Where can you get a peer-to-peer loan immediately after a discharge?

[CatsInTrouble]

Now that I'm going bk, I don't know that I can even saythis, but why buy a cheapo crap car that's going to take a sh-- on you and cost you more in the long run anyway?

Wow. Maybe that's why Im here ;(

[blankslate]

I don't think anyone should "settle" for a used car that is going to break down and be costly in repairs.

You can get a decent used vehicle that is a good investment for under $10k. However, you have to get rid of your ideas of what quality are. I love German vehicles but I also know that I cannot afford them. I cannot afford the monthly payment, high insurance and maintenance.

Also, I don't think anyone *needs* an SUV. Sure, they can be useful for hauling around kids, pets, etc. but if you're in the boat of bankruptcy you have to realize that "need" and "want" are two very different things.

[welovedis]

Aren't there any decent used cars in your area? We, too, put a ton of miles on our cars and found a really decent used car with higher mileage but a good track record for less than $4K and it will probably run us the whole 5 years of payments on our Ch 13.

No offense, but why would you want to get back into debt right after you've just gotten out of it?

[debtmonster]

We have a sedan now and it does not work for our needs. We NEED an SUV. It's not possible to live without it. We need something with that high area in the rear to hold the dog cage and luggage. Sedans simply don't cut it.

Also, when you buy a used car, you don't always plan for them to break down. They JUST DO. There's usually a good reason why the car is sitting on the dealer's lot. You have to think, if the car was so good, then why did the person trade it in? There had to be a reason for them to get rid of a perfectly good car.

Maybe the thing was in the shop a lot. Maybe it had electrical problems. Maybe the tranny would keep having gears that would stick. Maybe there was an intermittant noise that the dealer could never find when the person brought it to be fixed.

There's always SOMETHING that annoyed the person about the car that caused them to dump it, otherwise they would still be driving it and not have replaced it.

In the past 25 or so cars I have bought, not ONE SINGLE USED CAR EVER did not go without having some kind of problem. If you bought some used car for a few grand and never had any problems, then just CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY because not all used cars are like that.

A friend of mine has a beautiful Durango. One day he was driving down the road and all of a sudden the transmission started making this loud noise. He had to limp it home and then to the dealer. $3,800 later he ended up buying a new transmission and transfer case.

Now imagine if he traded that car in 3,000 or so miles before that happened and I WAS THE ONE who bought that beautiful used car? Then it would be ME stuck with that $3,800 repair bill.

I begged him to use Amsoil and he refused. He said the dealer told him to just use the Mopar stuff... and THAT'S WHAT HE GETS for NOT LISTENING.

Most people listen to the dealer or quick lube and that is not the right thing to do. Those people are not telling you anything that's in YOUR best interest. They want to sell you things that will keep you coming back, not keep you away. If they all sold Amsoil, they would rarely ever see their customers. If my friend had Amsoil Transmission Fluid in his transmission, the Dodge place would have lost that $3,800 sale.

The sedan I have now runs perfect, it just doesn't fit our needs. We live 6 hours away from family and we can't travel with the luggage and dogs and stuff in the car. We always have to take the SUV. It's a real hassle.

Looks like I will have to just keep the car I have now and never go anywhere. Our travel days will be over once they repo out BMW SUV after the bankruptcy.

[B65]

I believe people trade cars for

lots of reasons, especially today, Job loss, Death, Moving overseas, needs changing.....too many reasons to list other than something wrong with it, I have bought brand new and old and had very good luck with old cars, I had to just let my huge SUV go as i could not pay $4.00 a gallon for gas, i paid a fortune for it and would never do that again. This bankruptcy has taught me a lot...... I would rather pay a decent price for a good gas mileage car, nothing extravagant and have great savings in my bank.... I Guess every person does whats right or them. each to their own right, I am sure ypu can get a small mid size SUV or van if you need it....

[blankslate]

One lesson I've learned when buying a used vehicle, replace the alternator and thermostat first thing. After that, I don't have any problems.

There are some decent sport wagons out there that you could fit your dog cages into. Just trying to help you be creative so you have a better chance of finding something that suits your needs. Your wife said the PT is ugly, but it sounds like it's probably the most practical for you with price, gas mileage and use. My daughter hasn't liked some of the sacrifices we've had to make in the last few years either but it is what it is.

[debtmonster]

I am just totally disgusted with all of our options. After looking at everything, it looks like I won't be getting any car at all after the BK. I'll just keep what I have and hope that I can get approved for a 722 redemption. Then I need to see if I can put $3,000 into the pot and re-finance only $3,000 at the time of the redemption loan. Then I'll try to pay that off and then I'll be 100% DEBT-FREE. From there, we can worry about saving CASH MONEY and buy an SUV down the road with no financing ever again.

I want to quickly pay off the car. Remember, we're foreclosing and will be homeless, so I need to stockpile cash until the sheriff sale comes. Once I have $6,000+ in moving expenses saved, then I will start saving cash for an SUV afterward.

[BillyRip]

Damn, DM... I feel for you in your plight. Please keep us posted and if there is anything we can do.... Like hit Powerball, I'll hook you up!

I'm beating myself up as it is... If my spending habits affected anyone other than my brother, I'd be even more of a wreck than I am now.

[debtmonster]

I just sucks "NOT KNOWING". I wish I knew everything in the cold hard facts. Truth is, I could apply for redemption loans and get turned down for everything.

I won't know a single thing until I am DISCHARGED and have those papers in my hand so I can fax or mail copies to the redemption loan people for approval of a 722 redemption loan.

I think that's the best thing... keep our current car and forget any new cars for now. I need to get out of debt fast and this will be the best option. The car runs great.

[wonkettegirl]

DM, here's some unsolicited advice: change the way you look at things. The old way didn't work. You can't afford a car that will meet all of your needs.

Don't visit family until you get back on your financial feet - ask them to visit you instead. Or hire a teenager to walk/feed/water the dogs while you are away - the gas money you save by not having an SUV will pay for that.

Live with the fact that you can't afford "high end" anymore. Sucks, but it's true, and hopefully temporary. Remember that millions of people (billions worldwide) live on a hell of a lot less than we think we "need."

Your current job isn't working for you. You can't afford to keep going at it. Change gears, work 2 jobs, have wife work 2 jobs, whatever it takes. If there's not money to cover "it" (whatever "it" is) in your checking account with $ left over, then you don't get it. You can't afford it. You can't afford it. It doesn't mean you're a loser, or your life will suck, it simply means: you can't afford it.

[debtmonster]

DM, here's some unsolicited advice: change the way you look at things. The old way didn't work. You can't afford a car that will meet all of your needs.

Don't visit family until you get back on your financial feet - ask them to visit you instead. Or hire a teenager to walk/feed/water the dogs while you are away - the gas money you save by not having an SUV will pay for that.

Live with the fact that you can't afford "high end" anymore. Sucks, but it's true, and hopefully temporary. Remember that millions of people (billions worldwide) live on a hell of a lot less than we think we "need."

Your current job isn't working for you. You can't afford to keep going at it. Change gears, work 2 jobs, have wife work 2 jobs, whatever it takes. If there's not money to cover "it" (whatever "it" is) in your checking account with $ left over, then you don't get it. You can't afford it. You can't afford it. It doesn't mean you're a loser, or your life will suck, it simply means: you can't afford it.

There's nobody around that will take care of our dogs and even if there was, we can't afford them.

I don't have a job and can't get one. The head hunter in my area knows all of the major businesses. He submitted my resume to all of them. He recommended I move to the big city (90 minutes drive) to get a job.

We do not have garbage pickup here. I have to drive miles away to take out the garbage. People who live here all have pickup trucks or SUV's. You need one to live out here. The last thing you ever want is to be leaking garbage juice in the back seat of your car or trunk. That stuff just STINKS BAD!!

Yeah, billions of people around the world live on less than we do BECAUSE THEIR COST OF LIVING ISN'T A RIP OFF like ours is. Inflation has killed us. We will need a depression for 20+ years in order to get the prices of homes and cars to go down to where they need to be. They all keep talking about homes being cheaper and declining 14%. It's ALL BS!!! They doubled, tripled or quadrupled in price in the past 20+ years... yet our incomes have not doubled, tripled or quadrupled to keep up with that...

The house I lived in as a kid was bought by my parents for $20,000. I saw it shoot to $350,000... and it's a dump that's worse than ever. Even if it went down to $250,000, that's still about 3x more than I could ever qualify for if I had good credit to qualify for a mortgage.

I need homes to go back to the very LOW $100k's and I need all new cars to go back under $10k. Until this happens, these financial problems I always have will never go away. Things were good for our parents and grandparents. Now our generation is being totally screwed in over-inflated prices while most employers want to pay the same salaries from 20+ years ago in 2009 cost of living. THIS WILL NOT WORK and the proof IS THE RECESSION/DEPRESSION we are in RIGHT NOW!!!

People have been forced to supplement their incomes with credit. Even without having a big TV and stuff, things are just not affordable. The people at the top need to SPREAD THE WEALTH! Instead of CEO's making $500 million, they need a law to cap the wealth and force that CEO to share all of that income with all of the employees at the company.

[wonkettegirl]

Okay, but that's NOT going to happen. And lots of people are not "forced" to supplement with credit cards IF they adjust their expectations/standards to a different level. I know you love your dogs, but maybe you can't afford them. I know you have a lot of reasons for your situation, we all do, but teh question is: how can you avoid the same pitfalls? Saying that you are "forced" to use credit is, in my opinion, a direct line back to financial insolvency.

Things weren't great for my parents: they lived a very, very simple life. We NEVER ate at restaurants or even take-out, they stretched leftovers so thin you could see through them, we wore hand-me-downs and didn't participate in things like dance or sports leagues or gymnastics. Our vacations were camping vacations - when we asked why we couldn't stay at a hotel, their answer: "We can't afford it." They washed dishes by hand, with a 1/2 cup of bleach in the water as disinfectant. They hung their laundry to dry.

Stop living in this fantasy world of how easy and great things were for our parents. Stop whining about how "unfair" life is and how you are "forced" to live beyond your means. It is scary as hell to not have any credit: what if something comes up? What if there's an emergency? I guess I'll find out. But there is no way in hell I'm getting back into debt. I, for one, am determined that the only thing that could put me back into debt is some sort of medical emergency - not consumer goods.

[debtmonster]

You went on vacations?! WOW! You are LUCKY! I never did that.

There's nothing we can cut back. We've cut everything to the bone. We eat in all the time (hence all of the garbage juice.)

You ARE FORCED to supplement with credit cards when your debts are one figure and then your income drops to the point where you can't afford it.

We had $5,000-6,000/mo. in bills. My income this month was a GROSS of $3100. By the time I take out taxes and business expenses, I am left with barely 1/3rd of what I need to pay everything.

What am I supposed to cut back on? I don't go on vacations. We don't eat out. We haven't bought anything new in years. I have most of the same clothes and shoes from 3 to 10 years ago!

My wife WILL NOT, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES get rid of the dogs. I have fought and fought and fought and CANNOT WIN. She said she will get divorced before the dogs go. So there you go.

[wonkettegirl]

OK, you win. I give up.

[debtmonster]

Your posts are not helping whatsoever and you have not told me a single thing that I did not already know. All you're doing is making a bad situation worse by saying the obvious.