Hardest Part is Starting

[hp2002grad]

Hello Everyone,

I found this site doing some general research on Bankruptcy and have been extremely impressed with the amount of knowledge that is in the posts/topics. It has helped me gather resources and answers to questions that I have had. After much consideration, I've got an appointment with a bankruptcy attorney for a consultation. I've been so stressed out the past couple months, dealing with feelings of guilt, disappointment, and anger that it has really affected my mental health. I'm starting to understand that financial situations can happen to anyone.

I made some bad investments and tried living off CCs and personal loans for almost 2 years now. I have a steady income but it has come to the point where my minimum payments to the CCs and personal loans account for more than 70% of my take home pay. This does not include my mortgage and car payment. This decision to meet with a lawyer has been difficult to accept but reading all the success stories here and how most struggled with starting the journey and going thru the motions until discharge, etc. has really helped me out. I read the blog of JustBroke and it also helped tremendously. I can finally think of getting out of this and can even imagine a light at the end of the tunnel.

Are there any suggestions or questions I should bring up? I filed BK7 over 11 years ago and never imagined i would be here again, much less with a family of 4. Thank you all in advance.

HP

[Carmella]

I do understand the emotional/psychological aspect of deciding to seek help for BK.

My husband and I went through Chapter 13 it was not easy, but it was necessary. Talk to the attorney and gather information. You can talk to more than one attorney and if you feel like something isn't right with the attorney definitely see another. The first one we saw said we wouldn't be able to do BK 13. Honestly, I think he wanted to do a debt consolidation to make more $ off of us since he would be negotiating with all our creditors. In this scenario there's no guarantee creditors will settle and I just pictured a higher cost while he/his company was on the phone with creditor, put on hold, etc.

The first year was the toughest year for us and it gradually got better. Not necessarily easier, but also as you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And please learn to change your habits especially since you have been through BK before. I can't speak for everyone, but living almost 5 yrs on the BK payment plan taught us a good lesson not to get into debt again and some of the habits we learned during those 5 yrs have stuck with us. It took a while to feel ok with spending money.

[Barbisi]

For us, those five years were mostly pure hell. As Carmella stated, some aspects do ease after the first year, but not the struggle to make it through with old cars and HVACs and other home appliances and systems on the brink of collapse, as we personally experienced.
We went in with a 2005 Nissan and a 2013 Nissan, both Sentras, and a newly purchased 1975 two story home already needing updates and repairs in 2017.
We came out in 2022 with two cars only marginally drivable, but with significant increased home valuation that allowed us to sell to an investor and still reap a more than decent profit upon our discharge, permitting us to relocate to a far better climate with lush greenery in the PNW, instead of the dry, brown high desert that is Colorado. Twelve years and many bad memories there were enough, LOL!
My advice is to replace an older vehicle with the most recent one, say 2021 or newer, that you can afford prior to filing. In our case, had we rid ourselves of the 2005 model, our BK13 term would have been less stressful and far easier to survive.
Best of luck on a smooth filing!