About 20K in debt..Advice please?

[Anonymous]

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@ando35 wrote:

find a reputable debt consolidation firm and settle. You will have to pay only 50 to 60 % of what you owe. Do not file for bankruptcy it is much harder to rebuild then what people will tell you . 

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Nope...respectfully, this is not a good option.  

From experience, I once worked for a debt settlement firm...and I CANNOT in good conscience recommend a debt settlement company.  In a nutshell, debt settlement firms have you stop paying your creditors, placing the money that you'd normally pay your creditors with into an account to build up and settle for a reduced amount down the line.  All the while, the OP has to deal with the stress of the continous calls and communications of creditors, not to mention, ruined credit.  

So, to be clear, there are NO reputable debt consolidation companies.  Just know; the moment that they pull your credit, you are toast.  

Fight through it.  

[Anonymous]

Bankruptcy might be in your future.  You make $26000 yearly in income, but have $20000 in debt.  (77%)

Your expenses will only continue to grow as the new baby is born.  You already knew that though.  (Congrats on the new additiona though!)

Frankly, I'd file bankruptcy with a Ch7, discharge all debts, take what you normally would pay a month or more in debt and obtain a secured credit card for a comfortable line amouint of $500-$1000.

Start over.  Thats why Bankruptcy exists, so people like yourself don't have to continue to struggle "meeting ends meat" with massive amounts of debt.

[Anonymous]

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@ando35 wrote:

find a reputable debt consolidation firm and settle. You will have to pay only 50 to 60 % of what you owe. Do not file for bankruptcy it is much harder to rebuild then what people will tell you . 

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No. Its not difficult to reach 700 within 24 months from BK. OTOH, a debt settlement program can absolutely destroy your credit file with resulting multiple 30, 60, 90 day lates, CO's from creditors that refuse to 'play ball', and collections resulting from CO's - these WILL devestate your scores, and will keep you in the 600 bucket for YEARS after they occur.