Should I file ?

[jast]

[chpxiii]

The only 2 choice I have that I see is file or do some credit negotiate, I have talked to BK lawyers and DN reps. Of course each one says the other is evil. The lawyers say you have to be careful because a lot of The DN will screw you and the creditor can hit you with a lawsuit. The DN people say filing BK and you can’t get a house, car, apartment for 10 + years.

I'll only comment on this paragraph as I'm not sure whether you should file, only you can determine that.

First of all.. many debt negotiators are not legitimate. I don't know which ones are legitimate but from my understanding they are few and far between.

Here is an article on how debt negotiators work. They charge you a percentage of the overall debt, and if any debt is forgiven that is above $600, you will be sent a 1099 form and be saddled with income taxes of the forgiven debt. Read this article on debt negotiators:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/debt/debtmanageguide/negotiators1.asp

As far as bankruptcy is concerned.

Successful Chapter 7 bankruptcies (those discharged) will stay on your credit report for 10 years.

A successful Chapter 13 bankruptcy (those discharged) will stay on your credit report for 7 years from the date of filing.

Example: You file this year and your plan may be 36 or up to 60 months, then you get discharged after successful completion. Your bankruptcy will then fall off your credit report 7 years from this year, not from when you complete. So, if you had a 60 month payment plan, that's 5 years, and your Chapter 13 should fall off 2 years after that.

An unsuccessful Chapter 13 bankruptcy (those dismissed) will stay on your credit report for 10 years.

You most certainly CAN purchase cars and a house after having filed bankruptcy even BEFORE your bankruptcy falls off of your credit card. That is a LIE the debt negotiators are telling you to get your business. Read the "Rebuilding Credit" forums here for many success stories. Also, go into the Mortgage forum. There are plenty of people buying houses after bankruptcy in as little as 2 years after bankruptcy.

Consult with several bankruptcy attorneys as to which chapter you would file given your situation.

[Skorpnix]

Oh boy. Do I remember the feeling how you feel as I was there last year. With BK, the minute you file you have protection from any lawsuits and will have that til either a) you complete the bk process and then they are discharged or b) your case is dismissed and the protection is lifted and they can go after you again. I know in a Chap 13 you can keep all your cars, houses etc within reason in a Chap 7 from what I have heard you can keep them as long as you are current on them. Again, that is what I have heard. Verify that though. Good luck either way.

[magyar123]

Go ahead and file - you will get rid of all your debts. amd won't have any more sleepless nights. Those DN people are full of..... Don't believe a word of that crap. True, the public notice about your bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for ten years. Car loan rates will be at loanshark levels, but still possible to get, a lot of people, me included, were financed within 2-3 months.
And I suppose apartment complex managers will approve you - they pull a credit report on you, and see that you don't have any more debts.
Buying a house is a completely different dog.

[B12]

Just a thought, especially if you are in 20s or 30s.

Seems like it is just you so there is no family to worry about at this point. All things being relative, $15,000 is not that much debt to pay off.

Can you go to a cash only basis and get a better paying job or even a part time job to squash that cc debt? I might even let them repossess the bike to get rid of that payment. One repo is better than BK.

Look into the Dave Ramsey books or listen to him on the radio daily.

BK, although an excellent option, stays with you for 7-10 years and if you are young, this can intrude on your life.

Get rid of the unnecessary expenses like the gym, etc. and I am betting that you can knock off that $15,000 in less time than 7-10years.

[HeatherB]

Just a note if you do decide to file. Stay current on your bills. Your credit score will be less affected. Don't wait until you haven't paid bills for a year. (thus your credit score is too low to do anything with)

Some apartment housing is strict with no bk. Some will accept tenancy with a large deposit. Some you can have a co-signer. Buying a house is possible depending on your scores. Some lenders may not want to offer you a loan due to bk, but this is more likely to happen if you have a bunch of late payments on your record.

The thing is, bk may close off some prime options. But it doesn't shut you out of the whole world. If that were the case then all (most) of us on here are homeless, jobless, carless, and credit-less.

If you know you are at a place that can only get worse, then opt to file. Like if you accidentally miss one payment and can not recoup after that. If you can see yourself buckling down and cutting back on everything possible and perhaps being able to pay things off in the next (er.... up to 5 or so) years then it may be in your best interest to suck it up and fight for that.

[SinkingFast]

Is that $15K total in CC debt?? Or is that $15K/CC, times 3 accts, for a total of $45K in CC debt??

What's your debt in relation to what you make/year??

If you make $15K and you owe $15K, then maybe you could cut some corners, get a better paying job or a 2nd job, and gut it out to get out of debt. But if it's $45K in debt with $15K in income,.......... That's a whole different situation.

I'd suggest you chat with a financial adviser first. Get with CCCS of Atlanta, or Hummingbird, or Green Path, and chat with one of their Counselors. Their Consultations are generally free. Lay out your finances. See what a professional financial Counselor has to say about your situation. That's what we did and the Counselor told us point blank to seek legal counsel.

Once you've gotten a Credit Counselor's opinion, decide where to go from there.

[nc73]

Man that is cheap...1800 to file..

[jast]

[Minnymouth]

Put yourself on a strict budget - use your "fun money" to help pay down your cc..... get a parttime job (say 3 days a week) and put that on your cc. Won't take long if you stick to a plan. Put back $25.00 a pay period for "emergencies".........

If you don't want to file bankruptcy, then its time to regroup and tighten the belt..................

Where there's a will there's a way...... not going to be easy..... but then life isn't.....

[SinkingFast]

I don't mean to be rude,............ And I certainly can't claim to know what's going on with all of your life, but,..........

It sounds like you want to take the easy way out by filing BK.

You're talking to people here who owe/owed as much as 2-3 times what they make in a year. Who struggled with the debts for YEARS trying to pay. We looked to file BK only as a solution of LAST resort.

You currently make in excess of 2x what you owe. You have potential already to increase your earnings in your "career position". Not counting, if you get a part-time job and apply the majority of that Net to your bills.

Just because we filed BK, doesn't mean we didn't make it thru other rough patches in our lives. There's lots of cost cutting you can do to help pay off your bills.

You can move to a cheaper place to live. Eat out less and cook at home more. Make a brown bag lunch to take to work. Forget grabbing Starbuck's on the way to work. Rent DVD's instead of going to the movies. Cut off the newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Ride share/car pool with a coworker.

You're young and you're looking to throw in the towel without having given it the good, old "College Try" first.

[jast]

I have had other people tell me that, they may be right. I have been waking up at 3:00am every night for a week worrying about this. It's not like I have not tried I have but like I said and I am sure you guys know things come up out of the blue that knocked me back in. I also know that the CC are the only thing that saved me and if I do go and File I will not have them as an option and will have to do a major life change.

I would love to live some were cheaper but I don't think I will beat $300 a month

I guess now all I really want to figure out am I better off starting over with no debt or spending the time it takes to pay off what I have now. Right now I seem to be ok not adding to the CC but not bring them down so something is going to have to change. But if I lose my job or lose my place to live I would fall behind in all my bills in a few months.

I feel like I am not making any head way in paying them off and I am just prolonging and throwing away more money when I am just going to end up filing later.

[keepmine]

The reason you are making no headway is, you have no idea where your money is going. Those expenses you listed are barely over $1500.You gross $3K/month. You need to be able to account for every nickel you spend to get a worthwhile budget.
Stop using those cards and take advantage of the cheap rent. View your tax refund as a source of funds for a savings account to cover unexpected expenses.
Me, I made {athe time I filed} about $35K and filed on $71K worth of cc debt. Even being married, I could have paid off $17K on my income. Today, I make more money but, I also have a pt gig working 2 nights a week. The answer to your problem is first, find out where you are leaking money and then, try and increase your income. Doesn't have to be forever-just until you get this thing under control

[B12]

In total agreement with not filing BK. Take some short term hits to help yourself long term. You can probably pay off the cc debt in way less than 5 years if you do some of the things the other posters suggested.

Again, not to be rude, but financial wellness is about a lifestyle change. IMO, you are taking the easy way out that will eventually hurt you long term.

[SinkingFast]

You need to be able to account for every nickel you spend to get a worthwhile budget.

You definitely need to know where your money is going.

My Dad didn't make much money. For years, my Mom carried a little memo pad in her purse. If she spent a penny to buy gum for us kids, she wrote it down in the memo pad. She literally knew where every penny spent went.

You've got to look for your spending leaks. The latte factor.

One of the top ways people waste money,.............. Buying bottled water at convenience stores.

Think about it. If you meet the gang from breakfast just 1 day a week on the way to work,................ That danish and coffee that costs $5/wk accumulates to be $260/yr.

Lunch out every day @ $5/day, 5 days a week is $1300/yr. But if you brown bag it and spend only $2/day on lunch, you've saved yourself $780/yr.

Earlier you mentioned you might get a new job with a $4K/yr increase. $4K/yr for 10 years is $40K that you didn't have before. Not counting raises you might get on that $4K.

Little things here and there don't seem like much at the time, but they sure can add up.