Young Adult in a Financial Nightmare. Need advice.

[vic316]

This is going to be a bit long, But i'll try to make it short.

About Two years ago i moved out of my parents, and Purchased a home of my own at the age of 22. Being a new home owner resulted harder than i thought. Little by little i began using my credit cards. Wether it was to purchase luxury items such as expensive TV's and clothes or simple utility bills my credit cards were being used more than ever.

Before i knew it i had charged myself into a deep debt. But it was going to get worse. My spending habbits continued it was just easy for me to pay stuff with credit cards. After a year of wreckless spending i ripped my credit cards, i tried hard and kept making payments for about 8 months.

Today it's been 4 months that i have not made any kind of payments to my cards, and it's been about 13 months since i've used any type of credit card. I've gotten phone calls and letters, I usually just throw them away and ignore the calls because they just frustrate and worry me.

At this point i am not 100% sure how deep my debt is. But I'm guessing it is in the high 50k area.

Here is my financial situation today. I make about $1,500.00 a month after taxes. Mortgage and bills are about $1,200.00. My home has no equity, my cars is worth about $4,000.00. I have no bank accounts.

I know i need to clear this up, I'm just not sure where to start?
Being a BK rookie I am very worried and stressed out. My concerns are, what's going to happen to me?? Do i face jail time?? Are they going to take my home away??

I Sincerely would appreciate any kind of advice.

I meant to post this under the General BK forum, Sorry

[DivorceRuinedMe]

First, we need to know what state you are in. That will help us more.

[vic316]

First, we need to know what state you are in. That will help us more.

I live in the state of Kansas

[familyof7]

how much is your home worth?

[MomIcantFindmy]

My concerns are, what's going to happen to me?? Do i face jail time?? Are they going to take my home away??

I Sincerely would appreciate any kind of advice.

I meant to post this under the General BK forum, Sorry

Vic,
It is OK. First, you are not going to go to jail for making a finacial mess. Unless you did something criminal that you are not telling us about. People have various reasons for debt and BK. Read around this board and you will find other people just like you. Since you no equity in your house, do you want to keep it?

Keep a pen and paper handy and for the next few days everytime you think of a question, write it down. Make several free consultaion appointments with local BK attorneys in your area. They will help you understand what is involved in BK and which (7 or 13) is likely to benifit you the most. If you can't wait to get your questions answered you can post them here. I am not an attorney but like many other people here we have experiences that may or may not help you. You can still run the question past your attorney also.

Best wishes.

[cj0203]

I agree, meet up with a few BK attys and tell them everything you told us. They will be able to tell you the best options available for you.

I felt SOO much better after my husband and I met with our lawyer. She was all business and made us realize this is NOT something to be ashamed of. We all need a little help sometimes!

[woeisme]

It sounds like you make well under the median, so you should be able to file CH 7 and get the debts wiped clean.

If renting is cheaper than owning a home, you might want to rethink the house since it has no equity in it. As long as you are current on the morgage, and have no equity in it, you should be able to keep it in a CH 7 so it will really be your choice.

If everyone who stopped paying their bills went to jail, we'd have to build an awful lot more prisons in this country!