$30,000 in cc debt!

[stupidcredit]

First let me say how glad I was to find this forum.
I am an unemployed musician...haven't had a paying gig in six months and have 30 grand(about) in credit card debt. I have no other debt and no real assets. I don't even own a car, just a couple guitars and amps. I live in New York state. should I have any problem filing for chapter 7? Also, do you think I can self-file?
Thanks for any help!

[itcaughtup]

Without knowing all the details it sounds like it should be a cut and dry case, I filed may 1st with 80,000 in cc debt and am keeping my house. Keep looking here and asking questions, this forum has been a big help to me.

[Cali]

Filing is only half the answer to your problem. And filing on such a small amount isn't wise, what will happen if you are worse off in a few years..you won't be able to file again for awhile.

[JRScott]

If you have no assets and no job then you are pretty much judgement proof. I would at least consider delaying a filing until you had a source of income. I know the music world is hard, it might be time to try a part time job at some place to make ends meet.

[stupidcredit]

I am single.
Why should I wait to file til I have a source of income? Couldn't that HURT me in the case?
Thanks

[stupidcredit]

Alos, are recent charges to my credit cards gonna hurt me?
thanks again for any and all help.

[woeisme]

I think what JRScott is advising is that if you use BK to relieve yourself of the debt you have right now, but don't have an income or any way to keep yourself from digging back into debt after your discharge, then you really haven't done yourself much good, and in fact have harmed yourself in terms of both your credit and your ability to file BK for 10 more years. So if you don't have to worry about wage garnishments or seizing of assets or leins at this point since you have nothing, filing will relieve you of the 30K debt but not really help improve your standard of living since I assume you're probably not paying on these debts now anyhow. So he/she is suggesting that you wait until you have a job and some way of paying your cost of living, then pull the BK trigger. (You can still file CH 7 at that point, provided the 6 month look-back shows you are below the median income and don't have a lot of disposable income to fund a CH 13.)

[woeisme]

and recent charges will be a problem if they are "luxury" charges, for more than $600 or so. They may or may not be dischargable if they are considered abuse by the trustee (which will probably only happen if the creditors file an objection.) So most would recommend that you wait 70-90 days between making a charge on a credit card and filing BK. Again, this brings up the question, how are you going to pay your bills after BK if you are needing to continue charging on your cards immediately beforehand? So you need to have a plan in place that will allow you to get some income to pay your bills without relying on credit cards before filing.

[keepmine]

JR and Woeisme just knocked the ball rigth out of the park.
Filing bk is the easy part. 90 or so days later and it's all over.
What comes next is harder. You have to be able to fix the issues that created the bk and, support yourself post bk or, the bk was worthless to you.
What will you do if you file and have no job and then get sick and have large medical bills? You will already have played the bk card. Also, if you have any available credit left onthose cards, you may need that to support yourself until you find a job-preferably a job with insurance benefits.

[Phillymanhere]

Yeah, you need to find a job and a decent income and probably make some serious lifestyle changes before you file.

For one, there is NOTHING, NOTHING, more depressing than filing for bankruptcy, having your debts cleared and then returning to the same state. And if you do not have adequate income, you WILL by definition, incur more debt and fall into bad straits again.

Don't fall for the fantasy that once you file for bk, everything we be happier ever after. It won't. Start to address now the root problems (emotional, financial and other) that got you into this situation.

[stupidcredit]

I am so glad I found this place . I'm TOTALLY thankful for the help. I understand what you guys are saying about NOT filing, but my credit is pretty much at an end anyway, and I haven't paid most of my credit cards in a month or so. So, if I don't file in a couple of months, aren't they just gonna serve me? What happens then? Wouldn't that force my hand into bankruptcy anyway?

[keepmine]

I am so glad I found this place . I'm TOTALLY thankful for the help. I understand what you guys are saying about NOT filing, but my credit is pretty much at an end anyway, and I haven't paid most of my credit cards in a month or so. So, if I don't file in a couple of months, aren't they just gonna serve me? What happens then? Wouldn't that force my hand into bankruptcy anyway?

It will be months if not years before you're sued.
If they sue now-so what? There is nothing for them to take and any judgment can be discharged in bk when the time is right.

[JRScott]

Took them 2 years to sue me....I filed bk then....

No if you've only missed a month you'll get harassing calls but unlikely to get more than that. They basically will pull your credit report every quarter to see if you've been paying anyone. So long as your not paying anyone they probably won't come after you. They might after about 6 months to a year charge the debt off to a third party. Then it'll take them 6 months or so to do anything. So you've got plenty of time.

Next all the judgment does is establish that you owe the debt. They would then have to go back to court to garnish your wages (you have none), garnish your bank account (I'm assuming this is empty too) or put a lien on your real property (which you have none).

So right now just get you something to keep you going and start making the adjustments you need to survive after bk, then file 6 months to a year down the road.

[Phillymanhere]

You're letting the fear that these guys (credit card companies) try to evoke get to you.

The people on this forum have basically been able to avoid falling into the fear trap and instead can see a few steps ahead. You don't go to jail in America for owing people money. Credit card companies bluster a lot before they actually sue. Sometimes they don't sue. (It costs money for them to hire lawyers to sue and if you don't have many assets, what's the point of paying a lawyer to harass you? Can't squeeze blood from a rock, right?)

The credit card companies are only trying to manipulate your fear and guilt and terror--all just to get your scared to do something dumb to pay them when you can't afford to pay them.

So Stupidcredit, what you want to do is realize that you've got some time to rejigger things. You need to move past the immediate panic and instead think seriously about the middle and long term. What's your plan for financial stability? What's your plan for increasing your income? What's your plan for changing your lifestyle?

Because if you don't have a plan, your problems will most likely continue and you'll be right back on this forum in no time. When you have a plan and it's reasonable, the people on this forum will be incredibly supportive of you filing for bankruptcy.

So I ask you: what's your plan?

[Cali]

I stopped paying CC's in Feb and I just filed 2 weeks ago.