Seeking info ..please help

[midnightrocket]

ok. i have a couple more questions if you dont mind? i am interested strongly in keeping my car and bike. how do i know that if i continue to pay on them, they wont be taken from me?.... cant i just stay current on those payments and they will leave me alone? also, when do i stop paying on the rest of my bills? my fico score currently is extremely low!!...due to several missed payments on school loans and credit cards. thanks a ton!!! i have learned a lot on this board!!!! car is financed through HSBC AUTO, bike is through TOWNE BANK......a personal friend approved me for the bike loan with a cosigner approx. 6 months ago

[StartingOver08]

Ok, let me just understand a little bit. You are a police officer and make a base of $40,000 plus $10,000 to $12,000 in Overtime - so lets estimate $50,000/yr. gross

Your debts:
Car $8500 valued at $ 7,500
New 2008 Motorcycle $ 9,600
Citifinancial $14,000
Dell $ 5,600
Tax $ 4000 to $6000
Furniture unknown

What is missing are the actual payments so I don't know where you are with your cash flow. You are probably feeling pinched because of the payments/high interest. Your score is low according to you. But you want to keep the furniture, the car and the motorcycle. The taxes are required to be paid regardless. So, really you are only talking about the Citifinancial and possibly Dell.

Don't file BK. IMHO. You can restructure the payments on everything, call the hardship dept for Dell and Citifinancial and get the rate to 0% or 2% - you have to negotiate the entire deal upfront (not with the CSR's - with the hardship dept). You can negotiate with the tax people too - the sooner the better. If you renegotiate the interest rate to rock bottom then most of your payment goes to paying off the principal .

Its not possible to give you more specific info because we don't have your payments, interest rate, terms etc. Don't go to a credit counseling agency that also does BK because when they pull your credit, your score will take a hit just like filing (it has nearly the same impact). Do you have a resource available to you thru the dept for financial matters to work on the budget? It sounds like a problem that you might be able to clear more simply with a new budget

[midnightrocket]

i have 5600 in numerous cards including dell......i have a total amount of bills that exceeds my net income. the only way i can stay afloat is to work ot that is not guranteed to last. i am feeling a crunch ...due to the fact that i have no money after i pay my bills, and i bit off too much, now im gagging on it!!!!!!!!....i see no o light at the end of the tunnel...causing me stress, to were i am feeling depressed! i must do something ,

[StartingOver08]

Ok, can you take a few minutes and post your net income (what you take home) and your payments so we can figure it out?
Also, while you are posting payments, post the balance and the interest rate. For example:

debt int rate balance mo pmt

[debtmonster]

Man, this all sounds almost like my story! And I make almost the same money... but I am $360k in debt.

[midnightrocket]

i make 1289.00 every two weeks net.

car payment....424.00 bal......owed - $8600.00
bike payment 263.00 bal......owed - $9600.00
insurance for vehicles 102.00
rent and electric 525.00
child support 414.00
verizon cell phone....135.00
school loans 126.00 bal......owed approx...20,000
grand furniture 160.00 bal....$3300.00
citifina. 227.00 bal....$7500.00 total pay back approx...13,500
dell 60.00 bal....$1550.00
hsbc credit card 35.00 bal....$1800.00
capitalone visa 30.00 bal....$500.00
ge money card 60.00 bal....$1525.00


i can make approx. 500-1000 per month ot ...if available, depends on how my girl is feeling, and if available????? never see my family, stay exhausted!!..... also, my car is in great shape, however...needs a tranny repair.....approx....$2500.00..............

i am about one payment behind on car and behind on several other bills as well.....taxes for fed...i owe...approx.....4000.00 and maybe some on state as well????

[StartingOver08]

Well, the first thing that jumps out is you are spending more than your income and that is why you are feeling the squeeze. You did not even include groceries and other necessary items in your budget. One of the factors you might want to examine is your withholdings - it looks like $540/month is withheld and yet you are behind in Fed Taxes. Check your withholdings, where is the money going (401k, health ins, tax etc). Can you make an adj there?

Out of the expenses, BK will not change the Student Loans ($126), Child Support ($414) and the taxes are mandatory, but maybe the figure is not correct.

You can work with uncle sam on the taxes - actually the IRS is pretty easy to work with if you initiate a payment program with them. FIRST, did you file your own taxes or did you have a professional file? Several years ago (about 8 yrs) I switched to a CPA from a regular tax preparer. He reviewed my prior 3 yrs filed tax returns as part of his initial review process and discovered that I had overpaid (by a bunch!). I got a huge refund. You might want to seek out a skilled tax professional to see how/why you are behind and maybe find deductions previously missed.

The factors that can be changed that will really help you are the car and the bike. Renegotiate the car payment if you feel you must keep the car. The bike is a toy and right now you can not afford toys - IMHO. The phone plan you have is too expensive. Go to a pre-paid or reduce your plan - $135/month is a huge chunk you can not afford right now.

On the unsecured cc's: Call the hardship dept - get the interest rate to 2% or even 0% in EXCHANGE for closing the accounts. You can even set up a sep account to have an auto draft feature for the closed accounts. This will preserve your credit better than doing a lump sum settlement. The lump sum works only if you have stopped paying all together - have had no payments quite a while and you have the cash to pay it off at 20% to 40% of the balance (then you owe taxes on the forgiven part of the debt the other 60-80% not paid).

As to the furniture - IDK. I believe that all new furniture is a rip off. You can get just like new for next to nothing. But you have the furniture in your possession. Either negotiate with the company to take it back in exchange for a full credit on the account or again - reduce the interest and jam down a settlement.

These are things you do prior to filing. If you are successful with these steps, you do not have to file. If you file, you have to decide what you will keep by reaffirming or not. You may not be able to keep the bike and the car in a BK.

[okiemom2008]

He should not even have to do the means test should he? Since his pay is 40-50k which is below the income level?

[debtmonster]

He should not even have to do the means test should he? Since his pay is 40-50k which is below the income level?

True Dat.

[midnightrocket]

thanks. this is really, really stressing me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[debtmonster]

That child support would be stressing ME OUT! I remember when I grew up as a kid. It didn't cost me no $400/mo. to exist. I don't think my mom paid more than $20-30/wk for food for me, AT THE MOST.

Courts should only award REAL COSTS of raising the child after the spouse shows documented receipts. Anything over that amount is nothing more than the spouse with custody. I don't agree with anything judges say, and I don't even have kids!

Good luck on that one... just my opinion, which I know is worthless here, but that's how I think.

[midnightrocket]

i think that my only answer is to file. i see no light, working to pay off all this crap....i think i have spending issues...dont we all!

[debtmonster]

i think that my only answer is to file. i see no light, working to pay off all this crap....i think i have spending issues...dont we all!

With the economy tanking badly and me seeing the gov't laying people off like mad, I would file now while you still have the money to pay an attorney to do it.

[midnightrocket]

i think my employ is ok...my agency is small, even with bad economy we are building a new complex at were i work...i think im gonna file close to march.....i think if im not mistaken...you cant loose your vehicle ...if you are current on payment? if im wrong ,, i need to speak to an attorney...either way ...i have to have a vehicle...

[midnightrocket]

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