I did it, and I feel GREAT!

[Iamfree]

I can not believe I thought for one second that I shouldn't do it. I watched all the shows that said don't do it, but in the end I am glad I don't have access to credit. I finally have money to save. I was $80K in credit card debts. Crazy right! I don't feel bad about it, and I am not afraid to talk about it. I am to blame, but credit card companies are greedy and do not care about doing what is right. They gave me a card in college with a $2,000 limit, and I didn't even have a job.

Did you file? Tell me your story!

[justplaintired]

Not yet, but our attorney has our papers and hopefully soon we will be reviewing them and will be filing, honestly I can't wait, that means we are one step closer to freedom from cc. Our debt was almost $34K, not as much as yours but way to much for us. I do blame myself, but like you ccc are the worst! Why do they give credit, almost $100K worth to people who don't even clear $40K a year, like we would ever in this lifetime be able to pay that back???!!! And then to top it off, up our rate for 14% (bad enough) to 31.24% for being 2 days late over a period of a year (7 yr customer never late once). I don't feel bad about doing this to cc, they did it to themselves!

[Teddy]

I was just talking with a co-worker about it and we said the same thing, the cc companies are just asking for it.

I always thought I'd feel horrible if I filed, but I don't! I'm kind of surprised at how I do feel actually. I just hope it gets discharged!

[luvHm]

It is funny how when you finally file, the shame goes away and instead of feeling hush, hush you almost cant keep your mouth shut! It is amazing the freedom you feel even when you make the decision to file, much less when you actually do it! I have friends that would benefit from this, but are still at the "robbin peter and payin paul" and I honestly hurt for them! I have learned a huge life lesson, I wouldnt trade for anything.

[Flamingo]

The main thing we learned after filing and discharge is that you don't have to accept credit offers. We learned to put ourselves in control and not have the credit control us. We don't need 10 different Mastercards or Visas with different pretty pictures on them to match your carpeting or 25 different department store or gas cards.

[luvHm]

and can carry a much smaller purse, because I dont have to accomodate for my extremely huge wallet! HA
I do have to admit I was a little sad when I saw the commercial for that CC (dont remember which one) that you can download your own picture on!
I guess I could just replace my cc's in wallet with pics of my own!

[$$only4ever]

Even though I am still in an active chapter 13, I am in better shape financially than before I filed. I felt bad at first, but no more!!

[keepmine]

My story is $71K worth of cc debt and noway on earth to repay in a reasonable timeframe. I decided to pull the trigger when Bush signed the bk reform act.
Oct. will be the 3 year anniversary of my filing.
I took maximum advantage to the fresh start. I got a better job plus, picked up some pt work. My income is up about 40% over this timeframe. I have money in the bank, maxxed out 401K. I have 3 credit cards that I pay in full every billing cycle and a modest auto loan.
Filing bk is the easy part. You have to fix what got you here and that can be hard.
Never have any emotional attachment to this process. It's just a business decision. Your best interests and your creditors best interest diverged. That's pretty much how the story unfolds.
Good luck all on the most difficult part of the journey-life post bk.

[schel]

I hope I feel that good after we file. I am balling as I type. Can't sleep, can't eat, (not that I need to eat, I can afford to loose some wt.) I think the hardest part is my husband doesn't want to file. Just feel real depressed tonight. I hope that I'll feel as good as all of you one day.
Schel

[justplaintired]

I hope I feel that good after we file. I am balling as I type. Can't sleep, can't eat, (not that I need to eat, I can afford to loose some wt.) I think the hardest part is my husband doesn't want to file. Just feel real depressed tonight. I hope that I'll feel as good as all of you one day.
Schel

Oh please don't cry, I have been there, it will get better. Sounds like your hubby is like mine, can't or won't accept things need to change. Here I am not even filed yet, but we made this decision 3 months ago, and now I do worry about our papers being right, income to expenses,..., but honestly knowing someday this will behind us keeps me going. Reading others post of how filing changed their lives has made me feel so much better.

If I could I'd give you a big old hug, believe me I know exactly how you feel, most of us probably do. Keep reading this forum and you will feel better, you won't feel so all alone. Honestly these people on here are the nicest and smartest ppl on the net, and you'll find someone like yourself, struggling to make ends meet, and you won't feel so alone! I even told our paralegal I had found this site, and I had BK "friends" now, she thought that was great!! LOL

[schel]

Oh please don't cry, I have been there, it will get better. Sounds like your hubby is like mine, can't or won't accept things need to change. Here I am not even filed yet, but we made this decision 3 months ago, and now I do worry about our papers being right, income to expenses,..., but honestly knowing someday this will behind us keeps me going. Reading others post of how filing changed their lives has made me feel so much better.

If I could I'd give you a big old hug, believe me I know exactly how you feel, most of us probably do. Keep reading this forum and you will feel better, you won't feel so all alone. Honestly these people on here are the nicest and smartest ppl on the net, and you'll find someone like yourself, struggling to make ends meet, and you won't feel so alone! I even told our paralegal I had found this site, and I had BK "friends" now, she thought that was great!! LOL

Thank you! I'm still crying though. I know it will be better, just hurts a lot right now.
Schel

[Teddy]

My husband tried talking me into it over a year ago and now, I wish I'd have listened to him then. I would have saved all that money I was paying and been better off now.

It will be a brand new way of thinking for me, which I can already see is going to be a big adjustment but I will do it. I want a laptop and my first thought is ok, charge it! But, I cannot and will not do that, I have to learn to save the money for things I want. It won't take me long to save the money, it's just going to be hard because I want it now - which is how I got into my mess of cc debt.

[schel]

My husband tried talking me into it over a year ago and now, I wish I'd have listened to him then. I would have saved all that money I was paying and been better off now.

It will be a brand new way of thinking for me, which I can already see is going to be a big adjustment but I will do it. I want a laptop and my first thought is ok, charge it! But, I cannot and will not do that, I have to learn to save the money for things I want. It won't take me long to save the money, it's just going to be hard because I want it now - which is how I got into my mess of cc debt.

Me to immediate gratification. Isn't it awful!!
Also for us no more automatic payment or check cards. Its back to cash and carry for us once this is all over. I think what got us in trouble was the automatic payment and the check card just swipe it and go. Not good. When you have the dollars in hand it's a lot easier to realize what you are spending.

Schel

[Teddy]

When you have the dollars in hand it's a lot easier to realize what you are spending.

Schel

Exactly!!! It will be a very new way of living for me. I have always been in cc debt, it's been a way of life for me. My cat has to see the vet and that's something I'd usually charge, but I have to pay for it. That's hard right now b/c I don't have the money but I'll have to come up with it. I am planning on putting money in savings once this is all done and I get caught up. It's just different already, I couldn't use the cc to take my cat to the vet. It will be nice when I do have some money in the savings for emergencies.

I will still use my debit card but I keep my bank account balanced at all times, so that isn't a problem for me.

[parsoc48]

My husband hated the idea of filing too, but he was also not realistic about how much debt we had and how hard and stressful it was for ME to pay everybody every month. We were both upset we didn't qualify for a 7 but the 13 will satisfy his need to pay the bills and will force us to live within our means and be more careful.
If you think of it as a "business decision" you can take the emotions out of it and get on with your life and start rebuilding....that's not an original thought, read it on this forum!Good luck to you (Schel and Teddy), at least you know there are people here ready to help.