Zero balance CCs -- will those banks close my accounts when I file?

[TEW]

We listed everything on the CR. The only CCs we have gotten statements from are the ones with 0 balances. DW’s Kay jewelers’ card is still open.

[woeisme]

I seriously doubt anything with a VISA logo will survive. Maybe a store card that is not backed by visa or mastercard, but I've never read of anyone having a major credit card (VIAS, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DISCOVER) survive.

[S2008]

Cupcake,
Forgive me for being blunt. You should prepare yourself to live without a credit card. Worst case, you can use a secured credit card in your post-BK life.
"What if I want to purchase an item that exceeds the secured CC limit?" Well, wait till you can pay cash for it.

Think on how you can maximize your savings each month not how many CC you can have. I have 15 CC that have dragged me to this board eventually I can give you all of them if you want to Oh, their total credit limit is ~120K. Credit Cards are bondage!

[cupcake]

Cupcake,
Forgive me for being blunt. You should prepare yourself to live without a credit card. Worst case, you can use a secured credit card in your post-BK life.
"What if I want to purchase an item that exceeds the secured CC limit?" Well, wait till you can pay cash for it.

Think on how you can maximize your savings each month not how many CC you can have. I have 15 CC that have dragged me to this board eventually I can give you all of them if you want to Oh, their total credit limit is ~120K. Credit Cards are bondage!

Wow, I never thought of that! You mean I shouldn't get a bunch more CCs and max them all out after I file CH 7 and get a discharge? Damn, there goes that brilliant idea.

PLEASE. Give me a little more credit than that. If you read my initial post you'd see that I am looking ahead and trying to form a game plan to rebuild my credit after this mess is over. I am not looking to rebuild my credit for the purpose of getting lots of new CCs down the road. I want to rebuild my credit so that I can get some reasonably priced auto insurance and maybe someday a mortgage for a condo. You know NOTHING about me and my situation. You know NOTHING about my personal life and how I got to where I am today. Don't judge me.

Oh, and by the way, I didn't ask any questions about wanting to make a purchase for an item that exceeds a secured CC limit. You know, you assumed many things in posting that response to me. Shame on you.

[No Gravy]

Wow, I never thought of that! You mean I shouldn't get a bunch more CCs and max them all out after I file CH 7 and get a discharge? Damn, there goes that brilliant idea.

PLEASE. Give me a little more credit than that. If you read my initial post you'd see that I am looking ahead and trying to form a game plan to rebuild my credit after this mess is over. I am not looking to rebuild my credit for the purpose of getting lots of new CCs down the road. I want to rebuild my credit so that I can get some reasonably priced auto insurance and maybe someday a mortgage for a condo. You know NOTHING about me and my situation. You know NOTHING about my personal life and how I got to where I am today. Don't judge me.

Oh, and by the way, I didn't ask any questions about wanting to make a purchase for an item that exceeds a secured CC limit. You know, you assumed many things in posting that response to me. Shame on you.

Amen! IMO, judgment has no place in these forums. Neither does telling people how to live their lives. I, for one, come here for information on the experience of others. Since I'm the one who has to face the consequences of my actions, it should be no one's business what I do with the information.

[No Gravy]

I am looking WAY ahead here and already thinking about how I will rebuild my credit after I file and get a discharge.

Just MO, but I think it's excellent you're planning ahead! Like it or not, this is a credit society. Without rebuilding after a BK, it seriously limits a person's options for housing, cell phones, cars, etc.

[No Gravy]

We too had to list ALL credit cards, zero balance or not, on the initial paperwork we submitted prior to filing.

That's one of the changes in BK I'm still getting used to. I filed once before, in 1994, and it wasn't like that then. Of course back then people still charged up their credit cards just before filing, too.

And though I know I shouldn't have to explain...I will. I filed then because I had cancer, wasn't able/allowed to work for over a year, I was a single mom, and it took disability 9 months to kick in (I think they were hoping I'd die first so they didn't have to pay me).

During that time I started living on credit cards. I really didn't much care about the consequences of that, because according to the doctor I wasn't going to live much longer, anyway. I surprised him, and got better.

We had two credit cards with zero balance - Dress Barn and Western Auto. Our attorney advised us we could close them if we wanted but we could wait and see if they survived the filing if we wanted also. They were not included on our creditor matrix, but we had to submit the name and account number on initial paperwork.

Ahhh, I didn't know they could be technically included, yet not on the creditor matrix. I haven't filed mine out yet, so perhaps it will make sense when I get to that point.

Both survived. Western Auto is now defunct anyway but I still have my Dress Barn, use it occasionally for work attire, and it has a zero balance.

Awesome that they survived! I had really hoped to hold onto Walmart. Not because of the card that it is, but because they are my oldest account, since 1994. They bought out Montgomery Ward's credit accounts (which I'd had forever!) when they closed, and offered me a card.

There were some postings in here by some who state their bankruptcy was not caused by CC but by a drop in income or other situations. Debt causes bankruptcy. When you have a job loss or income drop and have lots of bills and debt that is what causes the problem, not the job loss itself.

I think it's an important reminder that we all come to this place for a variety of reasons, and there is no "one size fits all" brand of advice that will work. I lurked here long before I started posting, to get a feel if this would in fact be a "safe place."

Reality eventually slaps one in the face.

There are days when I'd like to slap reality back, ya know?

Our high income paid our high debt and the credit limits and other savings we had kept us afloat for a year after the job loss but we had to file due to the high debt load since a compatable job could not be found nor obtained by my Unix Engineer husband. He went from high tech six figure to retail clerk.

Ouch! I had friends who worked at Sun that went through that in 2000-2001. One was so overqualified (he'd been in upper management, corner office with all the trimmings) he couldn't even find work as a retail clerk.

I miss the parties Sun used to have. *sigh* The world was a different place then.

Our lifestyle has totally changed since the year 2000 and we look back and would never live like that again. Credit is dangerous. Too much debt is dangerous.

I think we all do the best we can, with the given circumstances. I never, ever, EVER thought I'd ever be in a position to file BK again, much less be losing my house of 11 years. I always thought losing my beloved house would be the absolute worst thing that could ever happen.

It's not. It's really not. I will survive through this time and come out the other side stronger from the experience. And I thank you and others on this board for being willing to share your experiences, so those newbies like me can soak up the information like little sponges!