It's been more than 6 months since I realized I'd have to file BK due to my company shutting down and being unable to continue repaying a large medical debt. I made my last credit card purchase in April. Since then, I've asked a bunch of questions here, many people have been very helpful, and I've learned a lot about the process. Thought I'd contribute something back.
Also since I stopped using credit cards, my life has been just fine. Not that I had overspent on my CCs; no. It's just that I didn't really need them. Aside from a few landlords with horse blinders on, I haven't had any trouble.
1. I retained a BK attorney soon after I realized I had to file because my leftover savings would never cover monthly payments, even if I took a high-paying job.
2. I took advantage of Covid-19 forbearances on all loans and credit cards. This lasted for 3+ months.
3. I continued making a little money to pay for living expenses along with the savings.
4. When each creditor called, I told them to contact my attorney instead. Zero calls since. Note that I still have not filed!
5. My credit cards were closed. Cool. What did I miss? The Chase Sapphire airport lounge during Covid? Points?
You want points, get a privacy.com debit card with 1% cashback, which also protects your privacy - the opposite of what credit card companies do.
6. The vast, vast majority of daily expenses can be paid with debit cards. My bank accounts have been left alone. But to be extra cautious, I opened a few crypto debit card accounts, and moved some money there. When I file, I'm going to declare everything that's left. It's just a hedge against some hostile account closure.
7. Some (not all) car rentals require a credit card. But Turo.com is a peer-to-peer car sharing platform much cheaper than car rental companies - it's the Airbnb for cars. So Hertz & co can screw themselves.
8. Leasing a home requires a credit check but:
a) If the landlord is sane, you can negotiate with them, explain your situation, and offer to pay rent upfront, a higher rate, higher security deposits etc. Also, your credit *was* good until recently, right?
b) You don't really *need* the whole credit check brouhaha to rent. Besides Airbnb, there are a TON of long-term furnished apartment rentals that don't care about your credit - Sonder, Zeus Living, Urban Flat, Hello Landing, Blueground, Kasa, 2ndaddress.com, Locale, Lyric, Bode etc. They're more expensive, but you don't need to buy furniture and pay for utilities and go through all that hassle. Show up and start living. No credit check BS.
9. Find a way to make money. A job is a surefire thing. But (this is not investment advice) have a look at cryptocurrencies. It's not even funny how they've tripled this year in our sleep, while we've been working our asses off. This is Bitcoin:
https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin (click "1y"; I'd attach a screenshot if the forum allowed me to)
Bankruptcy is a time to reinvent yourself. To challenge how you see money. To look in new directions.
At this point, I'm wondering - why exactly would I bother filing? Why have all my private financial data permanently stored in the public record? What do I need credit for, when I can continue working online, renting, saving money, investing it (in crypto, its risk-free cousin DeFi staking, or whatever)? Buying a house is a questionable investment, and in this uncertain and remote-work world, I'm grateful I'm not tied down to a location. Even for conventional rentals, they ask if you've filed for bankruptcy in the past 7 years. Why would I want to have to answer "yes" to that? Why would I want to put myself through a humiliating Chapter 13 process, with a budget set by someone else, and my expenses monitored?
Creditors have stopped calling long ago. I seem to be doing fine without that FICO number. What am I missing?
It's also actually quite possible to work, live frugally, and for crypto to go up enough to be able to repay those loans faster than the filing process + my credit recovering. Loans can also be renegotiated (though you'll need to pay taxes on the difference).
So when does it make sense to file?
Also since I stopped using credit cards, my life has been just fine. Not that I had overspent on my CCs; no. It's just that I didn't really need them. Aside from a few landlords with horse blinders on, I haven't had any trouble.
1. I retained a BK attorney soon after I realized I had to file because my leftover savings would never cover monthly payments, even if I took a high-paying job.
2. I took advantage of Covid-19 forbearances on all loans and credit cards. This lasted for 3+ months.
3. I continued making a little money to pay for living expenses along with the savings.
4. When each creditor called, I told them to contact my attorney instead. Zero calls since. Note that I still have not filed!
5. My credit cards were closed. Cool. What did I miss? The Chase Sapphire airport lounge during Covid? Points?
You want points, get a privacy.com debit card with 1% cashback, which also protects your privacy - the opposite of what credit card companies do.
6. The vast, vast majority of daily expenses can be paid with debit cards. My bank accounts have been left alone. But to be extra cautious, I opened a few crypto debit card accounts, and moved some money there. When I file, I'm going to declare everything that's left. It's just a hedge against some hostile account closure.
7. Some (not all) car rentals require a credit card. But Turo.com is a peer-to-peer car sharing platform much cheaper than car rental companies - it's the Airbnb for cars. So Hertz & co can screw themselves.
8. Leasing a home requires a credit check but:
a) If the landlord is sane, you can negotiate with them, explain your situation, and offer to pay rent upfront, a higher rate, higher security deposits etc. Also, your credit *was* good until recently, right?
b) You don't really *need* the whole credit check brouhaha to rent. Besides Airbnb, there are a TON of long-term furnished apartment rentals that don't care about your credit - Sonder, Zeus Living, Urban Flat, Hello Landing, Blueground, Kasa, 2ndaddress.com, Locale, Lyric, Bode etc. They're more expensive, but you don't need to buy furniture and pay for utilities and go through all that hassle. Show up and start living. No credit check BS.
9. Find a way to make money. A job is a surefire thing. But (this is not investment advice) have a look at cryptocurrencies. It's not even funny how they've tripled this year in our sleep, while we've been working our asses off. This is Bitcoin:
https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin (click "1y"; I'd attach a screenshot if the forum allowed me to)
Bankruptcy is a time to reinvent yourself. To challenge how you see money. To look in new directions.
At this point, I'm wondering - why exactly would I bother filing? Why have all my private financial data permanently stored in the public record? What do I need credit for, when I can continue working online, renting, saving money, investing it (in crypto, its risk-free cousin DeFi staking, or whatever)? Buying a house is a questionable investment, and in this uncertain and remote-work world, I'm grateful I'm not tied down to a location. Even for conventional rentals, they ask if you've filed for bankruptcy in the past 7 years. Why would I want to have to answer "yes" to that? Why would I want to put myself through a humiliating Chapter 13 process, with a budget set by someone else, and my expenses monitored?
Creditors have stopped calling long ago. I seem to be doing fine without that FICO number. What am I missing?
It's also actually quite possible to work, live frugally, and for crypto to go up enough to be able to repay those loans faster than the filing process + my credit recovering. Loans can also be renegotiated (though you'll need to pay taxes on the difference).
So when does it make sense to file?
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