4 months left in chapter 13

[linzey]

Hello,

decided to write a quick post more of an enouragement than anything else.

We just made our 56th payment on our chapter 13. There IS light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a long 5 years, but I am excited that it is almost over. 2015 is going to be a great year for us. We will be coming out of this with no debt (car will be paid off in 6 months). I've applied for a few credit cards, but am not using them. I got them to help rebuild my credit.

I am not proud of the situation that we go ourselves into, but we can now start over fresh. We decided to keep our house because we plan to stay here for a very long time. But chapter 13 gave us a chance to get out of debt (we paid back 35%) and start working on our future. I have not used a credit card in 5 years. We saved for the things that we wanted and paid cash. There was never any money left over, but we didn't starve. It's hard....but it can be done.

This forum has been so helpful and a wealth of knowledge over the last few years.  Thank you all!

[TRC_WA]

Nice job!

I totally agree there is light at the end of the tunnel!  I've been right where you are!  I spent 4 years in Ch 13... paid cash for everything, didn't have a CC.  I paid back 50% and kept my car... that I have since traded for a new vehicle.  It was an experience and I am better for it.  I am on top of my finances better now than I ever have been.

I was discharged 19 months ago and started with a $1000 CapOne card... I acquired 9 CC accounts between May-Dec 2013 and gardened for all of 2014.  I hit 700 EQ earlier this month and just picked up a pair of new CC accounts yesterday... a $2500 Nordstrom and $1500 Discover IT.  I also added an AmEx and Sallie Mae today. They are my first new CC accounts in a YEAR!

A year ago at this time I applied for Discover and was instantly denied!

Stay positive and focused on your credit goals and good things will happen!  Just remember rebuilding takes patience!  

Happy Holidays!

[johnson207]

We are almost a year into our 54 month plan, and meeting with someone next week to assist us with budgeting(maybe should have considered that ages ago). Either way, I feel like we are closer to the end of our debt misery every day, and the realization that we will never get into that situation again. We paid for Christmas without any credit cards, which was pretty awesome for us. The bigger impact, I think, is on our children and hopefully we are teaching them at a young enough age about money and credit cards. If nothing else, we have our story to share with them.

2 years ago I knew we had debt issues, but didnt know how bad it was. Now, I know how bad it was and we have taken steps to rectify the situation for our future. 

[TRC_WA]

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@johnson207 wrote:

We are almost a year into our 54 month plan, and meeting with someone next week to assist us with budgeting(maybe should have considered that ages ago). Either way, I feel like we are closer to the end of our debt misery every day, and the realization that we will never get into that situation again. We paid for Christmas without any credit cards, which was pretty awesome for us. The bigger impact, I think, is on our children and hopefully we are teaching them at a young enough age about money and credit cards. If nothing else, we have our story to share with them.

2 years ago I knew we had debt issues, but didnt know how bad it was. Now, I know how bad it was and we have taken steps to rectify the situation for our future. 

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Sounds like you are on the right track!  Best wishes!

[johnson207]

You mentoned that you have credit cards already. At what point in your CH 13 program did you apply for them? Obviously, I am looking to rebuild credit and understand that credir cards help with that effort. What kind of interest rates did you get? Are there companies that are more willing to deal with while in a Ch 13? I have looked at credit builder loans through a local credit union, but have not done anything with that yet. I did confirm that the credit union reports to the three bureaus, which is good.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[TRC_WA]

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@johnson207 wrote:

You mentoned that you have credit cards already. At what point in your CH 13 program did you apply for them? Obviously, I am looking to rebuild credit and understand that credir cards help with that effort. What kind of interest rates did you get? Are there companies that are more willing to deal with while in a Ch 13? I have looked at credit builder loans through a local credit union, but have not done anything with that yet. I did confirm that the credit union reports to the three bureaus, which is good.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

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My attorney stressed no new credit without trustee permission.

If you are still under BK protection you might want to talk to your attorney about new credit.

[Anonymous]

Hard work pays off. Congratulations!

[linzey]

I applied for open sky,, a secured card and a $200 limit. I use it to make a 3.00 purchase each month and pay before the right after the statement date. It does report to all 3 bureaus. The rate is high, but I do not intend on having balances and with a $200 limit, it can't get that high. I applied for this card in March. Open sky claims not to do a credit check, so that is why I chose them. $29.00 annual fee seems a lot, but worth it to rebuild.  I also got a Rooms to Go card. My mom was buying us furniture and I thought I may just try my luck at getting credit. Lo and behold, they gave me $3500.00. I spent $3,000. My minimum payment is $57.00. I pay $75.00 for now, but will slow down once I get to 30% just to have some good repayment history.  I do realize that  I am not supposed to get any new  credit and am not advocating for anyone to do something to jeopordize that their case.Hoping to fly under the radar.

My 10 year old car is on its last leg, and my husbands car will be paid in full 3 months after our CH 13 is discharged. I really am hoping to get a newer car after all this is settled. And you need credit to get credit.  My scores are in the 640's. My credit union said they won't do anything to help until 2 years after discharge.

My husband got a secured card from USAA, but they put the deposit in a savings account and you do earn dividends.

Happy New Year!

[linzey]

We had a 60 month plan. The first 2 years flew by, but they seem to be dragging now. We have also paid for everything in cash. My 18 year old son was in an accident and totalled his car. He needed a car to get to school and work. I was devestated that I couldn't help him get better financing. I made him apply on his own. It was a 17% rate. Granted, it was only a $3,000 loan because the insurance company gave us $4000.  His payments are reasonable, he applied for a student Visa and has a $500 limit. He will learn from my mistakes. When he applied, he did not have a credit score. By this time next year, the credit union said they will refinace his car loan. Wish my mom had done this for me.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations to yo linzey, I'm 8 months out and looking forward to the new change to come, life post BK...this forum has been truly inspirational and I just joined.  Looking forward to rebuilding our credit....