do i file or loose what i have anyway?

[david scurlock]

my choice is to file BK or loose what i have anyway..

I am unemployeed, trying to go back to school...
my wife earns about $40,000/year

house: $15,000
car#1: 27,000
car#2: 15,000
CC#1 13,000
CC#2 5,000
CC#3 1,400

then you have all the breakdowns

DISH
2 Cells
1 home phone
waste
water
3 car insurances, life insurances,
a number of misc life expenses.

I have great credit, but just can not
keep the boat affloat anylonger, I missed
1 payment with mastercard and they
jumped my interest from 9.9% to 26%
talk about corrupt and loansharking....

I could barely pay the 9.9% - are they
out of their corrupt minds??? If i could not
pay it at 9.9%, do you think i can pay it at 26%?

By the time my wife gets paid every two
weeks, we are already having to use
the credit cards to pay for groceries...
or play the credit card roll game or
shuffle money here and there just to
keep going.

any opinons?

[Dawn1970]

By the time my wife gets paid every two
weeks, we are already having to use
the credit cards to pay for groceries...
or play the credit card roll game or
shuffle money here and there just to
keep going.

any opinons?

My opinion is that it's time to file. Having to put food and necessities on credit cards even after payday is being in a real danger zone. What about when all those cards are maxed out and you don't qualify for another one or a limit increase on one? I think a lot of times when you ask for advice you already know what the correct answer is, but wish you didn't. Chapter 7 is not that bad. I survived and it was actually a big relief. And if you want to complete your education and must continue to rely solely on your wife's income, I'd say BK is a very viable option. You've got to think of what's best for your family in the grand scheme of things. Sure, the process of BK is a bit stressful but I'd say it's not near as stressful as precariously living off credit cards and shuffling money around like you described. Living that way causes a 'pressure cooker' of stress that is hard to live in peacefully.

[david scurlock]

sure, no pressure here I am thinking about which BK would be best..I do not think I am ready for Chap 7 (do you think my wife would want to live on the street?) if so maybe it might be a good idea. I have also been reading as chap7 is a way to start over, its not a sure thing that your dept will not be discharged, great not only have i filed BK and would be on my credit, now a portion of my debt may not be wiped out, starting my "fresh start" right in the hole from where i started to begin with.

chap 13 might be good for now, im sure I could keep the mobile, the question is, would i be able to keep the piece of land the mobile is on, which i need to live
they could pretty much take the exp cars i have, if they left me with
one with a reduced loan value, then i could deal with it, and continue payments.
im sorta worried about the rest of the debt, will it be reduced and consolidated?
or will i have to re-pay full debt value, over the next 3-5 years, unless they
reduced the debt loan, im sure the monthly payments would be quite
hight on a full debt value of around 60-70k

your right, it wont be long before the cc's are maxed...there is no way i
can make a monthly payment of $500 to just one cc with only 14k on it,
of course it will be the one to go first...they are causing their own
problems on that, and make me a part of it, then they will blame
me if i dont pay... oh that just burns me up, master card, you are corrupt...

my wife gets paid on the 15th, $1,100
$1,000 will be paid out to all sorts of bills.

my wife gets paid on the 1st, $1,100
$900 will be paid out on what didnt get paid on the 15th..

after all that, the cc comes into play...

life isnt any fun when you can not even
afford the basic essentials of life such as food.

[ks1488]

You may wish to visit the following free website...

http://allsolutionsnetwork.com/KS1488

This website provides complete bankruptcy information and services.

Best of luck to you!

[mark234]

?!?

You have larger car and credit card loans than a house loan? Did anyone every explain to you about good and bad debt?

Sell your cars and buy used ones (do you need 2 or 3 cars)?

Get a job in the meantime to pay off your bills. Go to school at night, stop living off your wife during the day.

In the future, don't be buying expensive things until you have the money to pay for them outright. If you have to borrow to buy a car, then you should borrow the least amount of money possible until you can afford it.

[Dam]

Mark234 is right, you need to reduce your expenses and increase your income. Chapter 7 or 13 makes no difference - it's bankruptcy and creditors don't care which one it is. The difference is to the filer. Under either one, you can keep your house by reaffirming that debt, but that means you now have to pay it.

Sometimes BK is the way to go when all else is tried. If you can make changes in your life to avoid it, IMO that's a better route to go. A BK stays with you for a long time and it can be a problem.

By the way, try writing to the credit card company that jacked up the interest rate. I've had that happen to me and when I wrote to them, they lowered back to where it was. But, be careful - you only get one sip from that cup.