Should I File????

[squirre777]

I am currently employed making about 35k a year. I have about 30k in debt of which about 22k is CCs. I'm not being late right now but I'm barely treading water and unless I get a nice raise in the foreseeable future I don't see myself climbing out of this. Interest is high on the CCs and I can't get lower interest because of the debt to income. What should I do? Trying to decide if I should avoid bankruptcy or if I should file. I was going through this about 3 years ago and decide to tread water. Here I am with more debt. I have an apartment with a car of which about 6k is still left on loan. I can't lose my car and have virtually no assests other then furniture, etc. Any advise?

[anonymuse]

You look like you might be a good candidate, squirre777.

What state do you live in? Are you single/married? Have any kids? How much is your car worth?

Not trying to pry--it's just that these questions will help us give you the right information so that you can evaluate your situation.

[squirre777]

I live in NC. I have 1 daughter who lives with me. I am not married and my vehicle was purchased in '02 with a 5 yr loan. I've never missed a payment and its probably worth about 6-7k, about the loan remainder.

[jane taylor]

Okay, that does it!!! Jenny, it is one thing to berate the "old-timers" around here, but it is quite another to do that to someone new! I don't know why you are here and really do not care, but I do care about those who are truly seeking information and support. This is a stressful situation to say the very least and none of us needs additional negativity. We all feel badly enough and I would say that the majority of us are doing everything we can to remedy the situation.

To answer the original question, I would recommend consulting several attorneys and also simply writing down the pro's and con's of filing BK. It is NOT a picnic, but sometimes is the only viable alternative. Best of luck to you, keep your chin up, and let the negative "baloney" (I'm being polite! ) go in one ear and out the other.

jane

[anonymuse]

Even if getting by on $35K is really tough, you might want to consider filing now while your income is under the median, and then getting a second job or rent out a room or something like that after BK so you can be starting fresh.

[squirre777]

HIM. As far as gettin by on $35 a year, guess I don't have a choice. Raisin a child negates the 2nd job option that I used to have. I can live off my income, just the CCs are killin me. The thing thats hard for me is that I'm not late on anything. Everything is gettin paid. Its just that when anythings needed it goes on CCs because theres no savings or extra income.

[anonymuse]

I'm really looking into the second job route where you can work from home taking calls for places like HSN as long as you have DSL and a second phone line.

I just don't know how people survive with the cost of daycare.

[GoingDown]

[QUOTE=squirre777]HIM. As far as gettin by on $35 a year, guess I don't have a choice. Raisin a child negates the 2nd job option that I used to have. I can live off my income, just the CCs are killin me. The thing thats hard for me is that I'm not late on anything. Everything is gettin paid. Its just that when anythings needed it goes on CCs because theres no savings or extra income.[/QUOTE]

You're not really treading water in that case. You're being pulled under by those debts. Sooner or later, you won't be able to keep making the monthly minimum payments and your credit rating will suffer anyways.

It sounds like you are a good candidate for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. I don't see any other way out of this for you. But remember that you do have time to read up on bankruptcy and educate yourself so you can plan your bankruptcy and not rush into anything or make any costly mistakes. Since all of your credit cards are being paid on time, you have anywhere from 5 months to over a year (depending on the creditor, the balance, and the situation) before any of them will file a lawsuit against you if you stopped paying them this month. If you file for bankruptcy before they get a judgment against you, you can avoid getting your wages garnished, and any of the other nasty things that come from that. If you wait too long, and they get a judgment against you, you can still get the judgment avoided or vacated during the bankruptcy, but it is a bit more complicated and expensive. Best to avoid it, if you can.

Go see several bankruptcy attorneys in your area for a free initial consultation. It should be very informative for you and might help you make up your mind about what is the best thing for you to do at this time.

[Minnymouth]

Going Down has the right suggestion for you...... consult with at least 3 attorneys (free) and see what options are available to you under your circumstances..... then you'll really know what your up against instead of just "wondering".....

Then after the consultations, do a lot of reading about bankruptcy - it's pros and cons... (can be found here on this forum)....

Also ask your questions you may have, we can offer suggestions and ideas and tell you where to find more information...

You don't to do what I did and enter bankrutpcy "BLINDFOLDED"..... IT COULD COST YOU IN THE LONG RUN.......

Filing bankruptcy is to help your life not make it worse......

Welcome to our forum, let us help anyway we can.....