Question Continue with DMP or file BK?

[citizen]

[jtallerie]

If I were in your shoes I think I would file. You need to take that money you are paying and put in in a coffee can and hide it. You need to save everything you can. If G-d forbid you were to get sick again you be able to collect disabillity. If you are on disabillity, you are judgement proof. No one would be able to touch your income. A collector might be able to go after your bank accounts for medical bills in the future, after bk. you would not be able to file again for 8 yrs.

Stress can cause cancer, I think you should get rid of the debt for your health.

My best friend lost her son to osteosarcoma just 5 months ago. Medical bills can go into millions of dollars. Eventually the insurance can run out any way.

I hope you will not get sick again. However, you made mistakes and you have learned from them. You need to be able to enjoy your life again. If you need to get dental work done, your health comes first, file bk, save your $ in a coffee can and make yourself untouchable.

Banks are giving so little intrest on our $ anyway.

The stress of all of this is not good for you. If I were you I would go to a few atty's and get free consultations and find out your options. When you are ready stop paying into your plan, save the $ for few months and file.

I waited too long to file bk and now I am in a big mess.

Your health must come first!

Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

[ryan]

Its hard to say what's best for another person, but BK certainly could make sense for you.

I noticed on your debt management plan, you've paid about $6000 since you started it and have only seen your balances go down a little over $3000....at that rate, it will be a long time to get that paid off.

[citizen]

If I were in your shoes I think I would file. You need to take that money you are paying and put in in a coffee can and hide it. You need to save everything you can. If G-d forbid you were to get sick again you be able to collect disabillity. If you are on disabillity, you are judgement proof. No one would be able to touch your income. A collector might be able to go after your bank accounts for medical bills in the future, after bk. you would not be able to file again for 8 yrs.

Stress can cause cancer, I think you should get rid of the debt for your health.

My best friend lost her son to osteosarcoma just 5 months ago. Medical bills can go into millions of dollars. Eventually the insurance can run out any way.

I hope you will not get sick again. However, you made mistakes and you have learned from them. You need to be able to enjoy your life again. If you need to get dental work done, your health comes first, file bk, save your $ in a coffee can and make yourself untouchable.

Banks are giving so little intrest on our $ anyway.

The stress of all of this is not good for you. If I were you I would go to a few atty's and get free consultations and find out your options. When you are ready stop paying into your plan, save the $ for few months and file.

I waited too long to file bk and now I am in a big mess.

Your health must come first!

Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

Thanks for the reply jtallerie The part of your reply that I put in bold is very much how I've been feeling lately.

Its hard to say what's best for another person, but BK certainly could make sense for you.

I noticed on your debt management plan, you've paid about $6000 since you started it and have only seen your balances go down a little over $3000....at that rate, it will be a long time to get that paid off.

I agree with you Ryan that it is ultimately up to me to decide what is best for myself. I guess I just wanted to get some additional thoughts on things to help me think things through.

As far as the dmp $$, that's something that confuses me as well. I just noticed that this past week. I'll have to give them a call for an explanation. The plan is supposed to be 60 months total. All of the creditors involved (BoA, USBank, and Chase)agreed to the plan and the interest rates were dropped to 0% on 2 of the accts, 1% on one of them, and 2% on the last one. That 3% of interest is on ~$18k of the balance. That doesn't make up the ~$1,800 difference between what I've paid and the amount the balance has dropped, would it?

[blockhead]

I can't see the DMP is sustainable for you, and the effect of all the stress on your health has to be considered.

[Universal]

I would think a fresh start would be in order for you.

[meateater]

Hi Citizen,

It sounds like you've had a rough couple of years, I hope things get better. I can tell you what I did as a point of comparison (I'm guessing that like many of us, you haven't told many people about your financial issues, and have few situations to compare to your own).

I was in my mid 30's when my finances caught up with me. I had student loans and about $40K in credit card debt. When I finished school I had been unable to find a job with benefits, so I was underearning and, in hindsight, using credit cards to bridge the gap for living expenses (and I didn't have a budget, so was spending more than I should have). I didn't have any medical problems. I didn't have any dependents. I got notice that a credit card was about to sue me, which was what prompted me to file chapter 7. The credit card debt went away, I was able to pay the student loans, meet expenses, and start saving for retirement and built up a modest emergency fund.

I've lived in the same place, had the same job, and have not tried to borrow money, so bankruptcy had no effect in those areas. I got a new credit card which I pay off monthly, and recently finished paying off the student loans. The negatives for me are that I once didn't get a new job, pretty sure it was because of the bankruptcy. I've told very few people, and since its a public record, I sometimes fear someone finding out about it. The main positive is that I am finally financially responsible, will never get in this mess again, have no debt and have savings. Had I not filed, I'd still be deeply in debt with no foreseeable way out.

I was very depressed when I finally realized the financial mess I was in. Do you have anyone to talk to about your situation? I've found that it helps to be able to post on this forum.

From a strictly financial standpoint, it sounds like BK is a good option, as it's unrealistic to expect that for 4.5 years you are not going to have any new financial issue, such as dental costs. I wanted to pay my bills, and resisted the idea of BK until I was about to get sued and felt I had no other options. I'm embarrassed that I got into the financial mess, but unlike you, I did not have cancer to deal with, I just foolishly took out student loans, failed to understand the ramifications of using credit, and assumed that as long as I was paying everyone, I would eventually earn enough money to bail myself out. That didn't work out, and I am grateful that BK gave me a chance to start over.

It sounds like you see BK as moving forward ("getting on with my life") and the DMP as a depressing fear-ridden 4.5 years. The mere fact that the DMP is depressing to you is a reason to consider doing something else, it's a long time to feel stuck and afraid.

One possible wrinkle for you might be medical bills - if you file now and later incur new medical bills, you wouldn't be able to file again for 8 years.

Explore all options, and pick what's best for you. Good luck with whatever you decide!

meateater

[ryan]

Thanks for the reply jtallerie ....That doesn't make up the ~$1,800 difference between what I've paid and the amount the balance has dropped, would it?

Agreed. I would look into what is eating away at the payments you're making such that they do not retire the debt at a dollar for dollar amount.

If the interest rate for all the creditors is now zero, it should reduce the balance faster. imo.

[citizen]

I can't see the DMP is sustainable for you, and the effect of all the stress on your health has to be considered.

That's how I've been thinking more and more lately...

I would think a fresh start would be in order for you.

We shall see... I'm on night shift for the next 2 weeks so if I decide to talk with some attorneys it wouldn't be until the first week in July.

[citizen]

Hi Citizen,

It sounds like you've had a rough couple of years, I hope things get better. I can tell you what I did as a point of comparison (I'm guessing that like many of us, you haven't told many people about your financial issues, and have few situations to compare to your own).

***Snip to conserve some space***

One possible wrinkle for you might be medical bills - if you file now and later incur new medical bills, you wouldn't be able to file again for 8 years.

Explore all options, and pick what's best for you. Good luck with whatever you decide!

meateater

[citizen]

Agreed. I would look into what is eating away at the payments you're making such that they do not retire the debt at a dollar for dollar amount.

If the interest rate for all the creditors is now zero, it should reduce the balance faster. imo.

I will hopefully be getting to the bottom of this issue tomorrow (Monday). I'll post up what I find out...

The IR (interest rate) on 2 of the 4 accounts is 0% with the balance of those 2 accounts equaling $25,890 (currently).
Another account has a 1% IR with a balance of just under $8K.
The final account has a 2% IR with a balance of ~$10,2xx.

[bkinparadise]

I looked in to a DMP prior to committing to a CH 7. They worked out a payment plan for me but the budget was too tight for me to live with the DMP payment and living expenses. I decided to just go to a BK attorney and see what avenues to take. BK was the way to finally rid myself of the misery and stress I created for me and my family. After the initial consultation I felt all the stress and anxiety I had was relieved quite a bit. Now that the petition has been filed, I know that some how some way this issue of indebtness will be resolved and I can have my life back.

I've heard too many horror stories about DMP. I rather just pay my one time retainer fee to my attorney than monthly fees associated to the DMP.

[citizen]

I just talked with a rep from the company regarding the DMP balance difference. She said that a couple of the creditors initially rejected their proposal in order to receive higher monthly payments. Apparently that drove the balances higher than what they are reflecting on the monthly DMP statements.

I'm supposed to send them copies of my latest statements from the creditors so that can be adjusted...



I will also be talking with one of my co-workers that filed BK and getting the info about his attorney tonight at work. If the initial consultation is free, there's nothing to lose by talking to him and maybe a few others...

[citizen]

So, a little over a month has passed. I've been sleeping on the couch for the past 3+ weeks because my waterbed bladder got a hole in it and I have no extra money to replace it. I don't really trust doing a repair to it.

At the end of June, the A/C clutch on my car started making noise. Got an estimate for that repair. $325-475. I've been leaving the A/C off but, if that part fails, it could seize and throw off the serpentine belt, causing much greater damage to the engine. My parents have offered to loan me the money to repair it but I don't like that idea much. It would get my car fixed but it just makes things tighter financially each month, having to repay them.

Still need considerable dental work and thankfully nothing is painful right now.

Another payment was withdrawn for the DMP yesterday.

I know I should start things moving towards filing. Stop the DMP program and use the money for the necessities. See some attorneys and start saving for filing.

To use a quote from a movie I watched recently (The Day the Earth Stood Still): "It is only at the precipice that we truly change."

Why is it so hard to truly realize that I need to start things in motion?? I've had the chance to talk with a few more people close to me (not my parents yet though) and they see BK as "what they would do in my situation". This whole situation is just grinding away in my mind and I can't seem to take the initial step. That has to be struggling with ones' own pride, right?

[ColoradoBell]

I'm not the least surprised that you haven't taken BK action yet....you've battled cancer and won and your mind and body needs time to heal. So give yourself a break and a little pat on the back and then start making lists: a list of questions to ask several bk attorneys (and do ask the same question a couple times to make sure you're getting correct answers); a list of pros and cons of staying or filing; a list of goals for your life that includes a bucket list for fun!

That said, I never felt so relieved, so unstressed, so joyful about my life, as on the day I filed. My case is most unusual as I don't have any normal debt...just had a nasty ex who kept going to court after our divorce and getting the judge to take away most of the assets I was awarded and make me pay my ex's (the richer one of us) attorney fees. Finally, he went after my house and I realized that if I didn't file, that I'd be homeless and in debt! I decided that I hadn't really been living the last 5 years, just waiting to get my share of assets so that I could move on with my life.....well, the relief from filing BK has changed my life so that now I wake up everyday with a smile on my face and a whole new attitude.

It sounds like your pay back plan is similar to a Ch 13 and done 5 years. It also sounds like you could do a 7 or a 13 and that maybe if you did a 13 you would end up paying back unsecured only about 1 % depending on how you listed your expenses. I think either would b e better than what you are currently doing and it seems from what I read on here that your credit is trashed anyway. (I had no credit card debt,nor any debt to any company, bank, mortgage etc, yet they still cancelled my credit cards as soon as I filed)

Good luck to you and hope that you'll get some good input and make a decision soon.