Each of us lives only now, in this brief instant. The rest has been lived already. So make the most thoughtful choices you can today that will lead to a better future.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Stop drifting and hoping a magic solution will appear. Instead, you can participate in rescuing yourself. Find peace by pursuing facts through trusted advisers and research rather than the blind trust of salespeople trying to sell you something by almost any means necessary.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Make decisions to deal with your debt with logic and facts, not assumptions, and worry about what other people will think. People who judge you will soon be forgotten. Nobody thinks about anyone that much.
Steve's Thought of the Day
The world is nothing but constant change. Your life is only a perception. Choose a way out of debt based on facts, not assumptions. Do what is best for your future because those that judge you will not feed you.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Do you have a greater responsibility to repair your financial past or your financial present and future? Make good choices that allow you to tackle your debt and immediately start building your emergency fund and saving for retirement. Tomorrow will be here before you know it. Lost time is a sin.
Steve's Thought of the Day
There is no sense in wasting a perfectly good financial mistake. Instead, learn from it and do better moving forward. The past is gone. Turn and face the future now.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Those who judge you for past financial mistakes are not your friends. So don't make choices about your future out of fear of what they may think. Instead, make choices based on truth, fact, and what is best for you moving forward from today.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Don't believe everything you think. Challenge your assumptions about getting out of debt. Do what is best for you, not others.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Is it less moral to file bankruptcy or to not take action that leaves you old, broke, hungry, and dependent on others?
Steve's Thought of the Day
If bankruptcy is so bad, why did our Founding Fathers specifically include it in the U.S. Constitution as protection for financial difficulties?
Stop listening to people that say bankruptcy is a last resort. It is neither first nor last. It is a tool like credit counseling, debt settlement, and others. For the best result, you need to use the right tool for the job.
Steve's Thought of the Day
People that tell you to avoid bankruptcy want to sell you something else are repeating something they heard or do not know what they are talking about. Get the facts and then make your own decision. Don't let an unskilled script-reading commissioned salesperson make life decisions for you.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Debt problems are like fingerprints. No two are alike. A one-size-fits-all solution will give you a one-size-fits-all result. You deserve better.
Steve's Thought of the Day
You are not your debt. Your value, self-esteem, and existence should not be defined by the money troubles you may be facing right now. Debt problems are solved with proper action, not guilt, self-hatred, and disgust.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Debt is nothing more than math wrapped in emotion. The math is easy, the emotional part leads us to do impulsive things. Not the right thing.
Steve's Thought of the Day
What type of money personality do you have? It is important to know. Take my online test now and discover how you unconsciously deal with money, credit, and debt.
Steve's Thought of the Day
How much retirement savings are you willing to throw away by dealing with your old debt instead of preparing for your financial future? Find how much you will lose by making the wrong choice. Use my online debt repayment calculator now.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Does it make more sense to ask for life-altering debt advice from an unskilled and untrained commissioned salesperson in a call center or an experienced debt coach like Damon Day that provides a customized solution for money troubles?
Steve's Thought of the Day
I Ran Into a Rough Time and Defaulted on All My Credit Cards. – Scott
About 6 years ago I ran into very rough times and defaulted on all of my credit cards. They were all charged off and my credit was ruined. I was too afraid to file for bankruptcy and opted to do nothing (foolish me). At any rate, I was sued by one creditor for $17,000 but the judge denied judgment due to lack of proof of the debt. The suit was later dismissed for lack of prosecution. None of the other creditors sued me and the SOL have passed this year (5 years for Florida). Most of the derogatory accounts are scheduled to fall of my report in the next year and a half. In the meantime I am still in debt for about $50,000.
My income is sporadic and I have limited funds to work with. What are typical settlement amounts I could realistically expect get with these old (past SOL) debts? Or should I still seriously consider bankruptcy?
Thanks for any advice you could give.
Scott”
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Dear Scott,
I see where you are coming from but I think it is a bit of the cart before the horse scenario. Before even considering some settlement offers I’d like to see you have at least $25,000 in cash in a savings account so if you decided to move ahead with settlements, you could.
Not having the money on hand and trying to guess what the creditors want at some point in the future is a bit like trying to herd cats or push string up-hill, it’s pointless.
Do you have cash saved already? Is the $50,000 you mention in debt, new debt?
2 thoughts on “I Ran Into a Rough Time and Defaulted on All My Credit Cards. – Scott”
Thanks for your reply, Steve. No, the $50,000 is old debt. I have not incurred new debt or obtained any credit cards since defaulted on my old ones years ago. I have since learned to live on a cash-only basis, however, I only have about $6000 to work with.
I am at a crossroads. When I defaulted on my loans I felt like a total failure. I have essentially been ‘hiding’ for the past 4 years. I have even not applied for certain jobs because of the embarassment I will have when they pull my credit reports. Instead, I drive a taxi working ungodly hours for minimal pay. A part of me says I should just file for bankruptcy and start over. Another part of me says to just keep drifting along until things change.
You contacted me for my opinion so here it is. Go bankrupt, clear the decks, and get a totally fresh start. You deserve it.
Not to be harsh but the only thing you’ve accomplished by hiding and not dealing with this is not much except a lower quality of life.
Once you go bankrupt and get your second chance I need for you to get back into the credit game with a secured card so you can start building new and good credit again. Believe it or not you will have excellent credit again if you step up, deal with it, and then focus on rebuilding your credit.
As far as someone seeing the bankruptcy on the credit report, so what, they can already see the history of you not dealing with your financial problems. At least bankruptcy says you took action, not ran away.
Sorry for the blunt and honest talk but you, my friend, need a good swift kick in the ass so you can go and live the life waiting for you and not the purgatory you’ve created.
Thanks for your reply, Steve. No, the $50,000 is old debt. I have not incurred new debt or obtained any credit cards since defaulted on my old ones years ago. I have since learned to live on a cash-only basis, however, I only have about $6000 to work with.
I am at a crossroads. When I defaulted on my loans I felt like a total failure. I have essentially been ‘hiding’ for the past 4 years. I have even not applied for certain jobs because of the embarassment I will have when they pull my credit reports. Instead, I drive a taxi working ungodly hours for minimal pay. A part of me says I should just file for bankruptcy and start over. Another part of me says to just keep drifting along until things change.
Thanks again for the reply.
Scott,
You contacted me for my opinion so here it is. Go bankrupt, clear the decks, and get a totally fresh start. You deserve it.
Not to be harsh but the only thing you’ve accomplished by hiding and not dealing with this is not much except a lower quality of life.
Once you go bankrupt and get your second chance I need for you to get back into the credit game with a secured card so you can start building new and good credit again. Believe it or not you will have excellent credit again if you step up, deal with it, and then focus on rebuilding your credit.
As far as someone seeing the bankruptcy on the credit report, so what, they can already see the history of you not dealing with your financial problems. At least bankruptcy says you took action, not ran away.
Sorry for the blunt and honest talk but you, my friend, need a good swift kick in the ass so you can go and live the life waiting for you and not the purgatory you’ve created.
Big hug.
Steve