Happy New Year All!

[maat55]

Fighting and paying your debt if at all possible will make you a better person and better at manageing your money. Running from your debt will make you a weak person in every aspect of your life. 11,000 is the mountain, climb it or run like a baby.

[timetosave]

Ok, I've contacted GMAC, they keep jerking me around. I am honestly trying to set up some sort of arrangement to pay this debt but they just don't want to listen, so I am pushing this issue one more time with them, then I am filing, I need to move on.

I guess I see how you think I am running from my debt, but I don't see it that way. I simply can not afford to pay for something I don't have. I never intended to purchase this car outright, well, I did think about it once, but with the guidance of this board realized the car would be worth far less than they would be asking at the time the lease ended. I was only going to keep the car for the 4 years and then turn it in.

I've been speaking with a bk lawyer since October, of course he states it is in my best interest to file, otherwise he would not have a job. If I can get GMAC to charge me what I owed on the remainder of the Lease, which is the contract I signed, then I won't file, but they know filing is in the works now so if they don't come to a decision by the end of next week, I'm filing.

time

[timetosave]

Agree. Riding lessons would be abolished pretty quick at my house if this were the situation.

I'm not positive, but it seems like the husband and wife's finances are separate. Which means that the husband is paying for that stuff and the wife is claiming bankruptcy to get rid of the debt. Sounds pretty shady if that's the case.

My daughter is not going to suffer because of my poor decisions. She works at the stable and so do I in order to get her lessions for next to nothing. DH and I have never combined our finances, which has turned out to be a very good thing.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Do you still have some other debts to declare in bankruptcy? What about the ones that were already in collection or charged off? I do think I misunderstood about your trying to work out a payment on the car, but being late getting the check---that was for a different debt, right?

How much is the lawyer going to cost you? More than the $11,000 you owe for the car?

Have you thought about what you will do if the judge says NO to your bankruptcy?

The $11,000 by itself just seems like a very small amount to go into bankruptcy over, and I fear you could wind up in even more debt owing the lawyer and having lost a lot of time and possible work hours working with the lawyer on this in the first place---especially if you are not able to get that debt (and any other debts) dismissed.

You've got to be really personally reformed and focused to make this work, even with the bankruptcy. You will still probably have many avenues available to get yourself into debt, yet not be able to dismiss the new debts by bankruptcy soon after bankruptcy #1.

These discussion boards often have people posting who are in very difficult debt, yet the idea of bankruptcy is not often discussed. That might be because it is less frequently an option than it was about 2 1/2 years ago. (Think it was 2 1/2 years ago the the laws became more restrictive.)

Finally, have you tried working through Consumer Credit Counseling? I mean that specific organization because some of the other supposedly non-profit credit counseling groups do look for hefty salaries for their officials and are not necessarily good at following through with their part of the debt repayment plans.

[timetosave]

Hello again. I had not discussed with the lawyer the possibility of the judge saying no, I will do that today. It would make no sense to file if the lawyer cost more than my debt, why would anybody do that. The cost is VERY VERY low.

I am working on the reform part. I know others who have filed and are right back in the same position they started in, silly. I'm not interested in credit at all. My goal for the next two years is to save money and keep my student loan paid on time. I will, at some point, need a car, but am only looking at used cars and will only purchase a car that I have the money for up front. We are finding that having a second car with our children's schedules is not a luxury but a necessity. We had a situation the other day that could have impacted one of our children's lives (neighbor helped us out) but that made us realize that we need a second car. Though dh is looking a brand new mini-vans I've let him know that even if he is offering to pay the monthly payment on the car I DON'T WANT NOR DO I NEED A CAR THAT COSTS THAT MUCH. I will only own a used car that I can indeed pay for upfront. I have a bit more to save for the 'nest egg (6 months salary) to be done, maybe a couple more months but after that I will start saving more for a car, hopefully by the end of the summer I will be in a better position to purchase one.

I have never in my life considered a bankruptcy. Never, my credit has been this bad and worse for years but this was never an option for me. It was not until the car situation and my outright refusal to pay 11,000 for something I will never own that I actually decided to take this route, it took a little getting used to the idea, I contacted the lawyer in October of last year and am only now acting on it.

Hopefully this gives me the space I need to breathe and get my affairs in order. To really get a grip on my finances, start new, get focused. I can and will beat this beast, it is going to be a long hard road ahead, but I know I can do it. BTW, I've not used credit in about 1 year now. Even the cards I had that were still good when I contacted this board have been paid off and closed. I don't even consider it anymore, if I can't pay cash, I can't afford it.

time

[creditcardfree]

Can you use your 'nest egg' money to pay off this car? Seems like if you have money or some money you might be able to make a deal with GMAC...in writing, of course, with the money that you do have. If you have cash...you are not bankrupt. JMO

[markio26]

do you have any access to family counsel... my brother was laid off from his work and has alot of bills... he was sent to the company family services dept. and they showed him a budget he is using to get debt free and he had to call all of his creditors and write them himself.. it is very important he told me that he owns responsibility for his debts and works to correct the situation... i must say i am proud of him he is doing well with all of their help...

[maat55]

It's a good thing me and my wife, share in our finances. If not, she would be in bankrupcy constantly. If your husband is able to help you with this, he should do so and you two need to get on the same page financially. Your car lease was a bad decission you both should live with and fix.

[Squeezing Pennies]

So you only want to claim BK because you don't want to pay what you owe on a car?



Uh BK is for truly desperate times... not when half a couple does not want to pay something when as a family it appears they can. Most people claiming BK do not have the "luxury" of telling their spouse not to buy them a brand new minivan.

[LuxLiving]

timetosave, care to update us again on how life's going for you and your family? Glad to still see you touching base!

I'm very happy to hear that you've cut your credit dependency. That has to begin making an impact on the ol' bottom line! YEAH YOU!!!

[timetosave]

Hello all. Nest egg is coming right along. I am taking a few finance courses this upcoming fall and am back in school pursuing my Masters (this should help a great deal with finances).

BK has been filled and will be discharged shortly.

Now that I am debt free (except for my student loan of course) I can start really focusing on the future.

I am putting money away for retirement and am saving quite a bit monthly now. I have been taking the bus too and from everything, only using dh's car on weekends to visit my dad which has slashed our gas costs.

This has been a humbling experience, now I just have to figure out where to go from here...