Cold Feet/Help!!!!!!!

[MEA2]

Dh and I are still dragging our feet to pick a lawyer and file.He really doesn't want to.
Here's the run down
$250,000 mortgage = $1800 a month
$20,000 car payment =$580.00 a month
$55,000 in unsecured CC debt =$1000 a month on each card mimimum
This is the tricky part DH makes $100,000 a yr(in an expensive state)on paper that salary looks great.We have no clue how this happened(well,we apparently aren't good at managing funds but we were never this bad!)
We are current on everything but the debt is swallowing us,this is a bad week and we don't know how to get through it.Dh is usually a carefree,positive person,I've never seen him so stressed,depressed.....HELP is BK are only way?(no equity on the home)
Thank you so much!!

[SinkingFast]

Mea,...........

Been there, done that. Same as you.

Might I suggest you do what we did.

We sat down with all of one month's bills laid out in front of us. Added up our total CC debt, and then added up how much we needed to pay to each and every Creditor/mo. That included phone, utilities, car payment, set asides for auto insurance, you name it. Everything but food, clothes, and such.

Our bills alone were equal to our Net every month. We didn't see anyway to eat, let alone make any headway in paying down the debts.

Our next step was to research the changes in BK Law which lead to the idea of Credit Counseling. Since Credit Counseling was a part of the New Law, we decided to let a pro take a look at our situation. Get their input.

We decided to use a DOJ approved Credit Counseling Agency to take a look at our finances.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/

We chose CCCS of Atlanta. They sent us a detailed report of where our money was going and figured up a DMP as well. We were paying $2900/mo in CC's minimums and the CCCS DMP came in at $2900/mo as well. Only difference was, with the DMP we'd be outa debt in 5 years.

Either way, we couldn't afford those kind of payments. We were using CC's to buy groceries and gas while paying the minimums. In a DMP, you can't use CC's so there was no way we could afford the DMP payment and eat. That's when we knew for sure that BK was the way to go.

If you haven't tried the "sit down quietly, lay out all the bills, and logically discuss your situation" approach, maybe that's what you need to do. Maybe you need to have a CCA look at your situation. Sometimes outsiders see ways for us to cut expenses we don't see.

But remember,........... Grief is part of the process in deciding to file BK. Some people get VERY emotional while others are very logical. Everyone of us that decides to file BK experiences a sense of loss and failure.

[MEA2]

Mea,...........

Been there, done that. Same as you.

Might I suggest you do what we did.

We sat down with all of one month's bills laid out in front of us. Added up our total CC debt, and then added up how much we needed to pay to each and every Creditor/mo. That included phone, utilities, car payment, set asides for auto insurance, you name it. Everything but food, clothes, and such.

Our bills alone were equal to our Net every month. We didn't see anyway to eat, let alone make any headway in paying down the debts.

Our next step was to research the changes in BK Law which lead to the idea of Credit Counseling. Since Credit Counseling was a part of the New Law, we decided to let a pro take a look at our situation. Get their input.

We decided to use a DOJ approved Credit Counseling Agency to take a look at our finances.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/

We chose CCCS of Atlanta. They sent us a detailed report of where our money was going and figured up a DMP as well. We were paying $2900/mo in CC's minimums and the CCCS DMP came in at $2900/mo as well. Only difference was, with the DMP we'd be outa debt in 5 years.

Either way, we couldn't afford those kind of payments. We were using CC's to buy groceries and gas while paying the minimums. In a DMP, you can't use CC's so there was no way we could afford the DMP payment and eat. That's when we knew for sure that BK was the way to go.

If you haven't tried the "sit down quietly, lay out all the bills, and logically discuss your situation" approach, maybe that's what you need to do. Maybe you need to have a CCA look at your situation. Sometimes outsiders see ways for us to cut expenses we don't see.

But remember,........... Grief is part of the process in deciding to file BK. Some people get VERY emotional while others are very logical. Everyone of us that decides to file BK experiences a sense of loss and failure.

Thanks SF you always help! Quick question-my minivan payment is $585.00 a month we owe $20,000 on the van but according to Kelly Blue Book it's only worth $12,000 due to high mileage.What are my options here?Can I sell it in any way and then maybe get an older minivan for under $10,000.....I'm just thinking here-any advice would be great!