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Just the Facts: Consumer Bankruptcy Trends, 2005-2021

Dave Ramsey’s Hatred of Bankruptcy and Credit Cards Makes No Logical Sense

Background The bankruptcy process can provide a fresh financial start for consumers who cannot pay their debts, either because of insolvency or insufficient income to meet creditor demands. Personal bankruptcy generally works in one of two ways: liquidating assets to pay one’s debts under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or establishing a repayment plan under Chapter 13 …

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The Navy Tells Jonathan to Contact Me For Advice

Dear Steve, I’m a 30-year-old married man, 2 children. My wife lost her six-figure-a-year job in real estate. Since then, we have lost two homes to foreclosure, 1 vehicle repossessed, and 15 major credit cards maxed out and not paid for 2 yrs+. Everything is in the collection. We have about $1.2 million in unpaid …

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Why a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Should be Your First Option and Not a Last Resort

A good friend of mine recently wrote about a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Michael Bovee discussed the greater impact of doing the right thing when getting out of debt. It’s a topic I’ve harped on about for years. For me, the greater question to answer before diving into how to …

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Orange County Choppers Division Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

In another case which just shows that chapter 7 bankruptcy is an appropriate solution for many, Orange County Choppers Merchandising, owned by Paul Teutul, Sr. has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on January 21, 2013. Orange County Choppers became famous primarily to the Discovery television show that father and son as they grew the …

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I Want to Give My House and Car Back and File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? – Sasha

“Dear Steve, Lost my job a few years back. Got behind on my mortgage & my already high interest car payment. Filed Ch. 13 in 2011 after starting another job that wasn’t paying a lot. Now I’m working making better money but I don’t have a lot of money left after paying my bankruptcy payment. …

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Our Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Was Recently Discharged. Can We Buy a House and Have Good Credit Again?

“Dear Steve, I am recently discharged from Chapter 7 bankruptcy. My car broke down right after and we surrendered the other car which led to us being without a vehicle to get to work, school, doc appointments and so forth. We didn’t want to get in debt again so soon but had no choice but …

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How to Know if You Should File Bankruptcy

If you are in financial trouble and struggling to make payments, tapped out, you’ve spent down savings, or living month-to-month, then bankruptcy is worth a good hard look. Below you will find a number of links to posts, articles, and calculators to help educate you about the realities of bankruptcy. Many people carry a lot …

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My Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharged My Mortgage. Can I Stay and Keep the House? – Greg

“Dear Steve, Post 2 years Chapter 7 – credit report shows discharge of mortgage. Want to stay here and pay off the house and eventually get title… My Chapter 7 discharged unsecured debts more than 2 years ago. Unbeknownst to me it also discharged my primary residence mortgage. I have stayed current on the mortgage …

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What the Full Set of 2011 Bankruptcy Tells Us About Consumers With Debt

The most recent annual publication of bankruptcy data is out from 2011. Compared to 2010 there was an 11 percent drop in bankruptcy filings, a 23 percent drop in filer assets, a25 percent drop in filer liabilities and a 28 percent incidence of repeat filers. Despite of what many debt relief company sites claim that …

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