Gambling debts, little income, no assets

[Flamingo]

I am sorry but I don't see how anyone can support the OP filing for Bankruptcy. If he or she is 'working 11-12' hours a day then he DOES have income and should try to work out payment arrangements with the creditors. Even making minimum payments and working more hours or getting a higher paying job now or in the future is better than trashing ones financial future for 7-10 years.

It is much different if you are unemployed, and you find that you can't get a job due to a myriad of factors that keep people in the USA long term unemployed -- Too Old, Too Ugly, Imperfect Credit, Bad at Interviewing, Spotty job history with less than favorable references.

And again, how does one who is college age get in six figures of credit card debt and even getting access to that much available credit.

And the gambling addiction must be brought under control. It is a sickness no different than Bipolar disorder and requires equivalent type psyc meds.

What the OP needs to do and he knows it is file BK to get out of the mess he is in and stop gambling. No matter how a gambler dances around it, gambling is not a job but part of the ADHD / OCD disorders that involve risks and cumpulsions. In fact, some medications can make one gamble and it will be stated right in the side effects that accompanies the prescription. Hitting rock bottom, medication and therapy can turn around a gambler. They also need a supportive system of family and friends or else they go right back at it after treatment. That is why organizations such as AA and GA exist. If it was easy, they would not exist. To the OP - file and get yourself out of this. Realize you can end up in a continual cycle of self-destruction to yourself and destroy the lives of those around you if you continue on as you are. You yourself realize that or you would not be on this forum considering filing bankruptcy at such a young age for gambling debt. This is not preaching but a real life reality check. Gambling is not a business except for the casino owners who rake in the money cause the odds are always in their favor. Learn from this, change your life, get the medical and mental help you truly need and you have a lot of time to turn around your life. With all that debt at a young age how will you ever afford to support a family and children? If it is a continual cycle, you may not be able to have a family and children cause you will be in constant debt and filing bankruptcy every 8 years. What kind of life is that?

My previous posting about the gambling senior is true and that is something you should read and realize that can be you if you do not act now.

[scaredgambler54]

Full time student -- on break right now.

I am sorry but I don't see how anyone can support the OP filing for Bankruptcy. If he or she is 'working 11-12' hours a day then he DOES have income and should try to work out payment arrangements with the creditors. Even making minimum payments and working more hours or getting a higher paying job now or in the future is better than trashing ones financial future for 7-10 years.

It is much different if you are unemployed, and you find that you can't get a job due to a myriad of factors that keep people in the USA long term unemployed -- Too Old, Too Ugly, Imperfect Credit, Bad at Interviewing, Spotty job history with less than favorable references.

And again, how does one who is college age get in six figures of credit card debt and even getting access to that much available credit.

And the gambling addiction must be brought under control. It is a sickness no different than Bipolar disorder and requires equivalent type psyc meds.

[NAL123]

I have seen many like the OP in regards to gambling. Somehow people who have a gambling addiction or a problem with alcohol are somehow given more vindication than say if you are bipolar and accumulated debt thru compulsive shopping although the financial damage can be equal or greater. I guess having Bipolar disorder and having accumulated CC debt due to manias exacerbated by misdiagnosis makes one a whackjob & freak but if you are down 100K thru gambling it makes a nice conversational topic to your college buddies over a few beers.

I don't support BK because this person is working (10 or 11 hours a day) and likely can get a higher paying job to start paying off creditors and other debts. In the USA 'kids' in their 20's & recent college grads are golden getting a menu of job offers with high starting salaries.

Try being in your mid 30's unemployed with massive credit card debt and being forced to BK because no one will hire you because of a spotty employment record, lack of references, or bad credit. THEN BK is necessary. It isn't in this case when this person seems more than able to start paying off the debts even if he or she has to work out payment arrangements with each creditor (and that doesn't mean any credit counseling outfit).

[woeisme]

NAL123, This kid is in school, not working a job, see the posts where he says he has money from an internship. If he quits school to pay off debt, he won't be able to find this mythical high paying job that you think 20-somethings find at the drop of a hat while you in your 30's can never get. I am a college professor, and I see a lot of hard working, bright kids who even with their degrees have a hard time finding a job, and when they do, they're making ~30K a year at best to start out. (I live in Ohio, which is economically depressed, but even if they make more on the coasts, cost of living there is higher.) I don't know what your personal experiences are, but I know that it's tough for kids in their 20's to get high paying jobs, I have 4 step-kids ages 26 through 19, two have degrees, and all are working jobs that would never come close to letting them pay off almost 100K in credit card debts. Heck, my salary is around 90K and I can't pay off my 88K in credit card debt (and 50K student loans) so am in a 65% payoff CH 13. Even my trustee agreed with my paperwork that I could only pay off 65%, so I guess I'm wondering what kind of job do you think the kid could get to pay off 100K in debt, because he'd have to be making at least that much (100K) in salary a year, and as far as I know, those jobs don't exist for a college drop-out.

[scaredgambler54]

Correct. I am serious about turning this ship around. BK is my option of last resort to tell you the truth (as it is with nearly everyone)

With no assets, I probably could declare CH 7 and have a clean slate. However, I got myself in this mess and I don't know or think that having it wipped away would fix my problems.

Thus, I am starting with GA (attended my first meeting this week), am going to take off a semester and find some work. I have lots of skills, and have more or less completed my core coursework for my major.

I believe that I have to work because just to make the min. payments on my cards plus other obligations would require at least 3k a month, which I might be able to pull off, maybe not.

A BK of default on cards will not serve me well in the industry I wish to work in. Thus, even if I have to take a break to at least get a grip on what I have and start to make some headroom, so be it. I think in the long run it will help me out the most.

I got myself into this mess, and thus, I feel I have to get myself out of this mess. Having someone bail me out might enable me to get back into my old ways.

First and foremost is treatment of my compuslive gambling. Second is working out plans with the casinos, which I am doing right now. The payments they require are a lot, but it is kept in house, and I should be able to clear those up within the time frame they require. They were helpful and explained my options.

CC's I will continue to make min payments on cards with lower interest rates (some have 0% still) and try to pay down my higher interest ones. The only issue I see is that some of my 0% cards have cash advances on them (but not all do), thus while the purchase/balance transfer balance does not accrue finance charges, the cash advances do.

Thanks all for the advice.

[stljohn]

I have seen many like the OP in regards to gambling. Somehow people who have a gambling addiction or a problem with alcohol are somehow given more vindication than say if you are bipolar and accumulated debt thru compulsive shopping although the financial damage can be equal or greater. I guess having Bipolar disorder and having accumulated CC debt due to manias exacerbated by misdiagnosis makes one a whackjob & freak but if you are down 100K thru gambling it makes a nice conversational topic to your college buddies over a few beers.

I don't support BK because this person is working (10 or 11 hours a day) and likely can get a higher paying job to start paying off creditors and other debts. In the USA 'kids' in their 20's & recent college grads are golden getting a menu of job offers with high starting salaries.

Try being in your mid 30's unemployed with massive credit card debt and being forced to BK because no one will hire you because of a spotty employment record, lack of references, or bad credit. THEN BK is necessary. It isn't in this case when this person seems more than able to start paying off the debts even if he or she has to work out payment arrangements with each creditor (and that doesn't mean any credit counseling outfit).

i'm not a moderator on this board but i've several other of your posts and i'm going to take the liberty of suggesting you are on the wrong board. no one comes here to be chastised by someone holding themselves higher then the rest they need insight and support in dealing with problems we all share.

i think you should offer useful insight and keep your snarky comments to yourself.

[NAL123]

NAL123, This kid is in school, not working a job, see the posts where he says he has money from an internship. If he quits school to pay off debt, he won't be able to find this mythical high paying job that you think 20-somethings find at the drop of a hat while you in your 30's can never get. I am a college professor, and I see a lot of hard working, bright kids who even with their degrees have a hard time finding a job, and when they do, they're making ~30K a year at best to start out. (I live in Ohio, which is economically depressed, but even if they make more on the coasts, cost of living there is higher.) I don't know what your personal experiences are, but I know that it's tough for kids in their 20's to get high paying jobs, I have 4 step-kids ages 26 through 19, two have degrees, and all are working jobs that would never come close to letting them pay off almost 100K in credit card debts. Heck, my salary is around 90K and I can't pay off my 88K in credit card debt (and 50K student loans) so am in a 65% payoff CH 13. Even my trustee agreed with my paperwork that I could only pay off 65%, so I guess I'm wondering what kind of job do you think the kid could get to pay off 100K in debt, because he'd have to be making at least that much (100K) in salary a year, and as far as I know, those jobs don't exist for a college drop-out.

He was able to accumulate over 100K in unsecured debt 5 years after reaching legal age. Don't you think any judge worth his salt & trustee would give this case intense scrutiny especially given the gambling debt and the amount of CC debt run up in such a short time. I never said that the OP should quit school, but if he is working 11 hour days then he is generating income and should be able to make payment arrangements with creditors.

Like I said before, if someone accumulates 100K of debt thru compulsive shopping and because of Bipolar disorder that may have been misdiagnosed as depression that person is derided as a crazy freak and using Bipolar as a 'cop out', but accumulating even more debt thru gambling and maybe alcohol -- well that is vindicated as 'stuff happens' and something that you can laugh with your college buddies over a few beers.

And I don't know about Ohio, but in the NYC metropolitan area & CT, kids are graduating with little or no experience and landing $75,000 a year jobs (and even that is considered low these days).

[ssdsco]

Correct. I am serious about turning this ship around. BK is my option of last resort to tell you the truth (as it is with nearly everyone)

With no assets, I probably could declare CH 7 and have a clean slate. However, I got myself in this mess and I don't know or think that having it wipped away would fix my problems.

Thus, I am starting with GA (attended my first meeting this week), am going to take off a semester and find some work. I have lots of skills, and have more or less completed my core coursework for my major.

I believe that I have to work because just to make the min. payments on my cards plus other obligations would require at least 3k a month, which I might be able to pull off, maybe not.

A BK of default on cards will not serve me well in the industry I wish to work in. Thus, even if I have to take a break to at least get a grip on what I have and start to make some headroom, so be it. I think in the long run it will help me out the most.

I got myself into this mess, and thus, I feel I have to get myself out of this mess. Having someone bail me out might enable me to get back into my old ways.

First and foremost is treatment of my compuslive gambling. Second is working out plans with the casinos, which I am doing right now. The payments they require are a lot, but it is kept in house, and I should be able to clear those up within the time frame they require. They were helpful and explained my options.

CC's I will continue to make min payments on cards with lower interest rates (some have 0% still) and try to pay down my higher interest ones. The only issue I see is that some of my 0% cards have cash advances on them (but not all do), thus while the purchase/balance transfer balance does not accrue finance charges, the cash advances do.

Thanks all for the advice.

Sounds like a good plan. Get the gambling under control first. If ultimately you default on the CC's, collection efforts start, you need to BK or run into other issues you can find lot's of help from the folks in the forum. Don't use the credit reduction, consolidation companies. They all seem to be bad news. Good luck.

[Flamingo]

Correct. I am serious about turning this ship around. BK is my option of last resort to tell you the truth (as it is with nearly everyone)

With no assets, I probably could declare CH 7 and have a clean slate. However, I got myself in this mess and I don't know or think that having it wipped away would fix my problems.

Thus, I am starting with GA (attended my first meeting this week), am going to take off a semester and find some work. I have lots of skills, and have more or less completed my core coursework for my major.

I believe that I have to work because just to make the min. payments on my cards plus other obligations would require at least 3k a month, which I might be able to pull off, maybe not.

A BK of default on cards will not serve me well in the industry I wish to work in. Thus, even if I have to take a break to at least get a grip on what I have and start to make some headroom, so be it. I think in the long run it will help me out the most.

I got myself into this mess, and thus, I feel I have to get myself out of this mess. Having someone bail me out might enable me to get back into my old ways.

First and foremost is treatment of my compuslive gambling. Second is working out plans with the casinos, which I am doing right now. The payments they require are a lot, but it is kept in house, and I should be able to clear those up within the time frame they require. They were helpful and explained my options.

CC's I will continue to make min payments on cards with lower interest rates (some have 0% still) and try to pay down my higher interest ones. The only issue I see is that some of my 0% cards have cash advances on them (but not all do), thus while the purchase/balance transfer balance does not accrue finance charges, the cash advances do.

Thanks all for the advice.

My youngest is around your age (she is a junior in college). She works part time while going to school also and is still at home with us cause thankfully the college is only 15 miles away from us. She will have student loan debt when she graduates, thankfully without the room and board. It is tough out there for those in your age group until you get that degree and even then you have a lot of competition and the jobs just may not be there in your chosen field. May I ask if you have any support around you (friends/family) that can help you through this? GA will help provide a support network. Also, get to a General Practioner doctor (family doctor if you have one) who will review your situation and refer you to a good specialist who can help treat your addiction(s). My concern is that you may not have health insurance since you are still in school and just working part-time.

It is reality check time for your life. I think you know that and it appears you are starting to take steps to get you started in the right direction. Just do it and don't look back and stay away from the casinos. You will always have to fight the urge to go there so realize you do have control over the situation and they didn't come up with the name "one armed bandits" for slot machines on just a whim! :-)

[ssdsco]

[QUOTE=NAL123;132772]Like I said before, if someone accumulates 100K of debt thru compulsive shopping and because of Bipolar disorder that may have been misdiagnosed as depression that person is derided as a crazy freak and using Bipolar as a 'cop out', but accumulating even more debt thru gambling and maybe alcohol -- well that is vindicated as 'stuff happens' and something that you can laugh with your college buddies over a few beers.[QUOTE]


NAL23,

Unfortunately it sounds like you didn't get the help and the support you needed for your issues. Passing judgment on how people got into financial trouble isn't the purpose of the forum. The purpose of the forum is to provide debt related advice based on our experience and often just moral support. The forum is to "help" people in financial trouble regardless of how they got into the situation and give people that are often freaking out when they come to the forum support working through their situation.

[stljohn]

I thought I'd share this somewhat relevent story I saw yesterday in the home town paper.

External link to stltoday

Mo. state lawmaker pleads guilty in credit card scam
By Robert Patrick and Heather Ratcliffe
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/12/2008

A Missouri state representative resigned his office Friday after he pleaded guilty in St. Louis federal court to a charge relating to a credit card scam.

Missouri Rep. John L. Bowman Sr. of Northwoods was indicted a year ago on charges of bank fraud and unauthorized use of an access device. He allegedly lied on a credit application and paid Robert Conner, then a Bank of America vice president, a kickback to obtain a credit card.

Bowman, once a rising Democratic Party star, agreed to plead guilty to a lesser, misdemeanor charge of bribing a bank official for paying Conner $1,000 to influence the approval of the credit application. After the hearing, Bowman submitted a resignation letter to the state House effective Jan. 31, officials said.

"I'm here to accept the plea agreement and hopefully bring closure to this chapter in my life," Bowman said at the hearing. Advertisement

He admitted bribing Conner and admitted that there was false information on his credit card application.

[CindyLou]

It was the bribe that got him!

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Gambler Here Too ! And this time I hope I'm encouraging ...

I don't know what to do. I've hit rock bottom, have no access to credit, but continue to make my min. payments.

Thats a good thing that you kept up on the monthly payments, as I did. Doing that shows you are not trying to run from you debt! But trying best to keep up!

quick stats:
approx ~120,000 in cc debt (personal) Mine was 65,000
approx ~10,000 cc debt (biz - sole prop) Not my territory
owe approx ~30,000 to casinos (NJ - which are checks), to be cashed in 30 days. Ooops !
last balance transfer was a week ago, to get some cash, which i havve, in attempt to pay off the casinos (worried most about them). In an attempt ? Did you use it to do exactly that?

Now, I don't want to file for bk. Why? Jail (can't go to jail for filing bk - they don't have a debtors prison). All of my cc apps I have used household income meaning I considered my parents part of my household (Well, if you THINK about it and take it at face value they do ask on the credit ap. "household income.") even if i applied for cc's at a diff address in a diff state. I don't know their true income, but had a ball park figure. Think I read somewhere you made SIX FIGURES, thats no lie .. thats part of your income!

On apps that asked for my income i stated hhi as well, even for just me. I have also had phone calls with various creditors when attempting to get higher credit lines and was not truthful about my occupation and income (hmmm, could be a problem but you would think the creditor would be responsible enough to check that! Like call your employer to see if you were still employed (occupation mentioned? place of employment mentioned? - thats all they could check on though).

I have a serious gambling problem, and want to quit. (Yeah, you do, but I'm one to talk - so no comment) I have not been to a casino in a few weeks, but I have to go to pay back the markers soon because I don't know what will happen. (I hope that you DID or are able to! even though I'm a gambler not familiar with Markers)

Lastly, I am a college student, aged 23, with a part time internship, but I dont make nearly enough to pay just the min. amount, although I have enough cash right now to pay the mins (I would use THAT MONEY to choose a good lawyer after a few consultations! depending on ones amount of debt lawyers have different prices and it can get quit costly the higher the debt and the more "work," / paper work they need for your case) , maybe for a few more months (consider a few consultations with lawyers and use THAT money to pay the lawyer you decide to choose. QUIT while your "ahead" no use throwing good money after bad as they say in here) YOU might not have any money left to pay the a lawyer! as I just mentioned).

This is blanant fraud. [COLOR="red"](its up to the creditors to prove the fraud, you just work on filing for BK I don't see any fraud if you've been keeping up with the minimums - except that fact you blew your application up claiming more than what you actually had YOU did mention down below you made six figures THATS INCOME!)[/COLOR] I didn't purposely do this (filers don't purposely get into debt, shit happens and we deal with the consequences EVERYONE here is in the same boat just with different situations WE'RE on your side ((at least most of us our)), it just went really downhill this summer and fall. In fact a year ago I had 6 figures (all from gambling winnings) I hope you know you can offset those wins with your losses (I hope you kept a log of some sort (even bank statements, credit card statements, atm withdrawals, cash advance withdrawals etc. being as young as you are I don't know if you knew that!) and now im 6 figures in debt.

Jail is all but certain if I file for Bk, right?
NO ! Thats why Bankruptcy is here to save the day!
Do I have any options?


YES you do, see a few lawyers TAKE ADVANTAGE of the free consultations, and I wouldn't mention to each one you decide to go to that you've been to see a lawyer, think you should gather as much information you possibly can and see how each one views your situation! In my opinion file before you get further into debt, because there is a limit! Worst case scenario, you might end up owing SOME of it back, like I thought I would. I always think of the worst - but in the end it all works out!

GOOD LUCK ! ! ! CATCHMEIFYOUCAN !

[woeisme]

Like I said before, if someone accumulates 100K of debt thru compulsive shopping and because of Bipolar disorder that may have been misdiagnosed as depression that person is derided as a crazy freak...

And I don't know about Ohio, but in the NYC metropolitan area & CT, kids are graduating with little or no experience and landing $75,000 a year jobs (and even that is considered low these days).

I thought your $75,000 starting salary quote was ridiculous, so decided to do some research. In 2007, average starting salaries for even the highest paid majors (engineering and computer science) were under 60K, with many bachelor's degrees earning in the 30K range, which is exactly what I said earlier.

The NACE Summer 2007 Salary Survey reports the following average starting salaries for various college degrees:

Chemical engineering $59,361
Computer science $56,201
Electrical engineering $55,292
Information sciences $50,852
Accounting $46,718
Marketing $40,161
Political science $34,590
History $33,768
English $32,553
Sociology $32,033
Psychology $31,631

And I don't know who on this site has derided you as a crazy freak for having bipolar disorder. But honestly, I don't see the big difference between compulsive shopping vs compulsive gambling, and it surprises me that you can't see that both are behavioral issues most likely stemming from similar mental disorders. How is one worse than the other? Or one a "choice" and therefore the person is guilty and should be made to pay, while the other is considered a justifiable reason for getting so deep in debt?