@Anonymous wrote:thanks, I'm well aware of the severity. the difference in available income comparing before and after chapter 7 makes it well well worth it. It was all leftover debt from being young and stupid in the Navy, and having expensive hobbies. I couldn't be happier having filed. I'm also aware of the challenge ahead. I'm not happy about the circumstances and the lack of clear answers coming from both my attorney and financial advisors. It's the whole "it all depends" answer. Trying to plan ahead and make important and informed decisions that affect me and my family is frustrating. My attorney went into unhelpful and easily bothered "pr!ck" mode, as soon as my last payment was complete. figures. That's also adds to the frustration. If I didn't have sucha terrible lease to begin with, I'd be perfectly fine at the moment. I love not having any more credit card bills. My expendable / save-able income is stupid high since filing. I'm thinking of just saving up 500$ per paycheck until I have enough for a small mid 2000's SUV for under 5k. -better than worrying about my score and trying to get a reasonable auto loan. -I'm just not as fortunate as some of the other members here who got rediculously low rates on their auto loans straight out of discharge.
Don't give up. I wasn't really able to start rebuilding for nearly a year after filing for Chapter 7 BK because I was essentially unemployed and it took me until August 2015 to find a new, well-paying job. I got my first CC, a Capital One secured Platinum, at the end of 2015 and basically just worked on gardening it (though I didn't know what the term meant in the credit context until I joined these forums a few months ago!) until I got my Amazon Store Card at Thanksgiving 2016.That was the opening shot in my serious rebuilding campaign, and in the six months since then, I've gotten three more unsecured cards (hit the jackpot with Overstock/Comenity last night at $4000 SL, my biggest yet!) plus a used car loan at a very decent 60-month rate from Penfed. My scores have also been climbing slowly but steadily for the last 17 months, from the middle-to-upper 500's to nearly 700 in at least one case (Penfed's EQ NextGen 2 FICO, which gives me a 690 as of 2/28). My BK still has over 7 years before it vanishes from my report but its negative impact will diminish, slowly again but also steadily, over time as you rebuild your portfolio and history and demonstrate to lenders that you've learned from your past mistakes. There are many lenders, especially credit unions, who are friendly to customers with BK's in their records and wil work with them on CC's and other loans. Buying a vehicle with cash is certainly a viable option - I've done it too - but don't write off the possibility of getting a decent loan yet. It just requires time and the application of elbow grease. 