I have been meaning to post an update for quite some time now, but I have been found it difficult to actually find the time to do so. At least until now!
For those that may just want a quick summary: things are great and better than ever. Bankruptcy was the absolute right choice, and the only thing I would do any differently would be to have done it sooner.
For those that want a longer version, I won’t rehash every last bit of it as that can be found by just searching my posts from over a year ago. I will say that the exact date that I truly decided will forever be stuck in my mind: October 13, 2010. For years and years, far longer than I should have been, I had been making all of my payments, minimum on all my credit cards, and quite literally just getting by with nothing to show for it. All of my debt was credit card debt, an overwhelming majority from my mid to late 20s, much of it travel. I decided to do my absolute best to get my balances down as much as I could, but it was the typical thing that most of us have been through: you pay out hundreds upon hundreds a month to see your balance go down by, maybe, ten dollars. Still, I continued at this for quite some time. I then saved some money for a servicing on my car, saved up even some more assuming there would be some additional cost that I didn’t know about. I go in and sure enough, something else needs repair: brake pads. And they truly did, as I looked at them myself and were getting to the point where it was going to be unsafe to keep them, so I had new brake pads put on and that, of course, brought my bill to hundreds. I had to, you guessed it, get out a credit card and with ONE single scan, any and all progress I had made vanished. As I said, that was October 13, 2010, and I knew at that point there was no hope. Like many of us, I had known this prior, but that was it, THAT is what did it.
I immediately started my research, this forum being the primary focus, and after speaking to people, getting attorney info, etc., I retained the attorney I did end up using a week later. As was recommended here, the attorney immediately told me to stop paying all my credit card debt and to cease using the cards as they could not file if I have used them within two months.
I wrote many posts on this, but one of the scariest parts of the entire process was when the FIRST statement came due, and I did not pay it. I was in front of my computer up to and past midnight wondering if I should just make the payment. I know that sounds odd now, and I look back at it and kind of chuckle, but I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that I have never in my life missed one single payment, been late on a payment, or failed to make at least the minimum payment. I was sick to my stomach, don’t think I slept that entire day, and it was no easier that first month seeing the statements come and go without paying them. A the same time, though, I had actual money! My bank account was no something like $2.50 or some such. As I posted here all that time ago, I was finally able to have more than the most minimum amount of food, and it was shocking to be able to go see a movie and not have to wonder if I should or should not go. Sure, it seems that those are little things, but for me it was huge.
Of course time progressed, I was lucky to get an attorney who kept me advised of everything and answered any and all questions I had either on the phone or via e-mail almost immediately. I read far too many attorney horror stories, so I am thankful to this day for picking the one I did. I am also thankful that I was an extremely ‘straight forward’ bankruptcy in that I am not married, have no children, in an apartment, and have a single car payment, and all my debt was credit card debt, and I was below the median income, so things were, in fact, very simple.
As to be expected, the phone calls started, and I have no actual collections horror stories. Every single company that called, I advised I was going through Chapter 7 and as the attorney said, I gave them his name and phone number, and that was that. They never called back.
The next biggest thing was the 341. Instead of going on and on about it, I’m just going to put the link to my story here as at the time it seemed to be a good read for many here, and if anyone reading this is going through Chapter 7 in or around the Orlando area, you may want to give it a read:
http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...one!-My-review.
So, time passes, I get discharged and then really begin anew. It’s been well over a year since I decided on this route, and it’s been nearly a year since discharge. Things are so much better, and I no longer worry about where, say, my lunch will come from. While not even remotely rich, I have a small but growing savings account now, and I did keep my car, and it will be fully paid off in June, and that will give me even more at that point. I am now able to go out to eat without wondering if I have the money, I’ve been able to buy clothes I had been needing, and just, in general, I’m no longer worrying. I still do not have one single credit card, and while I know I will eventually have to get one again someday to start building my scores and such back up, it is not something I want or need, and I am beyond thankful to know I have learned and grown and things will be different. That’s just it, too, it’s not like being responsible with money is ‘new’ to me, it’s just that by the time I learned it and it fully sank it, it was too late to even begin to pay things off. Just not possible.
Anyway, this went on longer than I thought it would, and as I always do, I want to thank each and every single person that ever helped me here or even gave me words of encouragement. I cannot put into words how thankful I am for that. I also want to tell everyone going through it, be it an ‘easy’ one like mine or one far more complex, to hang in there. You WILL get through it. While I want no one to feel as I was feeling, I did feel some odd comfort knowing others had felt that and survived and gotten through it. So, again, if you are happening to read this and have not felt these things yet or are currently feeling the nerves, anxiety, sickness, and everything else, just know it will pass and many of us have been there. While no one can ever tell you if you should actually go the BK route, if you do decide upon it, do not hesitate. Take it step by step and trust me and others here when we say that when all is said and done, you will be happier, healthier, and, yes, wealthier!
For those that may just want a quick summary: things are great and better than ever. Bankruptcy was the absolute right choice, and the only thing I would do any differently would be to have done it sooner.
For those that want a longer version, I won’t rehash every last bit of it as that can be found by just searching my posts from over a year ago. I will say that the exact date that I truly decided will forever be stuck in my mind: October 13, 2010. For years and years, far longer than I should have been, I had been making all of my payments, minimum on all my credit cards, and quite literally just getting by with nothing to show for it. All of my debt was credit card debt, an overwhelming majority from my mid to late 20s, much of it travel. I decided to do my absolute best to get my balances down as much as I could, but it was the typical thing that most of us have been through: you pay out hundreds upon hundreds a month to see your balance go down by, maybe, ten dollars. Still, I continued at this for quite some time. I then saved some money for a servicing on my car, saved up even some more assuming there would be some additional cost that I didn’t know about. I go in and sure enough, something else needs repair: brake pads. And they truly did, as I looked at them myself and were getting to the point where it was going to be unsafe to keep them, so I had new brake pads put on and that, of course, brought my bill to hundreds. I had to, you guessed it, get out a credit card and with ONE single scan, any and all progress I had made vanished. As I said, that was October 13, 2010, and I knew at that point there was no hope. Like many of us, I had known this prior, but that was it, THAT is what did it.
I immediately started my research, this forum being the primary focus, and after speaking to people, getting attorney info, etc., I retained the attorney I did end up using a week later. As was recommended here, the attorney immediately told me to stop paying all my credit card debt and to cease using the cards as they could not file if I have used them within two months.
I wrote many posts on this, but one of the scariest parts of the entire process was when the FIRST statement came due, and I did not pay it. I was in front of my computer up to and past midnight wondering if I should just make the payment. I know that sounds odd now, and I look back at it and kind of chuckle, but I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that I have never in my life missed one single payment, been late on a payment, or failed to make at least the minimum payment. I was sick to my stomach, don’t think I slept that entire day, and it was no easier that first month seeing the statements come and go without paying them. A the same time, though, I had actual money! My bank account was no something like $2.50 or some such. As I posted here all that time ago, I was finally able to have more than the most minimum amount of food, and it was shocking to be able to go see a movie and not have to wonder if I should or should not go. Sure, it seems that those are little things, but for me it was huge.
Of course time progressed, I was lucky to get an attorney who kept me advised of everything and answered any and all questions I had either on the phone or via e-mail almost immediately. I read far too many attorney horror stories, so I am thankful to this day for picking the one I did. I am also thankful that I was an extremely ‘straight forward’ bankruptcy in that I am not married, have no children, in an apartment, and have a single car payment, and all my debt was credit card debt, and I was below the median income, so things were, in fact, very simple.
As to be expected, the phone calls started, and I have no actual collections horror stories. Every single company that called, I advised I was going through Chapter 7 and as the attorney said, I gave them his name and phone number, and that was that. They never called back.
The next biggest thing was the 341. Instead of going on and on about it, I’m just going to put the link to my story here as at the time it seemed to be a good read for many here, and if anyone reading this is going through Chapter 7 in or around the Orlando area, you may want to give it a read:
http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...one!-My-review.
So, time passes, I get discharged and then really begin anew. It’s been well over a year since I decided on this route, and it’s been nearly a year since discharge. Things are so much better, and I no longer worry about where, say, my lunch will come from. While not even remotely rich, I have a small but growing savings account now, and I did keep my car, and it will be fully paid off in June, and that will give me even more at that point. I am now able to go out to eat without wondering if I have the money, I’ve been able to buy clothes I had been needing, and just, in general, I’m no longer worrying. I still do not have one single credit card, and while I know I will eventually have to get one again someday to start building my scores and such back up, it is not something I want or need, and I am beyond thankful to know I have learned and grown and things will be different. That’s just it, too, it’s not like being responsible with money is ‘new’ to me, it’s just that by the time I learned it and it fully sank it, it was too late to even begin to pay things off. Just not possible.
Anyway, this went on longer than I thought it would, and as I always do, I want to thank each and every single person that ever helped me here or even gave me words of encouragement. I cannot put into words how thankful I am for that. I also want to tell everyone going through it, be it an ‘easy’ one like mine or one far more complex, to hang in there. You WILL get through it. While I want no one to feel as I was feeling, I did feel some odd comfort knowing others had felt that and survived and gotten through it. So, again, if you are happening to read this and have not felt these things yet or are currently feeling the nerves, anxiety, sickness, and everything else, just know it will pass and many of us have been there. While no one can ever tell you if you should actually go the BK route, if you do decide upon it, do not hesitate. Take it step by step and trust me and others here when we say that when all is said and done, you will be happier, healthier, and, yes, wealthier!
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