The question on whether or not to file

[Reddrocket07]

I have been reading some of the forums on here and Dave Ramsey has been mentioned a couple of times. He seems to talk about how you should not file BK, etc. Has anyone on this site, decided not to file and tried Dave Ramsey's plan for debt reduction?

I have a $135,000 home loan with barely no equity, nearly $90,000 in school loans, near $45,000 in credit card debt, and an $11,000 car loan where that car isnt even worth half that now.

I thought about it not filing, but looking at all of the minimum payments I make a month, it comes to 4,097.58. My wife and I combined only net $4,098! The only three things that I can see that I would be able to cut back would be my cell phone bill, trash, and cable. If I cut those off completely, I would save almost $290.00 a month, $110 for cable and $150.00 for our cell phones, and $30 for garbage. I could sneak and use the apt. complex dumpster next to our house at night.

We have three phone lines, one for my self, one for the wife, and one for my mother-in-law who is in assisted living. I dread telling my mother-in-law we might have to cut off her phone!

So should I file or should I try to get myself out of this hole on my own and cut off the only two non-debt bills I have?

[Reddrocket07]

Opps this was posted in the wrong thread. Sorry!

[Bandit]

Opps this was posted in the wrong thread. Sorry!

Put it up there again under the General BK section, include your state and someone will get you started with some more questions & possibilities. You may be stuck with the school loans.

this forum is not that busy so try it again up toward the top & give it a day or two for the conversation to flow.

Dave Ramsey is not all the popular here but some people like it after there BK to learn not to make the same mistakes. Debt consolidation & debt negotiation are sometimes a better option than BK.

Try posting it again at the top...or maybe a mod will move this one...

[JRScott]

I have known people who have used Dave's plan successfully, sadly many of the folks I've seen here are really past the point where his plan would work. I didn't learn of Dave's classes etc until after I'd filed. If I'd gotten it maybe 3-4 years earlier I probably could have used it to come out.

Dave's idea is that if you have to work hard, and his plan calls for that, to get yourself right side up again you'll be much less likely to repeat the same mistake again. He also believes that you'll increase in your sense of self worth with the accomplishment when you are done. It actually is a good point of view.

However as I said many that find themselves to this forum are generally beyond Dave's plan to save.

In your case you might seek to consolidate all the student loans into one loan. This can generally lead to smaller payment. Another option might be to seek to put them into forbearance while you pay off the rest of your debt. They can't be discharged in a BK.

Then while they are in forbearance do your utmost to pay off the rest of the credit card debt/car. You most likely will need a second job to do so, which is something Dave recommends but not everyone can do.

If you want to see about it, I'd suggest taking his Financial Peace University course. Usually offered by local churches for a discount. After all if after going through it you find you can't work through it you could always then file bankruptcy.

[joab]

Dave himself has filed BK. His bread and butter is selling his "Financial Peace" plan; so it's only natural that this is what he emphasizes on his show. But he also admits that some people are too far underwater to fix their financial situation without BK (and of course he markets a debtor education course for those BK filers).