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I think bankruptcy is my only option...

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Anonymous
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I think bankruptcy is my only option...

I am 24 years old, and I have no one to blame but myself..

My FICO scores are horrible.

TU 483 EQ 450

 

I was just really irresponsible for a really long time.I came to college with no job, and immediately got a bunch of credit cards.

I racked up $ 9,000 in debt. It has been a downward spiral since. I have over $8,000 in unpaid medical bills.

I have several 30,60, and even a few 90 and 120 days late.

 

My student loans are going into default.I have creditors getting ready to sue me.

I just had to put in my two weeks notice at work because I no longer have childcare for my two children.

I really see this as my only option.

 

I am so overwhelmed and tired of worrying. My husband and I want to buy a house sometime in the next five years, but with all of my negatives and the amound of debt I am trying to pay , I dont know how this will be possible.

 

Does anyone have any advice?

 

What happens to my husband if I file?

 

 

 

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
Anonymous
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Re: I think bankruptcy is my only option...

I was in a similar situation. Bankruptcy was my only option. I filed Nov. 2010 and was discharged this month. Unless there is some way around it, most of the time you can't include student loans in with your bankruptcy. At least that is what I was told. 

 

I filed and my husband did not. We did not have any joint cards, loans. etc. It did not affect him at all.

 

 

Message 2 of 5
Anonymous
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Re: I think bankruptcy is my only option...

My husband and I have two vehicles under both of our names...

One only has $500 outstanding on it..

Message 3 of 5
gogocred
Established Member

Re: I think bankruptcy is my only option...

sorry to hear about your situation. i think everyone on this board can understand how youth (irresponsibility), easy credit and limited money usually spell out financial disaster. as overwhelmed as you are, it's best that you go through this board in addition to the boards on student loans and rebuilding credit. reading about the experiences of other members will shed a bit more light on your options. i don't have all of the answers, but here's a little information that could possibly help...

 

i was in a similar situation (married, kids, low paying job, cc and medical debt up the wazoo and over $90k in SL debt. DH and i filed last week after doing a ton of research on debt management vs. BK and talking at length with our BK attorney. i felt awful for having to file because i felt as though i needed pay off the debts i incurred no matter how long it took. my attoney told me quite simply "don't feel bad, if you don't do something about your debt, your creditors sure will. they'll garnish your wages, get judgments against you and/or put liens on your bank account(s) to get what you owe." that simple point of advice put all of my anxiety to rest.

 

Also, our ficos were usually hovering around the low 500s with all of our baddies, so getting approved for new credit (if we ever needed it) was a near impossibility. our credit was already wrecked and our scores were in the toilet, declaring BK was just the icing on the cake! (just writing that makes me laugh!)

 

if you choose BK to knock out your consumer and medical debt, keep in mind you'll have to tackle your SL debt on your own. here's some info that could help. feel free to PM me if you have questions.

 

STUDENT LOANS

Getting into trouble with SL is super dangerous. If you can't make your payments, call your lender and make arrangements. you have options, so just research, call or ask around.

 

Option 1: Defer Payments

if you have FFELP loans (Stafford and Perkins--i think) then you can submit an economic hardship deferment request which will put off payments for a number of months. keep in mind, interest still accrues during the deferment period, but at least you can put off payments and get back on your feet. you should contact your lender to see how often you can renew your deferment request to make sure you don't fall behind or default. if your loans are privately held, i don't think you have the option to defer unless you're enrolled in school. i could be wrong, but it helps if you do your research.

 

Option 2: Consolidate Loans

if you have multiple FFELP loans, you should consider consolidated your balances into one loan. doing so usually results in a lower interest rate and pays off your multiple student loan tradelines, which gives you a positive payment entry (this does NOT mean it will remove any lates that you have. i only mean by paying it off through consolidation it'll be a positive marker when the tradeline is closed out.)

 

There may be other options that I'm failing to bring up; be sure to check out as much as you can. BTW if ur SL have defaulted, you can rehabilitate (make a # of consecutive, predetermined payments over a set term which removes lates and puts your existing loan back in good standing) or consolidate (does NOT remove lates) them to get out of default.

 

Good Luck!

Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I think bankruptcy is my only option...

If any thing is joint and your husband dont file then they will go after him for the debt. Medical would be the easist to work with, you can contact the buisness office and nogtiate a lower price in most cases. Alot of times it is for a fraction of what you owe and set payment plans.

The student loans you cannot file bk on so you are stuck paying them. Call them and work with them.

I would not quite my job (less money more debt), call defacs and they have a program that you can apply for to help pay most if not all of the daycare.

Todays laws you have to go thru credit counsling to file bk so I would also try that before filing and if you still decide to file then atleast you have that part over. Credit counslors can work with all the debts and get you lower settlement payments. Make sure you go to the free credit counsling supplied by the goverment (look up national foundation of credit counseling) and not one you will have to pay(their main goal is you money and not you and often times do not do anything to improve your situation)Good luck on whatever you decide. Bk is not the end of the world and in time can be overcome if that is the way you end up needing to go.

 

Message 5 of 5
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