So how many then........

[df04527]

are NOT feeling that "fresh start" that your supposed to get?

because your being pushed in to bk because of a lawsuit only......

none of the debt is being paid or has been being paid for the last year or so. Just paying bare necessities for the last year. So no relief will really be felt.... ugh

[justbroke]

The relief will be felt. If the creditors start, continue, and/or successfully sue you, they will receive a judgment and then they will be able to start coming for property (real or personal, cash, payroll, bank accounts, etc). Bankruptcy stops the continuation of the collection. That is relief by all definition!

If you are "collection proof" (there is no such thing as being "judgment" proof), then bankruptcy won't really do anything for you, except stop all the activity around the creditor's attempt to collect.

Everyone recognizes the fresh start... when the instant the phone stops ringing and the nasty letters and complaints stop coming in the mail. This is generally just several days after filing.

[df04527]

i'm with ya - just a little depressing that's all. She (daughter) barely can support herself [email protected] per hr - she's not paid any other debt for a long time. She only has 14k in debt too...

[tobee43]

Everyone recognizes the fresh start... when the instant the phone stops ringing and the nasty letters and complaints stop coming in the mail. This is generally just several days after filing.

Amen to that!...or maybe NOT...it's so quiet now...

[nc73]

I still have my student loans so I don't feel like I'm getting a full fresh start. Just a wee one.

[brokejoker]

We got our fresh start even though we hadn't paid CCs in over a year. Now there is no shoe waiting to drop, no "if we pay $10,000/year for the next 15 years we'll be out of debt", and no more lawsuits!!! Now we can even leave our phone plugged in when company comes over. It feels like we were being thrown around on a life raft - thinking things were pretty good - but then washed up on a tropical island. One day we'll make it around to the other side where they have fruity drinks and a pool. (That's be savings and an emergency fund. LOL)

[tay666]

i'm with ya - just a little depressing that's all. She (daughter) barely can support herself [email protected] per hr - she's not paid any other debt for a long time. She only has 14k in debt too...

Not sure where she is living, but I am supporting my entire family on less income than that.

[tobee43]

tay...on $11 an hour....you support your entire family??? where would that be??? both my kids make over 100k a year...cut coupons...shoot their child care alone is over 30k a year....they NEVER do much in the way of "fun" other than go to the park...anything FREE...

they barely make ends meet and both are excellent money managers....so i am certainly impressed if you can feed, cloth, educate, medical, utilities...etc...ALL on $11 an hour...PLEASE tell us the secret, because i certainly missed it!

[tobee43]

actually tay...didn't you just have your 341 a few weeks ago....???

[tay666]

tay...on $11 an hour....you support your entire family??? where would that be??? both my kids make over 100k a year...cut coupons...shoot their child care alone is over 30k a year....they NEVER do much in the way of "fun" other than go to the park...anything FREE...

they barely make ends meet and both are excellent money managers....so i am certainly impressed if you can feed, cloth, educate, medical, utilities...etc...ALL on $11 an hour...PLEASE tell us the secret, because i certainly missed it!

I can get by on that because I live the very economically depressed NE Ohio.
(that is why I asked where the OP lives, as some areas are much more expensive than others to live in)
The $10 an hour I make is decent money around here. Most people are making $7-8 an hour or on public assistance (or both as there are many who work but are still well below the guidelines)
You can get a nice sized house with a decent yard here for $60,000.
(we got ours for $24,000 in 1992, refinanced for $36,000 in 1998 and will have it paid off in 2013 with mortguage payments of $470 a month including the taxes and insurance)
As for childcare costs, what are those? I mean, other than feeding and clothing them.
We never used daycare or babysitters when the kids were young. I worked 1st shift, and the wife worked 2nd. Now they are older. My son moved out a couple years ago, and my daughter just started her 2nd year of college. Which eats up a chunk of my income. I think I ended up chipping in about $3000 last year to help her cover rent.
Gas, electric, water, sewer, and trash run me about $240 a month.
Cable, phone, and internet cost me $100 a month.
Car insurance for both vehicles costs $100 a month. (both paid for, late-model cars)
Maybe $300 a month for food.
That leaves $200 a month for gasoline, maintanence, and anything else we might need.

[tobee43]

well tay...i'm surely impressed at how incredibly well you handle your budget...you should be an example to anyone that says it's can't be done!!!

yes, child care expenses i know run my children over 1800 monthly...for daycare where they lived...so that's what i meant by child care.

my hat's off to you tay!! job well done!

[nc73]

People (not all mind you) that make over 100k a year are spenders. You may think they manage their money well but in reality they don't. I make a lot less and in an expensive area but I do just fine with 2 kids. If someone can live on 11 an hour, anyone can live on less than 100k a year. It's known as living within your means. I know. Been there, done that. I know people who make alot more and still living beyond their means.

[tobee43]

People (not all mind you) that make over 100k a year are spenders. You may think they manage their money well but in reality they don't. I make a lot less and in an expensive area but I do just fine with 2 kids. If someone can live on 11 an hour, anyone can live on less than 100k a year. It's known as living within your means. I know. Been there, done that. I know people who make alot more and still living beyond their means.

well personally i am so impressed by tay that i'm still in shock...

i hear you about those over 100k...but i have to say this. i do know people (my siblings), whom, by the way, i'm extremely proud of... that make well over 100k a year...drive bentley's have 8 bathrooms in their homes...(i use everyone of them and try to make them dirty when i visit ...just for fun). do they live beyond their means...? well....no, but i understand what they make in 1 week is what we made in one year....that IS their means.

could they cut??? yes, most likely if they had to, but you know there is always going to be that fraction of our population that is unaffected by what's going on. personally, if you had asked me 5 years ago where were would be financially today, i would have replied..."on top of the world and ready to retire"....so much for well laid plans!

by the way...i love them all....but you think one would have offered us a hand...no way! LOL!! i guess that's why the rich stay rich!

[df04527]

she lives in central fla with a young child whose daycare alone is 650. a month. she also doesn't get 40hrs a week, she averages about 35 or so. she's young and has a not so perfect driving record her vehicle ins is 200 a month and the vehicle payment itself is 290! she gets no support from daddy yet and she pays 350 for rent a month.

not a pretty pix.

[tobee43]

she lives in central fla with a young child whose daycare alone is 650. a month. she also doesn't get 40hrs a week, she averages about 35 or so. she's young and has a not so perfect driving record her vehicle ins is 200 a month and the vehicle payment itself is 290! she gets no support from daddy yet and she pays 350 for rent a month.

not a pretty pix.

yeah that day care stuff is a killer...i know my daughter's cost is 1800 monthly...i just can't believe it...

hope things start looking up for her!