“Dear Steve,
I have a car loan @ $661.00 with 5 credit cards totaling appox. $50,000.00 . I only have a part time job with income of $1000.00 /mo. I have no other source of income and now my credit is in danger. I don’t want to file bankruptcy and I can’t find another source of employment. I’m staying with relatives who are so kind and helpful. I’m ready to take drastic measures.
Is there something , anything that I have not known of that is out there that I can do to prevent any other worst matters for my situation. What can I know to do to help myself ?
Thank you in advance
Dennis”
The Answer:
Dear Dennis,
The minimum payment on your credit cards is probably in the $1,100 a month range and with the car payment you are trying to squeeze $1,761 worth of bills into a $1,000 income, and that doesn’t even include food, insurance, clothing, etc.
There is no reason in the world why you have to file bankruptcy. Just be prepared for the aggressive collection calls and possible lawsuits from your creditors once you fall further and further behind. The lawsuits can lead to wage garnishments and your credit will be shot.
If you don’t see your income rising to $4,000 a month in the near future to pay your bills and try to care for your self independently, then you might just have to face the fact you are so far in debt there is no reasonable way out.
Going to meet with a bankruptcy attorney and discussing bankruptcy just means you are going to educate yourself about what bankruptcy would mean in your situation.
Dennis, while you might not WANT to file bankruptcy I doubt you’d want to saw your arm off either. Remember that hiker trapped in the mountains that had to do just that in order to free himself and live, you’ve got to consider the same thing financially. You can either stay stuck where you are or you can do something you feel is drastic and file bankruptcy to survive this.
Credit can be easily rebuilt after bankruptcy and you’ll be able to buy a house in the future if you can afford it. If you want, click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney you like. Anyone that promises you an easy solution to this situation is going to be a scam.
If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.