Bankruptcy sucks, but it is not the end of the world. It’s not an admission of failure. It’s an admission that you cannot pay your bills. Since that’s where you are, then bankruptcy will help you. I know. I have been there. I declared bankruptcy in the early 90s, over stuff a lot more trivial and stupid than what you’re facing.
Bankruptcy also isn’t forever, and if your fiancee is concerned about paying people what they’re owed instead of skipping out on debt, then you can file Chapter 13 (as I did), which has you paying back creditors instead of simply writing off the debts. My advice would be to go with Chapter 7, since you get no brownie points with the credit agencies for Ch. 13 over Ch. 7, but it is really up to you.
Good luck, and best wishes. I hope you get through this, and that you find some joy and happiness – it sounds like you could use some.
BonoVox, I can’t even imagine what you must be going through right now, but I hope both of you keep reminding yourselves that your lives are worth infinitely more than your bank accounts. Whether you go for bankruptcy or social services or even end up in a shelter for a while, there’s something amazing just about being alive and being together. If you can, try reaching out to the community around you to see who can help. There are also a lot of good people (in all walks of life) who will try to help you if they can.
Meanwhile, please consider posting an email address where you can be reached. I’m sure there are plenty of people here who can offer advice and/or assistance.
Thak you for the kind offers, I live in Madison, WI. however. I used to work for a company with three letter initials that had headquarters in Texas. Shortly after Enron, they laid of 3000 people, and I was one of them. Going from 30k to nothing is not something I would wish on anyone. I am working again, but at far, far less than that. My email address is aristides1945@yahoo.com. I did have some food tonight, and hopefully some leftovers for tommorow. Thank og for pasta and sauce. It’s cheap and you can make a lot for under three bucks.
Madison, eh? Give these guys a call. IIRC the rental eviction programs are for anyone who needs them and are not income based, but that may be different in Sconnie.
I don’t know what religion you are or if you have any religious ties at all, but I would suggest looking into some of the services various churches provide if you run out of food again. Catholic social services was already mentioned, and I know for a fact if you contact the local LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) ward, they’ d be there at same day with food in hand. I have no experiences with protestant churches, but I can’t imagine they don’t have similiar programs.
If you’re not religious, this may seem like the least desirable option but hey, they have food. You need food. Supposedly Jesus wouldn’t want them to let you starve.
About the hospital strong-arming your fiancée: wow. Just wow. I don’t know how high her medical bills were, but I had a really bad leg injury a few years back when I was 2 days short of having insurance on my new job, an omission which cost me over $4k out of pocket. The hospital was very, very understanding and let me pay it off at something like $50 a month (I sent in more at a time when I could afford it – this happened when I was not long out of school and not making much). They’d much rather get $50 a month than have you declare bankruptcy and get nothing. If she still owes the hospital money, she should talk to someone with actual discretionary authority at the collections office and explain her circumstances – she is far from the first person to have that happen.
Also, I don’t know how it works in Wisconsin, but years ago in Illinois, if you didn’t have much income, Medicaid used to calculate something called “spend-down,” which essentially meant that they would cover anything beyond a certain proportion of your disposable income. This was pre-welfare reform, but you might want to look into it.
We have had a long talk, and she is starting to understand that bankruptcy does not mean they come and take everything away. Thank you all for your suggestions and comments, its really helped her see that its not the end of the world. A kind person has donated a Copps food card, so hopefully we can eat like normal humans again. I have to admit this is the best 4.95 I have ever spent. Thank you again.
We filed to protect our home from foreclosure. In the end we will pay most all our debt, but bankruptcy protected our only significant asset. Our home. We were behind nearly 5 months on the mortgage by the time I found work at half the salary I had previously earned. Our vehicles had been paid off for over five years at the time of our bankruptcy and our little old boat paid off 15 years. We thought we would have to sell it and a small set of silverware and pearls inherited from my grandmother, as to us they seemed like assets, but in the end the court did not see them as assets that needed to be disposed of to satisfy creditors. The court could see that we had clearly had and paid for those things long before the financial events that led to our bankruptcy occured. We had made no new major purchases or incurred new credit card debt for several years before we had to file.
While in some extreme cases the court sells clothing or other household items. It almost never happens (at least in Texas) to people who are subsistance month to month living.
You may be required to sell something if you run up a lot of charges on your credit card in the 90 days before you file, if you make a cash withdrawl on your credit card, have clothing worth several thousands of dollars per item, if you make a major purchase like buy a new car or stereo and TV equipment or something they may require you to sell something but it doesn’t sound like y’all will have that problem. During our proceeding another man that day was required to sell a rental property in downtown Houston that he was letting for about half the mortgage payment on it and his Mercedes, which was his third car. He was allowed to keep his home valued at just under $350,000.00 and his Range Rover and I’ve forgotten the other car, but it was an expensive one. This man was going through his second bankruptcy!
I guess the good thing is I own most of the furnishings, she has the clothes on her back, and thats about it. She does own a table and chairs, which her parents had bought for her, but I hope that would be safe.
I humbly ask if you realize the new bankruptcy laws and their implications. My husband had to file bankruptcy last October after the military … well that’s another story.
Bankruptcy isn’t very easy anymore. The long-standing credit implications are still present, but the ability to dissolve debts is seriously more restricted. My husband was able to be realeased from responsibility for credit cards and other bills, but was still left with all of his government debts. We’re talking about almost $40,000 dollars, which was what caused him to go bankrupt in the first place.
The bankruptcy helped him a lot, as he was allowed to focus his efforts on the non-dischargeable debts. He’ll only owe 16,000 by February, which is a major accomplishment for about 18 months’s effort.
But now, bankruptcy REALLY seems like a not-so-good idea. Credit counselling and even credit settlement is much, much of a better choice, unless I am grossly over-cynical regarding the new laws.
[QUOTE=BonoVox]
I was unemployed for two years, during that time my fiancee and I were under an extreme financial burden. Two years later, things are worse then before. Why am I still trying? We have less then 3 days to make up rent for this month, and then, suprise, next month is due. Everyone tells us to save money, but, how can you save money when what little you have left from paying overdue bills, credit cards, and rent goes for food and gas? Now, I can’t even buy food. I haven’t eaten more than a hamburger and some soup in 3 days. Why do I go on?
[QUOTE]
I really feel for you, and I can totally understand. I’ve eaten nothing except for garbage-doomed food at work for the past 11 days. We sold our DVDs last month for a dollar a piece in order to pay our water bill.
Those are just the highlights.
hugs Please just remember, it always gets better. Husband celebrated his 25th birthday this week – WITH CAKE!! Last month he had his suicide planned for the same day.
