Cash Advance/Balance Transfers

[Keebler]

Have you had any late payments yet? I quit paying all my debt when I realized I'd be filing. Most creditors never called until it was late over 60 days. Even after that most calls I got about 1 a week from creditors. I had perfect payment history until I altogether stopped though, it probably wouldn't have been the same had I had irregular payment history.

Me too! I figured I'd be rolling in cash because of all the money I would have left by skipping pamynents. I figured I'd throw the cards a payment once in a while to keep them quiet and I'd save some money for the attorney and maybe make some overdue repairs to the house. Boy was I wrong!

The calls have been persistant but managable. We haven't charged or borrowed anything but there hasn't been a penny left for anything other than necessities! We're living off my paycheck and doing okay, but it hasn't been easy either. It just goes to show how screwed up my finincial perception had been. No wonder it's come to this... (In my own defense, we've been spending a TON on medical expenses and that's not what we had planned either.)

If you KNOW you will file, stop making payments and start living within your means for a few months. The creditors will whine and complain but that's about all they can do. You'll learn a bunch about yourself and you'll be starting good habits you'll need after the Bankruptcy.

Keep it up as long as you can and be prepared to file at any time by keeping good records and using good spending habits. File when you're darn good and ready or when one of them gets grumpy and serves you with a lawsuit.

It's like running with scissors -- everybody tells you how bad and dangerous it is. Once you try it you'll learn that it's serious business but not all that scary like everyone makes it sound.

[woohoogirl]

Keebler,
You summed it up just right. How were we living before when we were making credit card payments? Have you sent any of them a payment? I was wondering if that made any difference. I know the medical expense part, I've been dealing with home health care nurses and tests. Makes you think about those people that really have been forced to choose between food, medicine, and electricity.

[Keebler]

Keebler,
You summed it up just right. How were we living before when we were making credit card payments? Have you sent any of them a payment? I was wondering if that made any difference. I know the medical expense part, I've been dealing with home health care nurses and tests. Makes you think about those people that really have been forced to choose between food, medicine, and electricity.

I stopped paying most of the all at once. One had us on probation due to a late payment and my wife agreed to let them debit our checking account for four months. When that ran out I stopped sending payments to them too. The only unsecured credit payment I make is to a Credit Union Credit Card and an Overdraft Line of Credit and only because I have a vehicle loan with them that's cross-collateralized.

I consider myself fortunate because I have a good income for the time being and its enough for us to live on without any real suffering. I can't imagine the difficulty others must face who don't have the blessings I do!

The credit trap is far too easy to fall in to and there's far too few clues when it goes too far. Here I am happily re-arranging the deck chairs of life as the ship is sinking... Gah!

I just checked my wife out of the Hospital and I've got less than $40 in the bank to make it until payday. We paid $100 when we checked in and they came looking for $100 more. It's sure uncomfortable dealing with the fact that money is gone when it's spent and more has to be earned. And it sure would have been far easier to whip out the VISA and avoid the whole embarrasing situation! But, we dealt with it right there and they will have to wait. I'll bet they have tried the same thing dozens of times every day and I'll bet they collect from some and not from others. I guess I'm one of those "other" people now.

Another thing I've learned since I started this process is how right everyone is about reaffirming loans. I really felt like this was no big deal and we would reaffirm our vehicles and we'd go on the same as before minus the credit card payments.

Well, now I'm ready to let the bank have both vehicles with loans and start again with whatever I can buy using the 100% down and $0 a month plan. I'm driving the truck in the picture (on the left side) to work every day because one of our main vehicles has a ruined engine. Over the last months I've started to get a clue about what's important and what's not. Suddenly the ol' Ice Cream Truck is my favorite becuase it's my new status symbol -- it's completely paid for!

[jp2861]

Okay. I realize that I'm overthinking and overfretting about this, but I really do want to come out on the other side of this in OK shape. Of course I believe that's what we all want otherwise we wouldn't be here educating ourselves to have the best possible outcome. One last stupid question (I don't promise that it will stop me from asking another). When I go to my attorney and give him this information, he should act in my best interest right? If I tell him these things, he can't say "we might as well file, because you are going to owe these funds back to these creditors regardless." Or could he say that I need to wait until whenever so that these transactions might go away?

Yes, your lawyer should act in your best interest. I stopped using my CC's at the end of July. Throughout 2007 I had cash advances and a bunch of "rob peter to pay paul" transactions. I was ready to file at the beginning of this month, and I really wanted to. My lawyer told me, very sternly, to cool off and wait a few more months. I didn't want to wait. But after realizing that, unless I'm served for a suit, that there really isn't a rush. Better to wait a few extra months and let the smoke clear than to rush and regret it. Basically, I could wait and wait until I get served and then drop the papers. Unless you're getting sued there really isn't a rush.