BK due to out of control CC spending due to Mental Illness

[NAL123]

I have over $70,000 (yes that much) in unsecured credit card debt. Much of it is due to out of control spending due to years of compulsive shopping & spending due to a Bipolar (aka manic depression) disorder. It was made worse over the last year due to a misdiagnosis of mild depression & anxiety NOS. I was put on a high dose of Prozac (80MG a day) without any type of mood stabilizer and it basically kicked up the mania & out of control spending. I wasn't sleeping for days on end & didn't have any feeling of what I was doing. I had to get an emergency prescription for Xanax & now Tegretol to get stable.

I moved out of the NYC region without giving my employer any notice (and sending a hate filled ranting letter to that HR person) and got a new job in the Hartford area of CT. I am making $75,000 but I am barely making enough to pay credit cards, gas, insurance & rent on two apartments. I am still paying $875 rent on my old place in NYC & $900 for a sublet apartment that isn't in my name. It is a long story, but I am locked in a lease until March 2008 in NYC which I may have to break & face an eviction on my housing record.

I am well over the median for a single person in CT & NY. What should I do? File a Chapter 13, Credit Counseling or what??

[leftyf]

Our insanity

I think we can all relate, even if we haven't been diagnosed. I was telling my wife the other night...bankrupt is bankrupt is bankrupt. We made a few honest mistakes and now we are going to have to file...we know people who "milked" the system and were able to file ch. 7's, but I think we will be forced into a semi-painful, I hope, Ch. 13. The people I know that filed all did it before the 2005 law change. As far as I know, there is no exception to the bankruptcy laws unless of course you are so crazy that the original agreement with the CC companies would be invalid due to total insanity maybe...I don't think you're looking for an exception anyways. I have anxiety attacks and I do believe they did, to some extent, contribute to my debt.

[keepmine]

I'd suggest you speak with a few bk lawyers. Most give free initial consultations.

[southerncomfort]

I had $129,000 in CC debt when I filed Ch. 13. I have similar issues--compulsive shopping . .
We also make well over the median. We pay back more than $3,000 a month in our plan. Only 15 more payments to go!

As to your real estate questions--we owned a rental home which we forfeited (just signed back over to the bank) when we filed. Your second lease situation sounds like it might be subject to something like that. . . You are not allowed to own multiple properties--just your residence, I think.

Good luck. I know how crappy it feels being it in the beginning stages of BR.