Lost and Scared....

[lifelesson]

you also need to budget in savings first. We filed 7/17/09 and my hubby has pulled $200 a pay for us to set aside for big needs. Well this past monday we had our (reaffirmed owe under $5000 2004) Van break down needed towed and the repair was over $1,700. Yeah we had to borrow $500 to pay that and the mortgage but we did it. all in the same week.
We didn't know to stop paying the CC's so we paid them until we meet with atty in June she told us it was money tossing out the window. We did use our cards up til we saw her. We were buying food no cash advances.
You mentioned having kids, well Wants and Needs, Needs come first. With Christmas coming it is going to be hard to buget but remember the reason for the season only got 3 gifts so it's okay to only have a little. My nephew and his girlfriend always roll one die and the number that comes up is how many gifts they get for each other and they aren't allowed to spend more then like $75 on each other. I like that idea makes shopping a game.
Homemade gifts rule too. Limiting the exchanges with extended family is also hard but can be done. announce now You have to not do any this year. trying to unclutter your life for the reason.

Just my 2 cents. Hope I didn't offend anyone.

[florida]

After reading through the forum, it looks like I need to wait a minimum of 3 months - because of the cash advance.

But, shouldn't I still pay on the cards for at least 3mo or it would look like fraud?

[whipster1]

If your advance was large, 2-3K or so, you should keep paying the minimum on that one for a couple of months.

You should also get a Federal consolidation loan (NOT SALLIE MAE) for the SL's. With that you can pay depending on your income.

Good luck.

[needachance]

Hey, welcome and I know what you are feeling because we were terrified when we first came in here. Now, we are 5 months from filing and feeling HOPEFUL! You won't believe what happens when you quit paying credit cards and get on a budget! Our attorney told us we have to "live a little" for the next few months because colorado doesn't have a cash allowance for BK so we cannot have money in the bank, but we are just enjoying seeing money left at the end of the month!

And yes, you do need to learn to live in a budget, but I recommend Dave Ramsey's TMMO....just know that even though he bashes BK and advises against it, he has done it twice. So take that for what it is worth, but his budget and frugal living tips are golden.

Good luck and take a deep breath.


And the Christmas thing that has already been addressed, kids don't NEED Christmas gifts. We have never given them to our kids and they lived! We never wanted to participate in the greed holiday, but even if we had, just explain to the kids that they are going to get one gift, or maybe rather than gifts you are going to go for a family trip or something like that. People who spend thousands of dollars on Christmas just boggle my mind. That is not a NEED if you are differentiating between NEED and WANT.

[mamaluv]

And the Christmas thing that has already been addressed, kids don't NEED Christmas gifts. We have never given them to our kids and they lived! We never wanted to participate in the greed holiday, but even if we had, just explain to the kids that they are going to get one gift, or maybe rather than gifts you are going to go for a family trip or something like that. People who spend thousands of dollars on Christmas just boggle my mind. That is not a NEED if you are differentiating between NEED and WANT.

I used to be one of those that spents hundreds and hundreds on Xmas gifts...of course on the credit cards lol which is how I got here in the first place. We don't buy gifts for the adults anymore, only the kids and we stick to small things. I am lucky I only have 1 kid so I do spoil him quite a bit, not to mention his birthday is only 11 days after Christmas so I have 2 occasions to buy for. I am happy to say that I am already done with his Christmas/birthday shopping!