My story, not sure what to do.. thoughts

[daojlo]

I used to make a good income 90-100k for a few years, then of course the economy hit me like it hit everyone else. I admit I was an idiot before, always using cards, running up huge debt because i made plenty of money, what did i have to worry about. Yes I was an idiot!

Well about 3 years ago I woke up and realized i was being stupid, IMD cut up all my credit cards and have not used one in three years.

I did some consolidation and started paying the debt down, I got it down from about 180k in debt to about 100k, then things got bad and late last year lost my job. I tried to scrape by, but didnt work. I started in real estate this year and things are going ok, but I am only going to make about 35k this year with 4 kids is not enough to do anything more than rent, food, utilities, cars etc (no car payments, just gas, insurance, maintance)

I have not paid a credit card since Feb this year, I have less than 1000 in the bank at all times and struggle to make rent most months. Wife is a full time mom with 4 young kids, she does some stuff on the side, but not much money, we have sold a lot on craigslist just to survive this year.

I never wanted to walk away from debt, but I just want a fresh start now. Have about 100k in debt (25k student loan know not able to get in bk).

I am looking to do this myself. Is there anything that would make it so I dont qualify for bk?

[fireworks]

Sounds like a pretty standard case to me. The big red flags are a high income ($35K is not high), borrowing money close to your bankruptcy filing, lots of luxury assets like multiple homes, boats, etc. You should be fine but I'd suggest you consult a lawyer regardless - laws vary from state to state and you don't want to screw this up.

[daojlo]

thanks fireworks, yea have not borrowed money in a long time... im in az, i have heard that a bk lawyer cost like 2-3k... i dont have the money so what is why I came here to try to do it on my own, but if people think it is stupid maybe i will have to come up with another plan

[downsized]

I'd get with an attorney. Go for a free consult even if you end up deciding to file on your own in the end. Like you, we had a good income and lots of debt, had an "ah ha" moment where we realized we can't continue with the charge card lifestyle, cut the card use out and started paying them off. 2 yrs later...... a job loss resulting in about 75% of our income gone. We never borrowed any money with the intend on defaulting but times got tough. Couldn't stay afloat any longer. We ended up filing when we were down to not much more cash left than what it took to pay our attorney. Best decision we ever made. Dh is still unemployed and we're still struggling in this crappy economy but at least we don't have loads of debt looming over us anymore.

[mkuki]

To OP: I believe you can contact an atty for initial consult, Which will make you feel Sooooooo relieved (trust me, I did), like you just had a brain massage...LOL!

As for the fees, I believe my atty had me pay the filing fees ($250-$300 in MA) and then I could either use my refund money to pay for his fees.

What you want now is the peace of mind, then start collecting the pieces. I am in the 6 figure income bracket and I just filed Ch7, No Asset, since I have high expenses that need focus now (and not luxury items). Trustee did not even blink at my case.