How do I know it's time?

[may]

Hello. I'm new and scared to even be here.

How do I know it's time to file? I'm soooo scared. I want to pay these bills off, but we're barely making our household bills. We have about $20k in CC debt. All are maxed and some are behind on the payments. 3 are in DH's name alone. 1 in my name and then we have a credit line. I know our bank (who our credit line is through) will not touch credit counselors outside of their counselors so I wonder if we can file for that too. My card and the credit line are up to date. I pay my CC and the bank takes money out of DH's check for the credit line.

Help! I feel like we aren't enjoying life at all right now. Our mortgage is up to date and we can pay that. We can pay our cars, and utilities, tv, phones, and internet. We just don't have any money left after everything to pay the CCs. How do we know that we just need to do it? DH is worried about job applications and all that. Sometimes they ask if you've filed on the application. I just don't think there's any way that we can pay our CCs. Even the min. DH has buried his head in the sand which I'm even more worried about, but that would turn into a whole other thread. I'm just looking for options for us.

We're young. We've made stupid decisions, but we want to live and move on, start a family and enjoy life. Advice? Suggestions? Swift kick in the butt?

[crashzx]

Well...first you can calm down. Take a deep breath and read here about most of the issues that are in front of you. I am and was in the same situation, just 30k of unsecured debt. You need to get a budget started and stick to it. Change bank accnts to a diff bank. Did I say read here!!!! I learned more reading here a couple hours every night then I would have learned going to school for it. My attorney was amazed at how preparred I was. Made me feal good. You have to accept the facts and just deal with it. I leaned on my faith hard for a while and that helped me. You also need to talk to an attorney and take the "means" test. Once you get started it is such a great feeling!!! One thing to remember...you are NOT alone!!!! That was our biggest issue! My wife still is embarressed about the whole deal but hey...we have our family and we are coping just fine. Good luck and did i say read here!!!!!!! alot!!!!

[may]

Ok. *exhale* I need to figure out groceries but that's the only thing in our "budget" that's in question. The rest of our budget it set.

Our CCs are about 6 months behind. I don't want to wait to "fix" things any longer than I have to.

[UpsideDownMI]

Read up on all the threads on this site and you will get a good understanding of the process. Explore all of your options before doing anything. You will know that bk if for you, if there is no other feasible way for you to remove yourself from your debt within the next few years.

Keep in mind that you should be able to "settle" your credit card debt for somewhere around 50% of your balance. In your case that is 10k. If you could come up with 10k over the next year or so, debt settlement may be an option for you.

[frogger]

Hello. I'm new and scared to even be here.

Help! I feel like we aren't enjoying life at all right now.

We're young. We've made stupid decisions, but we want to live and move on, start a family and enjoy life. Advice? Suggestions? Swift kick in the butt?

I think many of us have been (or still are) in the circumstances. Everyone was new at some time, and everyone has been scared before.

When you reach the point that you aren't enjoying life, then you're not living. That can be due to many things, but by being here, tells me that you can't enjoy life because you're broke! Welcome to the club. I'm a full member of it too......

You're young. That's great! It gives you more time to turn your life around and do things different. BK may be a part of your turnaround, it may not. Read, read, and read the stickys and the posts here and you can really get an education. Ask questions, and don't be afraid. You're among friends here.

[OhioFiler]

We really need more info to help you decide if filing is in your best interest.

Income?

State?

Home value?

Mortgages values?

Student loans?

Last credit card use?

Recent cash advances?

Those are a good start.

[DeadManCrawling]

Welcome to the forum!

I was a total nervous wreck, on the verge of breakdown, when I wandered in, so I can relate a little.

As noted, each case is different, and your goals will determine what you need to do.

First, let me say this is intimidating at first, but as you come to understand the process, it actually becomes comforting.

Provide the info requested above and we can give more clear advice.

Do you plan to keep the home?

Would you be ok if you had no credit card debt?

Are there autos that you would be better off without, due to repair costs and or payments?

CH 7 wipes out most debt, but takes assets that cannot be exempted. To keep the house or other secured property, you must usually be current.

Ch 13 allows you to keep assets, but requires a payment in most cases, to catch up and sometimes to pay other unsecured creditors a bit.

Most important thing at the beginning is to read as much as you can, consult a few attorneys (usually this is free), try to relax and understand that you are not alone. Start to put family first as much as you can again, and remember that no credit card company is going to starve if you don't pay them.

You can simply ignore the calls from collectors. No good usually comes of speaking to them anyway. THey may start calling other contacts, though, just to warn you.

We have been open and forthright with all of our friends and family. This was our choice, and not everyone does so, but it has made it much easier on us when collectors do call our friends and family.

[may]

Answers below

Income? Net - $4068

State? Virginia

Home value? On Zillow it's estimated at $180k

Mortgages values? Balance on our Mortgage - $164,437.43

Student loans? Yes - about $5k that I'm currently trying to Defer

Last credit card use? To buy food

Recent cash advances? None

Do you plan to keep the home? We'd like to do whatever it takes to keep our house. We're current on all of the payments.

Would you be ok if you had no credit card debt? Absolutely! That's the part that makes it hard for us to sleep at night.

Are there autos that you would be better off without, due to repair costs and or payments? Both of them of course, but DH needs his truck. We're current on the payments, but we're so upside down on it we will probably never be able to sell it. And my car I just got b/c I traded in my Accord to save $100 on the payment.

[OhioFiler]

I'm not sure bankruptcy is the best solution for you unless you plan to get rid of the vehicles. Does the $20,000 debt include the line of credit?

I'd consider stopping payment on the credit cards and work out a settlement with them when they realize they can't get anything from you. If you negotiated a payoff of 25% that is only $5,000. Settlements like that are possible. The cost of a bankruptcy will be approximately $1,500(maybe more) if you use an attorney. That's a big chunk of that $5,000. We haven't paid our credit cards since January and we're receiving settlement offers.

[may]

Yes, the $20k includes the line of credit. It's probably over $20 right now though since the payments and late fees keep adding up.

eta - Yes it's over $20k. I can't find out the full amount of one of the cards, but what I can see adds up to $19k. I know the other card I can't see is at least $5k.

Will most companies go for a settlement? How do we do that? I'm sorry but I'm new to all of this and not really sure what everything means yet. Would we have to pay that in one chunk?

[ForumReader]

Yes, the $20k includes the line of credit. It's probably over $20 right now though since the payments and late fees keep adding up.

eta - Yes it's over $20k. I can't find out the full amount of one of the cards, but what I can see adds up to $19k. I know the other card I can't see is at least $5k.

Will most companies go for a settlement? How do we do that? I'm sorry but I'm new to all of this and not really sure what everything means yet. Would we have to pay that in one chunk?

Please by all means stay away from debt settlement companies. They are not worth it. If you have money to work with in the next 6 to 12 months to settle for the $20k some debt of cc's, you can possibly work with your creditors reaching settlements for each of the card you have with them. Please keep in mind they usually want lump sump payments of 1 to a few months. And any forgiven debt out of a settlement is taxable (through 1099) to the IRS.

[DeadManCrawling]

I haben't gone the settlement route with any creditors, but others have and will chime in, I am sure.

I think they look payment in full, of the agreed amount. Some may offer a very short payment term, like 2-3 months.

In any case, you need to make sure that the debt is considered "Paid in full" and the the remainder is not sold to other collectors. They can AND DO this.

For instance: 20k owed, you agree to pay 3k. THEN they might sell the remaining 17k to another collector to try to collect, even though you supposedly settled with them. You need to make sure this is NOT part of the deal, and that they do not have the right to sell the rest.

Good luck!

[may]

How do I get all of my debt settled to $3k (for example) if the debts are through different companies?

And how do I pay on debt when I only have $70 left to eat on after paying all our bills? (without paying CCs) I'm telling you, we're hurting for money. When I paid all of our bills I had $70 for food, gas, and DH's cigs.

[OhioFiler]

How do I get all of my debt settled to $3k (for example) if the debts are through different companies?

And how do I pay on debt when I only have $70 left to eat on after paying all our bills? (without paying CCs) I'm telling you, we're hurting for money. When I paid all of our bills I had $70 for food, gas, and DH's cigs.

You have to make tough budget decisions.

You would have to settle with each company individually. IF I were going to go that route I'd hire an attorney to ensure the agreements are reasonable.

[may]

And if I hire an attorney, how do I pay that attorney?