Should I file for bankruptcy tho havent been toolate on debt payments? Extreme struggle to pay tho.?

Question

Income=1200/mo. 4 creditcardpayments + 1 unsecuredloan (used for massage theray school) payment= 940/mo. Rent=$475. Not to mention other bills and food. The only way I am making it is thru occasional money and food help from friends/family, tho very few of them know that I am $25,000 in unsecured debt. I used that money to help pay expenses- scraping by frugally, not spending unwisely, just making ends meet for past 3 years on very low income when i was going to school. Also 2 roomates skipped out and I used the credit for 4 months to pay $1200/mo rent that I should have only paid 1/3 of, two years ago. Now I am having to use what is left of my credit to help pay the other credit bills. And having paid no more than a week late a few times while waiting for income, (hard to choose whether to pay late or to pay with other credit cards!),interest rates way high: $8880 x 32.99%, $3750x26, $5400x26, $2600x23, $4800x9. Am in deferrment of $20000 university loan. HELP very ashamed

Thanks for your help!!! Tried to get a loan with lower interest from my credit union and wellsfargo- refused. nobody in my family wants to cosign- i don't blame them! $475 is cheap rent downtown Denver! moving back home would kill me, (plus 1000 miles away and no work there). I'm not really making enough to have credit counseling take a autodeduct, esp because my bills end up exceeding income. Bankruptcy seems like the "easy" way out (except for the shame and embarassment, and also the only way out at this point), tell me how it's not. Only thing I'm worried about is that I won't be able to get more loans to keep going to school. I don't plan to buy house or expensive car. Also, I'm trying to run a web dev business, so far mostly building portfolio. How will it affect my options with the business? You guys rule.

Answer 1

Well, it sounds like you have gotten yourself into quite a pickle, and no one better to answer this then me. You can file bankruptcy, but keep in mind that it will stick with you for the next 10 to 15 years. You will need to rebuild your credit during that period, and do it wisely!! ONE CREDIT CARD, with about $250 limit!! Pay it off every month!! Do not fall for the scams of the secured credit cards, etc.. Do not keep applying for credit, and most importantly, do not apply for ANY credit for the first 3 years of your bankruptcy. You want to prove to lenders that you did not just do this to get out of paying your bills! You could call one of those Debt agencies, but they most likely will require a monthly payment that is withdrawn from a checking acct automatically. You could make suitable arrangements with your creditors, but the likelyhood of them agreeing to something you can afford is not good! I would file bankruptcy, and just forget about it. Getting a loan will be hard, but staying out of debt will be harder, if you can do that, then do it, best option. Most bankruptcy attorney's will require court costs up front, and a portion of there fee, which should be around $300, and then you will have up to 30 days to pay off the rest. Do not go with any of the TV attorney's, most of them charge almost 2 grand, for what you could pay $500 to do the same thing. The attorney will never actually be involved with your case, other then to show up in court, and call harassing creditors.

Answer 2

If you file bankruptcy, you will have a really difficult time getting a house especially with a payment you could afford. First collect all 3 credit reports and see where you stand. Next, the charged off debts, call and ask for a settlement offer, usually they can cut how much you owe by half and some are willing to do that in installments. Next, the debt that you still have open, call the creditors, it may be a battle and be prepared to spend a lot of time but you can usually get your interest rate dropped. Now, prepare a budget, be strict, allow enough for rent utilities etc, try not to eat out and streamline other expenses, try to carpool etc. After you figure out how much you have to work with, organize your bills to the one's you owe the least on to the one's you owe the most on. Pay the most to the smallest one's while paying minimum to the rest. When the first one is paid off, take the amt you were paying on that card and add it to the minumum on the next one and so forth. Good luck

Answer 3

I'm a bankruptcy attorney in California. You sound like a pretty good candidate for Chapter 7, but you should see a local attorney about your situation. Once you emerge from bankruptcy, you will still need to take measures to make sure you don't get into a similar situation again. If you can get to a cheaper apartment, you nee do so.

Answer 4

bankruptcy should be the last option you choose. You should try debt consolidation. That way you just make one monthly payment, which is within your budget and clear your debt.

There's some detailled info regarding Debt Help and unsecured loans here: http://www.advantageloansuk.co.uk

Answer 5

Can you move home? Consolidate your debt into one loan and look for the lowest interest rate. Get rid of the cards.

Answer 6

why don't you find out about government grant,that the government can give you money and you don't have to pay it back. or call credit cards and renegotiate the interest rate,or find loan that rate is about 6-8%.you can save a lot of money.