Still poor?

[jessegirl]

So I filed 3/2009 and already had my 341 meeting. I am waiting for my discharge which should be in June if there are no issue.

I have not paid my creditors for a while and I realize that I am very broke even when being free of these bills.

My main bills are rent, car, and student loans.

I would get rid of the car but I have NO money for a new one. It would prob take me like 2 yrs to save for another one.

Just wondering if anyone else out there feels very very poor despite not having to pay those debts anymore.

Am I alone in this?

I really feel bad for you that you are still very broke even after everything gets disharged.

Can you maybe look for a cheaper place to rent - I know you are probably rolling your eyes, I would too, but maybe if you can reduce the rent it will help out.

Can you maybe get a second job for a few hours at night?

How about going looking in the newspaper, garage sales or flea markets for tires for your car. I know they can be pricey.

Again, I am so sorry that you are struggling and really do not see a light at the end of the tunnel.

[OregonMom]

My husband and I are ok right now. When we decided to file we thought we could keep our house and car and quickly figured out we couldn't keep either since the total payments for both were around $2,000 per month. We have two kids to take care of so we sat down and looked at my husband's pay, (I work on call so no guarantee of hours) and we figured out what we could afford for rent, utilites, food ect... and went from there. We found a nicer place to rent than our house and it was half the price!! We are going to have to add a car payment since our two paid off ones are falling apart quickly. But since summer is here I work a bit more and we should be good through the holidays. I feel that we are proactive instead of reactive to our situation, we are making it work and we make less than $50K per year and have two kids and of course get no help from the government. I wouldn't say we were poor but we are comfortable now.

[StartingOver08]

Inpain66, to recover from a severe financial setback that you have had involves two parts: getting rid of the debt and restructuring your new budget.


It sounds like you have successfully completed part one, getting rid of the unsecured debt. But because you have the student loans remaining, you have to be extra careful about restructuring your new budget.

Your budget only has two componets Income and Expenses. If you can't increase your income in your present job, then you may need to have a second job until the student loans are paid.

The student loans are a fixed expense. From what you have posted you have a car payment you kept for $300/mth for 48 mths (if I remember the length of time right) and we don't know your living situation. If you did not reaffirm this vehicle, it might be wise to reconsider. If this vehicle is the only thing keeping you happy then of course there are other options.

You might want to consider scaling down your rental as much as possible until you get your budget in line. This is the time to look at every expense and eliminate it. This actually is the hard part about recovering - if you do not put a new budget in place you have hurt your chances of recovery. I hope you are able to work out your new plan and find a way through this difficult time.

[inpain66]

What field do you have a BA in?

$42K for school seems a lot.

I went to college for Anthropology but started out a Biology major. I had no help from family so had to do it on my own. It took 5 yrs since I switched majors.

42k is really about the cost of a 4 yr degree these days. Sad but true. If I had help and did not have to live on my own it could have been less.

Now I wish I never went to college. I barely eat so I can pay the stupid loans.

[inpain66]

Inpain66, to recover from a severe financial setback that you have had involves two parts: getting rid of the debt and restructuring your new budget.


It sounds like you have successfully completed part one, getting rid of the unsecured debt. But because you have the student loans remaining, you have to be extra careful about restructuring your new budget.

Your budget only has two componets Income and Expenses. If you can't increase your income in your present job, then you may need to have a second job until the student loans are paid.

The student loans are a fixed expense. From what you have posted you have a car payment you kept for $300/mth for 48 mths (if I remember the length of time right) and we don't know your living situation. If you did not reaffirm this vehicle, it might be wise to reconsider. If this vehicle is the only thing keeping you happy then of course there are other options.

You might want to consider scaling down your rental as much as possible until you get your budget in line. This is the time to look at every expense and eliminate it. This actually is the hard part about recovering - if you do not put a new budget in place you have hurt your chances of recovery. I hope you are able to work out your new plan and find a way through this difficult time.

I would love to have less rent but I live with my BF and must pay him half the bills because he suffered a job loss and income reduction. Sucks!

I would love to ditch the car but I cannot even save 2,000.00 for a junker. It would take too long since I have only like 50.00 left at end of the month.

I am just praying for a miracle as per usual.

[BkinTX]

I finished a 4 yr degree and am a SAHM. I often wish I had not gone to college (or at least waited as my work experience and education will have to be updated before I join the workforce).

My student loans are 6k.

I also received grants and scholarships and attended a state school. I know people who are struggling because of student loans, though.

[sassiebaz]

We are right there with all of you...out of money from this paycheck already, and we don't get paid until next Friday. We can hardly feed our family of five and are thinking about food stamps. Two years ago my husband's business was a success and we were making well over $100K. Now, we are not paying our mortgage (letting the house go), we filed for bk (and getting rid of all that debt is definitely a blessing), and my husband's business has failed, so his current call center job leaves us SEVERELY underemployed.

I worked part time during tax season and we were just scraping by -- now that tax season is over we are seriously broke. We are both trying to find work -- not looking for a dream job, but something that will pay our now reduced expenses. We can't secure a rental home until we find another source of income, so I pray we don't get kicked out of our house anytime soon...

It'll get better for all of us, right?

What do you mean "thinking about foodstamps"??? Girl, I'd be down there yesterday applying. No shame in getting help if you qualify! You've paid your fair share of taxes. I only wich we could qualify for foodstamps. We actually did get them when my husband was first laid off over a year ago. He quickly found employment so they cut us off. There are so many families and individuals going through this!

[halelani]

I am in the same place. Rags to Riches now sliding rapidly back into Rags. I haven't bought a stitch of clothing from anywhere, not even good will in over 2 yrs. I have little hope of relying upon anything anymore, soon no job, no house, no car, soon no food and the list goes on. Where will my pets go? Where is everyone going when they loose it all??? I don't have family to move in with as they are all gone down under. I know that Oregon has the highest suicide rate in the country....I pray not to be part of those statistics.

[inpain66]

I am in the same place. Rags to Riches now sliding rapidly back into Rags. I haven't bought a stitch of clothing from anywhere, not even good will in over 2 yrs. I have little hope of relying upon anything anymore, soon no job, no house, no car, soon no food and the list goes on. Where will my pets go? Where is everyone going when they loose it all??? I don't have family to move in with as they are all gone down under. I know that Oregon has the highest suicide rate in the country....I pray not to be part of those statistics.

I feel your pain. every day is a struggle. Just hang in there

[halelani]

Thank you. I need all the support I can get.

[eddiep]

lrprn posted a link that may help you with the student loans, I don't know how to link to the original post but here is a quote from the post, hope it helps

"If the majority are government, take a look here for some great information about what your options are when you can't pay them - http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/pg/1...3/208/135/ART/ and http://www.finaid.org/questions/bankruptcy.phtml . There's some excellent options mentioned here to pursue."

[eddiep]

here is another link that gives federal consolidation loans, maybe you could lower your monthly payment

https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/AppEntry/apply-online/appindex.jsp

[Fresh]

Hang In There

Definitely see if you can do a loan consolidation. Otherwise, try looking for something with the federal govt where you can get a portion of your loans forgiven. A lot of the federal agencies have loan forgiveness programs where a portion of the loan is forgiven annually. That has helped several friends of mine who had balances much higher than yours, in the 100k range.

Also, check out the direct loan consolidation program with the federal govt, Dept of Education. If you choose the income specific option, and you lose your job, you pay next to nothing. With it, you are not in deferment or forbearance with interest piling up.

Please don't get so depressed that you feel like killing yourself. A bunch of student loans is just not worth it. You are worth a lot more!

I feel for anyone without any family because I'm in the same boat. Try to be as strong as you can and know that there are millions of people struggling with you. With your friends, tell them when you need help.

Much love to you all!

[inpain66]

Definitely see if you can do a loan consolidation. Otherwise, try looking for something with the federal govt where you can get a portion of your loans forgiven. A lot of the federal agencies have loan forgiveness programs where a portion of the loan is forgiven annually. That has helped several friends of mine who had balances much higher than yours, in the 100k range.

Also, check out the direct loan consolidation program with the federal govt, Dept of Education. If you choose the income specific option, and you lose your job, you pay next to nothing. With it, you are not in deferment or forbearance with interest piling up.

Please don't get so depressed that you feel like killing yourself. A bunch of student loans is just not worth it. You are worth a lot more!

I feel for anyone without any family because I'm in the same boat. Try to be as strong as you can and know that there are millions of people struggling with you. With your friends, tell them when you need help.

Much love to you all!

No worries. I am not going to kill myself but I am severely depressed due to my circumstances. My relationship is also falling apart due to the stress.

I just hope things get better some day.

[Moms4Boys]

No worries. I am not going to kill myself but I am severely depressed due to my circumstances. My relationship is also falling apart due to the stress.

I just hope things get better some day.

They will, my relationship was like that last year. I was severly depressed, not to mention post partum depression and the docs wouldnt give me anything. You will get through it I swear! The house we were in also caused a lot of stress on top of the money situation, but we moved, Thanks Goodness.

Stick through it, things will turn around once you start thinking positive! Although I know its a hard thing to do.