6 years post chapter 13

[wobbly]

The holidays are upon us, and I wanted to give a quick update. I hope it gives someone that needs it a little hope. If you are having a hard time and struggling with all this, please hang in there. Keep your head down and keep plugging, putting one foot in front of the other. We were discharged in Sept of 2o16. It was embarrassing and a struggle, but we got out lives back. I was able to refinance and get a fantastic 2.35% 15-year mortgage. We now knock our principal down 1600 per month and should finish in 11 years. I became very ill with ESRF 3 years ago. My employer of 15 years fired me in December of last year. We had enough emergency funds that it was actually a blessing. I got a kidney transplant in April and I am doing fantastic. I landed a much better job with a big raise and really good people. Keep fighting. You can do it!

[Zombie13]

Hi wobbly! First and foremost, I am glad to hear you are feeling better! And, great news about the better job! We finished our bk in Feb 2022, glad it's over with; we reflect back on the past 5 years sometimes, so we don't make the same mistakes ever again.

[wobbly]

Congrats. I hope you look back in 5 or 6 years and feel like we do. Grateful! Cheers!

[Barbisi]

wobbly , I'm so glad you made it through and are doing much better now both health -wise and finance-wise!
What a relief that the trustee didn't oversee both your kidney transplant and your job layoff -those are truly blessings to be savored this time of year.
And yes, we too are grateful those years are behind us - we sold our house in May, relocated to a new state with a new job offering a huge pay increase also in May, purchased two new to us cars partly with cash, had to move to our second rambler rental almost three months later and got our first two CCs with high limits and now have more money in the bank than we ever had, despite paying more for rent in a much higher COL location.
We enjoy visiting the forums and reading new posts and sending good vibes and hopefully offering helpful advice to others still struggling to get through everyone's worst nightmare while reminding ourselves that we must never forget how we landed in BK13 in the first place.
Happy Holidays to you!

[Carmella]

Congrats hanging in there and being able to handle the ups and downs!

We are less that 6 months post BK 13 discharge and plan to start an emergency fund after the Holidays. Since our discharge we have played catch up. We had to put money into our garage that badly needed repairs, still needs a new door (in the spring). We owed back taxes post petition IRS debt. The IRS was actually wonderful to deal with and we had an arrangement to pay back within 6 months with minimal interest and no fines. Next week it will be PAID OFF!! We are paying cash for Christmas presents. We will pay off our new snowblower, charged it to help with credit building and to make sure we could get it before the first serious snowfall.

It's been nice not to have to worry about every dollar spent. We haven't gone hog wild. We still owe on our HELOC and next year I want to start dumping extra money to the principal. There's around $7,000 left.

BK 13 is no picnic for sure, but it helped us get out from behind the debt we couldn't pay back with interest growing each month. It's great to be without that humongous debt.

Thanks for checking in and sharing your story. Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

[wobbly]

I should add that two years from discharge I felt like it was pretty much behind us. We got a few good credit cards and paid them off monthly. In a short time, our credit score was in the mid 700's. After 5 years we were around 800. Money in the bank and a new car for my wife. Now, it seems kind of unreal and so long ago. I am glad that we used the law when we needed it. I hope it works out for everyone here. Cheers!

[Barbisi]

Big congrats Carmella on getting rid of that awful IRS debt! We have some post-relocation taxes from the defaulted 401K loan to pay off next year but otherwise I don't think we'll owe much.
Like you guys, we are using cash to pay for most smaller purchases and the two CCs for big items (paid off quickly) for things we need insurance that they'll work (like a Teeter -style Hang-up devise (mainly for Jason), oil for heating and a very special small table and chairs that fit together and look like a library set (scheduled to arrive next week.)
We don't have Christmas presents to buy since I don't have any family and my husband is essentially estranged from his, but we'll have a nice dinner at home for Christmas. (We stopped exchanging gifts in 2016 after my mother died that Spring.)
We plan to donate some clothes, shoes, accessories, household goods, etc. as we try to pare down our oversupply of inventory, LOL!
Happy Holidays to you Carmella and all your family!

[wobbly]

We use cashback cards and pay them off monthly. It's not a ton. But it's free money!

[underh20]

Happy for you wobbly,👍🙂 Your story, and so is everyone else in this thread is indeed a beacon of hope to those who are currently going thru their bk. Merry Christmas 🎄Take care

[Johnworker1]

I am thankful everything worked for the better for you wobby! Thanks for spreading your testimony and giving others (like me) some inspiration

[Barbisi]

wobbly, we're starting to have a nice amount of cash back built up too with our two CCs, thanks to frequent use due to having to pay for diesel heating oil, power generators, etc., and we're also paying them off monthly - no accumulating CC debt for us, thank you, LOL!

[GreenV98]

Thanks for sharing Woobly. I’m in 36 months payment plan and at 17th month. I truly am definitely learning how to manage my finances with my CH13. And looking forward towards the end of this all. Lots of lesson learned but it’s something that will truly help me & my family get back in our feet again. I make a lot of money, yet I poorly managed what I earn. Blessings!!!