Whats should we do!!!

[pro11]

Hello guys, let me start by saying that my wife and I have been married for almost two years now, shes 22 and Im 23. Long story, short! We got in huge debts when we first got married. We bought a timeshare with a ridiculous apr... which later we transfered to a credit card with lower apr, but the low apr will expire soon... Basically everything is under her name, she has at least 10k in credit cards, and about 8k in student loans. We are so overwhealmed that we were just thinking of leting everything go... not making anymore payments... we are aware that her credit will be marked for a very long time. But other then that what can happen? can they come after her in the future? Please excuse my ignorance in the subject, but help me understand what can happen?
We live in Texas if that matters... never been late on any payments... Please give us some advice? Oh one more thing, what about those consolidate debt companies???

Thanks in advance!!!

[MSbklawyer]

Please give us some advice? Oh one more thing, what about those consolidate debt companies???

Avoid them. Like the bloody plague.

The student loans aren't going anywhere unless there are some very extreme hardships in your family. But as for the credit cards, they can't come after in the future if they are successfully discharged.

Other than that, we'd need to know more about income, expenses, assets, family size and other things to know whether 7 or 13 would be more appropriate.

Any other debts?

What kind of income?

Assets?

Kids?

[AngelinaCatHub]

Yes! MSbklawyer is right on. More info. Also, it just won't be her credit as you are married. I'm in FL and TX is our next favorite state. She won't be able to get rid of those student loans unless, (as I heard on the radio today) she is a teacher or a doctor or something muddled on the radio. I'll hear it again or research it.

Your debt is not too much. Time share is your sin. They (the sales people) prey on Youngsters and they are very insistent once you are in their meetings. They even make you ashamed if you do not purchase. We have (for fun) been to several. We waste a lot of their time but leave laughing. Time shares you cannot hardly give away. I never knew of an owner who was happy with one. I'm sure there are a few. Very few. Have YOU ever used yours? 'Hub

[AMISLANDER]

IMO, you don't have enough cc debt on which to declare bankruptcy. Stay away from debt consolidation scammers. The best thing to do is call your cc companies & pay as much as you can each month to lower that debt. If you both are able, get part time jobs doing ANYTHING, every little bit will help.

[Iwantmyname]

IMO, you don't have enough cc debt on which to declare bankruptcy. Stay away from debt consolidation scammers. The best thing to do is call your cc companies & pay as much as you can each month to lower that debt. If you both are able, get part time jobs doing ANYTHING, every little bit will help.

The amount of debt is only important in relationship to the amount of money you make. 10K debt might not be a lot of money if you make 100K per year, but it is a lot of money if you make 18K per year. Even so, if you make 18K, you might think of ways to cut your living expenses which will open up more money for paying off the debt.

My suggestion is to read a book about BK. They have a free one in the stickies of this forum. I know that after reading that, I felt a lot less panicky and more informed.

[CompTweaker]

The amount of debt is only important in relationship to the amount of money you make. 10K debt might not be a lot of money if you make 100K per year, but it is a lot of money if you make 18K per year. Even so, if you make 18K, you might think of ways to cut your living expenses which will open up more money for paying off the debt.

My suggestion is to read a book about BK. They have a free one in the stickies of this forum. I know that after reading that, I felt a lot less panicky and more informed.

Just thinking, but lets say its $10k that if the original creditor doesnt sue for, they will charge it off, and then sell it to a JDB who pays pennys on the dollar for it.....then that JDB before suing you will try to work something out.....you could even work something out after the lawsuit is filed. In one of my cases, the lawyer sent me a letter saying the amount would be "significantly reduced". So its possible the debt could be taken care of for much less than what is shown on paper. So in the end, it appears to not be much to bk on. Save that BK for something a lot bigger unless you really must do it so that you can sleep at night.

Oh, and Pro11, stay far, far away from debt settlement companies.....ive read too many horror stories and almost got caught up in one myself.

[ForumReader]

I agree with some of the posters saying to stay away from these debt settlement companies, oh please, please stay away from them at all costs!! I was a victim to a DSC (debt settlement company) and was scammed until I finally plugged the plug and filed for BK. I am wondering if the trustee at my 341 will make note of this to go after this DSC for monies that I paid returned back to the TT to redistribute to my creditors to these DSCs

[debtprison]

18k in debt isn't a lot at all. Especially if you both have a combined income over 25k.

I would be hesitant to file a BK under your circumstances. If you have a choice between paying something down I would pay down the student loan debt.

Cut your expenses as much as possible and turn it around. In most areas of the country two people can live on under 15k. Definitely under 20k. Make a budget and take every penny to come up with a plan to pay it all off. Avoid further debt.

Say you make $30k combined and you can do a budget of 20k per year. That leaves you $10,000 per year to use to pay down these debts. Within two or three years that is very doable if your debts are only 18k in total now.