Kristy
“Dear Steve,
I’m recently divorced and left drowning in debt. I have 2 mortgages, 3 credit cards, a car pmt, a personal loan owing $1500, and almost 3,000.00 in medical bills. I dont make enough money to cover all my expenses and finding a part time job has been impossible lately.
What do you suggest I do to get rid of some/all of this debt without filing bankruptcy?
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Kristy”
Dear Kristy,
There are no miracle cures for some situations. For example, if the water rises over the dam, there is not a whole lot you can do about that.
If your current income is not sufficient to meet your expenses, you will fall behind on bills and your credit score will fall into the dumps. There is not a whole lot to do when the flood of debt is significantly more than your income. Damn.
Money problems are best solved with either an increase in income or a reduction in expenses. You’ve already said that increasing the income isn’t possible so that just leaves reducing your expenses. The only way to do that legally is with bankruptcy.
I would guess that the divorce has left you without the additional household income that make it easier to make ends meet. This is a hurdle that most people have to face after divorce. This is especially painful if you are the partner that didn’t initiate the divorce.
My advice is that you should find a local bankruptcy attorney and go in and meet with them. You don’t have to go in with the intention of filing. Go to learn more about what bankruptcy means for you in your situation.
Facing a Similar Situation? You’re not alone — and you have more options than you think. Start with the all your debt relief options page to see what’s realistic, or take the 2-minute bankruptcy quiz if the debt feels unmanageable. Federal Reserve research shows filers recover faster than those who don’t file. If a company is involved, run them through the Scam-O-Meter first.
Here is my question and thank you all. My husband and I are separated but not divorced yet I live in one of our houses and he lives in another house we own. Well now he can not make it and neither can I can we file bankrupcy separatly and exempt each homestead that each of us live in separatly with separate filings? Thanks