycheck to paycheck is the biggest thing for me. I actually pay all of the household bills ahead of time now. Something that for years now never happened. I made stupid mistakes with credit but I think I've learned from those mistakes already. I never in my life want to go back to that way of living. If I can't afford it I don't need it.

[daglo]

daglo, you should consult another attorney or do some further research of your own on your particular situation. There aren't many people who can't qualify for Chapter 7 and *have to* file Chapter 13. Of course there are circumstances when 13 is the better option, but if you are underwater on your mortgage and have no other assets, then I can't really see 13 being the better option for you since you have no need to protect any assets.

Thank you for the reply. We are looking into other attorneys. We have an income of about 100,000 a year, see about 5400 a month after taxes. Our house payment is 2600, utilities are about 550, car payments are 520, tax bills of 500, insurances are 200, cell phone 25, food is 650, we are already at 5000, so I don't know how they want 1800 a month for unsecured debt. We want to keep our home, we owe more on our cars than they are worth. We were told our income is too high for a 7. I don't see any other way. We are barely making it and not even paying our cc bills. We stopped paying last April 09 after I lost my job, and we got our first judgement letter today from Chase. This is making me physically ill, as we've never been in this situation in 36 years of marriage. We are not kids, but in our late 50's. We had excellent credit until our misfortunes.

[SMinGA]

Daglo - I'm confused.

What is $500 tax bills? This would be a priority debt in your plan, and so you would not keep making that payment.

Sounds like you need to discuss this in more detail so you understand what your attorney is proposing. It may also include your car loan as priority debt.

In general though, unless there is a typo in your #s, saving a $2600 mortgage on $5400 take home is a tough request.

Thank you for the reply. We are looking into other attorneys. We have an income of about 100,000 a year, see about 5400 a month after taxes. Our house payment is 2600, utilities are about 550, car payments are 520, tax bills of 500, insurances are 200, cell phone 25, food is 650, we are already at 5000, so I don't know how they want 1800 a month for unsecured debt. We want to keep our home, we owe more on our cars than they are worth. We were told our income is too high for a 7. I don't see any other way. We are barely making it and not even paying our cc bills. We stopped paying last April 09 after I lost my job, and we got our first judgement letter today from Chase. This is making me physically ill, as we've never been in this situation in 36 years of marriage. We are not kids, but in our late 50's. We had excellent credit until our misfortunes.

[nceguyfromne]

to daglo

daglo, your income sounds a little high to file Chapter 7 without "presumption of abuse," but that doesn't mean you couldn't file anyway and see what the court and your creditors have to say about it. At worse they'll convert it to a Chapter 13. You may need to work on your budget a little, though, if you want the court to approve a repayment plan.

If you want my opinion, though, hanging onto a house and cars that are a) very close to being beyond your means and b) a very bad investment (since they are all underwater) is probably not the best way to get a "fresh start." I think you may want to consider some lifestyle changes at this point.