Am I a good candidate for bankruptcy?

[Bandit]

I am just curious. What kind of lifestyle changes would you suggest. We are currently paying minimums on all our debt with very little cash left over, so we have to resort to charging groceries, clothing, school supplies, etc. to live.

I used to have about 100.00 a week left after paying minimums 6 months ago, but every single card we have has raised the interest rates and subsequently the miniums have followed. Chase has decided to raise the minimums on two of our cards from about 440 a month to about 1200 a month which puts me in a bad position since now I could be 800 short. I could start rolling balances around and charging fuel and utilities, or stop paying but the 2nd choice would just destroy my credit as much as doing a BK.

I do make good money, but I am in a profession with a salary (so no overtime) and I work 10-11 hours per day already, and am frequently on call evenings and weekends so getting a 2nd job would have the potential of putting my 1st job at risk. We've thought about having my wife work, but she has chronic back problems which would interfere with her ability to hold a job. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks last year. Thank God we have HMO coverage, or that 100K hospital bill would have found me here, in these forums, 12 months ago..

you know...read dave ramsey and get shrink wrapped, then hire some consultants, then pay some people to do debt consolidation, then buy another book, try for a different mortgage...you know, that kind of stuff.

[Bandit]

I call people like you Trolls!! This is a Bankruptcy Forum and in all of the 8 posts you've made, you state BK is not the answer. If you don't have anything to say to help people with their BANKRUPTCIES, then Go and Stay Away from here.

Faith??? Think you might need to start reading the Bible a tad bit more.

Luci

yes that one is trolling alright. time to start reporting more posts. that seems to be all I ever do here is keep reporting people.

[Bandit]

Your post really struck a nerve, your FAITH does not pay the bills. There is no permanent medical disability here and we live pretty darn frugally. The only "extra" you could say we have is our cable/internet. My husband's hours were cut and he is in an internship with "steps" but he hasn't advanced any "steps" for a year when he was supposed to be advancing every three months.

People's "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality is ridiculous. I would say MOST people TRIED, we were in CCCS for four months and just couldn't do it. Our car broke down, our AC needed repairs, we had med. bills come up, we were getting into more debt then we were paying off.

You come off extremely judgmental and narrow minded, I hope you don't find yourself in a situation someday where your statements would come back and bite you in the butt.

I have grown quite used to the narrowminded judgmentalISM in this place. I share your exact sentiments on every single point.

[LuciluS]

Thanks for your post CC. I definitely do not think that BK is your answer because I believe that BK should only be used in extreme permanent medical disabilities and I did not see any in your post.

I have faith in you that you can solve this problem on your own by making some lifestyle changes now instead of after a BK.

I know this advice is not popular but I have seen many people work their own way out of debt and are very thankful they did.

I call people like you Trolls!! This is a Bankruptcy Forum and in all of the 8 posts you've made, you state BK is not the answer. If you don't have anything to say to help people with their BANKRUPTCIES, then Go and Stay Away from here.

Faith??? Think you might need to start reading the Bible a tad bit more.

Luci

[CreditCretin]

Thanks for your post CC. I definitely do not think that BK is your answer because I believe that BK should only be used in extreme permanent medical disabilities and I did not see any in your post.

I have faith in you that you can solve this problem on your own by making some lifestyle changes now instead of after a BK.

I know this advice is not popular but I have seen many people work their own way out of debt and are very thankful they did.

I am just curious. What kind of lifestyle changes would you suggest. We are currently paying minimums on all our debt with very little cash left over, so we have to resort to charging groceries, clothing, school supplies, etc. to live.

I used to have about 100.00 a week left after paying minimums 6 months ago, but every single card we have has raised the interest rates and subsequently the miniums have followed. Chase has decided to raise the minimums on two of our cards from about 440 a month to about 1200 a month which puts me in a bad position since now I could be 800 short. I could start rolling balances around and charging fuel and utilities, or stop paying but the 2nd choice would just destroy my credit as much as doing a BK.

I do make good money, but I am in a profession with a salary (so no overtime) and I work 10-11 hours per day already, and am frequently on call evenings and weekends so getting a 2nd job would have the potential of putting my 1st job at risk. We've thought about having my wife work, but she has chronic back problems which would interfere with her ability to hold a job. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks last year. Thank God we have HMO coverage, or that 100K hospital bill would have found me here, in these forums, 12 months ago..

[ecsclb1724]

Your post really struck a nerve, your FAITH does not pay the bills. There is no permanent medical disability here and we live pretty darn frugally. The only "extra" you could say we have is our cable/internet. My husband's hours were cut and he is in an internship with "steps" but he hasn't advanced any "steps" for a year when he was supposed to be advancing every three months.

People's "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality is ridiculous. I would say MOST people TRIED, we were in CCCS for four months and just couldn't do it. Our car broke down, our AC needed repairs, we had med. bills come up, we were getting into more debt then we were paying off.

You come off extremely judgmental and narrow minded, I hope you don't find yourself in a situation someday where your statements would come back and bite you in the butt.

ferl;302588]Thanks for your post CC. I definitely do not think that BK is your answer because I believe that BK should only be used in extreme permanent medical disabilities and I did not see any in your post.

I have faith in you that you can solve this problem on your own by making some lifestyle changes now instead of after a BK.

I know this advice is not popular but I have seen many people work their own way out of debt and are very thankful they did.[/QUOTE]

[sigferl]

Thanks for your post CC. I definitely do not think that BK is your answer because I believe that BK should only be used in extreme permanent medical disabilities and I did not see any in your post.

I have faith in you that you can solve this problem on your own by making some lifestyle changes now instead of after a BK.

I know this advice is not popular but I have seen many people work their own way out of debt and are very thankful they did.

I have been trolling these boards for a few weeks now and had a lot of my questions answered. I am still trying to decide if I should make the call and see a lawyer. Made some bad financial decisions and racked up way too much credit card debt over the past few years and it just seems like a never ending hole. I am paying all the minimums and am finding I have less and less cash available to where I am at the point where I have to charge groceries, etc. It feels like I am digging my way out of a hole with a spoon and someone is using a bulldozer to push more dirt in on top. Anyway here are my stats as embarassing as they are..
..
Anyway, sorry for the long read... Any and all advice is appreciated. I feel like I have to call a lawyer and get advice, but keep putting it off.

[pookieny]

CreditCretin-

For peace of mind, see a lawyer and get your options if you can qualify for a 7 that would be great, if not, then you can see if you will be able to manage a 13.

Wish you great luck

[CreditCretin]

Just thought I'd post that I took the first step and called a lawyer this morning. We have our first meeting on Saturday morning. This was a lawyer my brother called on about 1 1/2 years ago. He ended up not having to declare, (he was able to get a deed in lieu of foreclosure on a very large mortgage debt) but had good things to say about the lawyer.

[CreditCretin]

The Chase card I mentioned a balance transfer on over a year ago, when I rolled 4 cards together at 2.99% for the life of the balance. Great deal, however the balance is 17,000 so I am faced with the probability that my payment will go from 340 to 870, 500.00 I definately don't have laying around now. I did transfer a balance about 2 months ago, however from a Lowes card (appliance purchase) where the special rate was about to expire to a Bank of America Card. It sounds like I may have to bide my time for 4 months before I would file. Speaking of Bank of America, I have my checking account with them. Since I have two credit cards with them as well, should I proactively be finding a new bank to do my checking with?

I think I will call the lawyer next week just to get some advice. I took the means test from above, and it does appear, once I add in my mortgage and property taxes I may be eligible for a C7. Never thought that would be possible earning 100K a year until I read here. I have been going into my credit card accounts and removing my work phone numbers from the accounts.

One last question about C7, I am sure has been answered, but can they force you to sell your house in a C7? That is the one thing I am not prepared to let go of. I would go C13 before I would go C7 if I had to give up the house. The expense of my house is not overly high for my income level in my opinion, and the cost of renting in my area (suburb of Chicago).

[AngelinaCatHub]

I would get the keep the full 2K right? How about property taxes, do they allow you for that? I used a means test calculator that I found here on the BK forum and it looked like it took those amounts into effect. Also, it looks like you can take up to around 450.00 a month for each car. Are you allowed that if both cars are paid off? Or do they only allow for that if you are making payments? If so, after talking to a lawyer, I wonder if it is better to buy two newer and inexpensive cars to make it through 5 years (if in fact you have to go with a C13)

CC: I would try very hard to go the C7 route if at all releasable. Also what another poster mentioned about a cash transfer, that puts a bit of sticky into your situation as that is one of those red flags of abuse that can pop up and bite you. Let some time go and yes talk to a lawyer, the sooner the better. The line is getting longer fast. 'Hub

[ecsclb1724]

I would get the keep the full 2K right? How about property taxes, do they allow you for that? I used a means test calculator that I found here on the BK forum and it looked like it took those amounts into effect. Also, it looks like you can take up to around 450.00 a month for each car. Are you allowed that if both cars are paid off? Or do they only allow for that if you are making payments? If so, after talking to a lawyer, I wonder if it is better to buy two newer and inexpensive cars to make it through 5 years (if in fact you have to go with a C13)

what means test are you using?

IMO this is the easiest one to use and gives good explanations:

http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/means-test/

Some districts allow the $450 a month ownership expense for paid cars, some don't, it will depend on yours.

Can you beef up your taxes withheld from your paycheck?

I'm sure they'd allow for property taxes too, hopefully someone can come along and advise you better but I'm thinking you can qualify for a 7.

[CreditCretin]

so you're giving yourself the full 2K then right?

I would get the keep the full 2K right? How about property taxes, do they allow you for that? I used a means test calculator that I found here on the BK forum and it looked like it took those amounts into effect. Also, it looks like you can take up to around 450.00 a month for each car. Are you allowed that if both cars are paid off? Or do they only allow for that if you are making payments? If so, after talking to a lawyer, I wonder if it is better to buy two newer and inexpensive cars to make it through 5 years (if in fact you have to go with a C13)

[ecsclb1724]

Thanks for the support and the information. Thanks to this site, I have taken a look at the means test. Based on some numbers I plug in, it looks like I would have about 800.00 of disposable income per month. Of course I probably missed some exemptions and other data, that a laywer could better advise me on. For example here in Illinois the housing allowance is around 1500 I think, however, our mortgage is 2000. Discounting our credit debt that cost is not out of line with my income.

If I stopped paying all credit cards I would have over 2500.00 in cash per month to use for living expenses, legal expenses, etc. That is why I am not sure if I would qualify for a C7, but this is another good reason to talk to a lawyer, I am sure he/she would be better suited to make that determination for me. A C7 would be great, a fresh start sounds incredibly good right now, although I am thinking a C13 would be ok, if I have no other choice. At least there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. Right now it feels like matter what I do, outside of a bankruptcy, there will never been an end..

As for my name.. Well I feel really awful, and foolish to have allowed all this to happen. FinancialFool was too long, so CreditCretin seemed to fit. I can see now, that just because you are in this situation, doen't make you a fool... What is foolish are these credit card companies. With all this debt I have, by wife and I still have three credit cards with no balances on them and 60K of available credit on all three.

so you're giving yourself the full 2K then right?

[eddiep]

I noticed that you made a balance transfer account with Chase. You will want to talk to a lawyer before you stop paying on that one.

Your financial story is so similar to mine. We were at the point that we had to use the cards so we could continue to pay them. But then last Sept hubby lost his job, and was out of work for three months without unemployment. Once we missed that first payment there was no way out. We have gone for 7 months without a cc payment and we filed yesterday, 341 on 8/13 but we are under median so we are looking at a ch7.

We also tried one last time to refinance to consolidate our debt, thank god they turned us down, we would have lost our home.