Toomutch

I never would have imagined that we would have to be filing for bankruptcy. We have been struggling awhile now and our lifestyle has completely changed. We over spent and went on vacations and out to dinner all the time, we spent, spent, spent. But we could afford most of it.
Now we are at a place where we have to start over again at 45 and 47. I do not feel sorry for myself as there are so many people no loosing their homes and atleast we still have ours.

I trust in the Lord to bring us through this and keep us safe and sheltered.

Have any of you experienced bankruptcy, I would like to have more information on the process. We have to wait awhile to prove we cannot pay our bills. I have been getting phone calls from 8am to 8pm every day. Atleast 20 calls a day. I wonderif there is a way to put a stop to it.

I'll quit rambling now, thanks for listening.f

thirtybubba

Change your number.

I'll shut up now and get back into my lane... I never filed for bankruptcy 'cause I was too poor... nobody'd allow me to take out the credit in the first place. But, (((hugs))).

Take care,
TB, actually fairly supportive...

shaun00

No i havent.....BUT.

early this year we sailed pretty close to the wind...

if i have my family and my health.......they cant take anything of value from me.

and they love to bully dont they........try not to worry and look around you at what really matters.

god be with you toomuch.........nice to see you around

thirtybubba

And they seem to hate that... I suppose it takes power away from the almighty dollar/pound--in other words, you become difficult to control. But I figure you'll do alright this way...

Sorry, I'm not doing well at staying in my lane am I?

Toomutch

I am greatful for what you have to say thirtybubby....

Trucker, you are absolutely right... what matters the most; they can't take away!

laurie6781

Once you initially file you get a 'case #'. You tell the creditors you are in the process of filing for bankruptcy and give them that number. You may have to repeat to each one several times, but once they have that info the calls should stop or abate tremendously.

For now, you can turn the ringer off on the phone (if that is part of what is stressing you out) between 8am and 8pm and check the caller ID periodically to see who has called and the ones you want you can call back. Or check the caller ID and don't answer those calls that you don't recognize the number.

Hope that helps.

Love and hugs,

wanting

Toomutch, have you spoken with a bankruptcy lawyer? I would do a few things, preliminarily. I would first compile a list of all your debts, and call the creditors and see if they will work with you. Let them know you are considering bankruptcy. I would also talk with a bankruptcy attorney (or a few) and find out what bankruptcy looks like for you. For many people, they end up still owing 100%, and the credit damage of bankruptcy may not be worth it if you can work with your creditors instead.

I would also highly recommend that you get a hold of Dave Ramsey's "Money Makeover" and start using his principles to get yourself out of debt and change your spending habits.

joedris

Suze, I'm really sorry to hear of your problems. As to the phone calls, if the caller is a bill collector and not a creditor, you can tell them not to call again. They have to abide by your request. Just make sure that they identify themselves. And as Laurie suggested, check your caller id. If I don't want to talk to someone, I merely hit "answer", then "off".
And it's great to see that you're not throwing a pity party, but rather appreciating those things you do have. Not once did you mention wanting to take a drink. Fantastic!

Horselover

I "assume" you have an attorney and have filed. It at least sounded like a done deal from your initial post. I used to be a legal secretary and one of my bosses specialized in bankruptcies. I sure know the creditors can be outright abusive and yes, like Laurie said, you can tell them you are in the process of filing bankruptcy and give them your attorney's number. I loved talking with abusive creditors. I usually let them have it on behalf of my clients. Also when you get your hearing date they will then be notified since you most likely listed them on your paperwork. They, at that point, are not going to be notifiying you or shouldn't.

Suzette, don't worry about it and for God sake don't let this be some sort of identification on you. You are Suzette, like thousands of others, that got caught up in this and are now dealing with it the best you can. My husband and I have bought houses with mortgages that had less then 20 percent down and that is a gamble. Buying a new car today would be a gamble. You take chances and then pick yourself up if it didn't work out and go on. Life would be such a bore if we only took the "safe" route everyday. Plus you've learned from this experience and so for that reason alone it was not a lose - lose situation.

BTW - I have known a family member that had to file and was very ashamed, but then found out it was a great lesson. That family member has better control of her spending then I have ever had and is very money savvy.

Hugs - Sarah

thirtybubba

I was just gonna read, since I don't know much about this topic, when I ran across this....

Don't know quite how to say it, but, well, this never occurred to me. And won't occur to plenty of others. I was thinking you meant the post in a "I'm sick of being harrassed" kind of way... basically I suppose, the lesson here is what you (or me or anyone) thinks is the relevant issue might not be so obvious to the next person.

I certainly don't think any less of you for going through a bankruptcy. And I'm still kinda tripping out that I didn't even see that angle of it...

Pinkcuda

We had to file a couple years back and I'm glad I did. The phone calls stop immediatley as a letter is sent out to all your listed creditors.
You go to Court where your Lawyer and the Trustee are Friends. They work together on a daily basis. In almost every case it was like a "Poof" and all the debts were discharged.
I didn't feel the least bit guilty because our debts included mostly medical bills for procedures that should have never happened. That got the debt snowballing and there was no other way out. The Lawyer asked me how it felt to tell them to take their $57k bill and pount it.
But!!! There's always a but. Your loan on the house and your cars is also discharged as well. Fortunatley as long as you keep paying you can keep them you are entitled to keep them.
Learn from this and modify your ways. As soon as the debts are discharged the creditors will see this and see that your debt to income ration is favorable. You will be getting offers for credit cards in the mail every day. Take three of them and rebuild with them. Keep your balances low and your cards paid on time and you'll be right back where yu wanted to be in the first place.
I went from a 430 to a 700 in two years and there's no way in hell that could have happened while I was juggling bills that required more than I made every month to pay them.

Impurrfect

(((Suzette)))

My dad had a near-perfect credit rating 1-1/2 years ago, and he just filed for bankruptcy a couple months ago. He is self-employed and the business just hasn't been there. With him, he had to take an online course, something about credit counseling or something like that and then he was assigned a case number. Once he went to the lawyer, he told all the people calling him "I've filed for bankruptcy, contact my lawyer". Some of them keep calling and he repeated the same thing until they quit calling.

Two months later, the bankruptcy STILL hasn't gone through and he had to file the chapter 13 (I think - the one he has to pay back, but the payment is WAY less than what he was paying). However, he isn't stressed by all the creditors.

It was a huge blow to his ego, but he finally realized he is not alone and it wasn't because he didn't work hard, or try hard enough. The economy is horrible, these days, and I may have to file, myself. I'm working two jobs, doing a very inexpensive online course to get a better career, and I'm unable to pay MY bills.

Don't be so hard on yourself, okay? I'm saving it as a last resort, and trying to find another job to replace the main one I have that's not paying me worth a darn, but who knows? We do what we have to do. We certainly can't change the economy. That's one of those things we have NO control over, sweetie.

Love, hugs, and prayers!

Amy

Hevyn

It doesn't have the same stigma as it once did. I filed years ago & as pinkcuda said, received credit card offers in the mail just the same. (Some had ridiculous fees, so be careful - but there were some legit. ones & I now have 3.) I kept my car & all the other stuff magically went away - it was such a huge relief. Of course, until the 7 yrs. is up there will be a few times when it's an inconvenience & certain places won't grant you credit, but overall the peace of mind is so worth it.

Dee74

I have no experience with this Suzette but you and yours are in my prayers

D

mikefreak

Sorry for the tough times, Suzette. Can't remember who suggested it, but caller ID IS a modern miracle. (!) YOU HAVE RIGHTS!!!............

Toomutch

My first post may have been missleading. We are not currently in the process of bankruptcy but my husband is meeting with a bankrupcy attorney within the next couple of months. The phone calls are coming from creditors that obviously want their money. Bank ruptcy is our only option. My husbands small business dropped in earnings by $100,000 and we are in big trouble.
Anyway, I just wanted to clarify where we are at.
Thanks for all your responses.

tyler

Is there a reason he is waiting a few months to talk to an attorney? There is usually no charge for a consultation, and it would probably put your mind to rest to at least get some questions answered by someone who really know's what they are talking about. It sounds like you pretty much have your mind made up, and even if you change it, at least you would have some solid information to make you decision on.

I filed ch 11 about 5 years ago ( I got lucky, it was literally a couple of months before the new bankruptcy laws took effect) At the time I was still using, so after writing off all of my debt, I proceeded to build it back up again, but not as bad this time. I've been clean for about 7 months now and have my life back on track. I'm working to pay my bills down and not repat the same mistakes again.

As far as life after bankruptcy goes, I got credit card offers right off the bat, (part of the problem!! LOL) some even at a decent interest rate. You are actually considered a better credit risk than many as you can't file again for 10 years, I believe. I got a car loan at 7.75%, though I had to put down a hefty down payment. It's really not that bad. There is some "discomfort", as there should be, but it really is quite managable. Hope this helps. Take care.

Anna

(((Suzette)))

barb dwyer

*prayers for Too*

sorry - I'm too poor to be bankrupt.
But prayers for clarity zooming your way.