using CC's

[hopefulrelief]

I have a question about using a CC while waiting for discharge(chapter 7). I have started to sell candles at in home parties for some extra spending $. Our 341 was Feb 13th, discharged scheduled for middle of June. I had some CC's that had $0 balance that I did not list on my creditors schedules. I am wondering if I can use one to place orders paying them off before the bill arrives once the check's from sales clear, etc. I have been using my debit card and hate to mix it all up. Can I get in trouble using a cc before discharge that was not included?? What about after discharge? Could using this cc over a period of time help rebuild credit? I know a ton more would be required but thought this would be an easy way to start and help me with all of this!

I know a BK is a BK but we would not have filed for CC debt. We had 5 rental properties that we are having to foreclose apon...long story...needed the BK protection for many things!

Any advice?

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Theres a semi-safe way to do this but you must listen (or read) very carefully. The courts WILL be pulling your reports, so you cannot have any more balances showing up on them. The only way to get away with what you're talking about, is to pay the card in full before it reports. And the only way to know when they report is to have a service like true credit where you can figure out within a day or two when your cards report each month. So you absolutely have to make sure the card is paid off before the day it reports, which is usually when the statement is generated.

[hopefulrelief]

Thanks for that advice. I may just wait until discharge. I could easily do this...I have a checking acct that is linked to this CC and when I used it I would just transfer the money essentially from one acct on my bank's online banking to the other! So I could even pay it before it reports which I had do before filing with no problem. I can wait...can I use it after discharge for these purposes?

[oldbaddebts]

If you are receiving checks from the customer at the same time you place the order, you might consider opening another checking account, deposit the checks and place the orders out of that account. This method also seperates the income and gives you a way to know how much profit you are making. Also, if a check bounces, it would affect that account rather than your personal account that you live on.

[hopefulrelief]

Thanks oldbaddebts. That is what I have been doing but the checks often take time to clear and I like to order the items asap so that the customers can get them a bit faster! The profit isn't huge (LOL) so it will take awhile to built up a ton of reserve to cover the amount of the orders. Thanks for the thoughts, I appreciate it!