Since this is an anonymous post, it may be beneficial for us if you post the numbers ($$). This could help us assess the situation.

My debt has reached about 45k, on top of school loans (which have been consolidated with a private institution) totaling about 45k; so about 90k total..

again, since this is anonymous, can you give inflows and outflows?

Off the top of my head, I would say no to bankruptcy, but i still need more info.

ps. i used to be a lender... (yes, it was a very sinful life...)

Bankruptcy will not help with educational loans. Maybe not the news you wanted, but sadly the truth.

Useful link:
http://consumerist.com/5143159/bankruptcy-is-a-last-resort

change careers or try to work on government projects.

NoSleep, I have a $1700/month lease and about $1200/month debt payments now. I was bringing in about 5-6k/month before all my work evaporated..

why so much debt payment? Car loans too (baaaad!)?


I say no bankruptcy. You don't owe that much, you've just over extended yourself in a tough time.


You should be able to get that debt down to a reasonable monthly rate. If it is credit cards then I don't know (baaaaaaaad!).


I know nothing of bankruptcy, but my guess is you'd have to do a good job proving why you needed protection (keeping a 1700 mortgage seems silly to me).

Sell your car, find any temp work, even if it is cleaning toilets.


Perseverance my friend.

bankruptcy may take care of the loans if they're not backed by the federal gov't

f*ck the credit card debt. you may screw up your credit score, but that's a better deal than going into bankruptcy.

if you don't have collateral on your debt, then you're in pretty good shape. the threats from the credit card guys are bs. if they're bugging you, toughen up your skin.

i'm assuming that "work evaporated" means that you have no inflow. if so, go get a new job, wait for the tides to settle on this recession and jump back in when things pick up. you've done your own deal for a while, it won't be hard to get back in once the economy improves.

you've got to reduce that lease payment. i just got back from california, so i know that rent is expensive up there, but if there's a way to add a roommate or downsize if you have a family or leave the coastline, that would definitely help.

this is totally going against my grain, but you may want to check out dave ramsey's website. i hate his conservative views on politics and his evangelical voice, but he does have some helpful tips on pulling out of the mire.

whatever the deal is, you know you'll get out of this with a stronger gut

Let the credit card companies call -- and visit some of the guide websites to learn what they can and can't say to you. They CANNOT threaten you in anyway, and they break this rule ALL THE TIME.

I have no experience with or knowledge of bankruptcy filing but I have some experience with climbing out of debt. The good news is that your debt doesn't actually sound THAT bad -- although I'm sure it feels insurmountable to you. Try handing your credit cards over to a debt management company. A financial advisor friend of mine gave that advice to my s.o. and it has saved our finances. Some of the companies are good and some are shams -- I'll see if I can get the name of the one my s.o. is with and post it here (I can't remember it off the top of my head -- they all have super similar names).

Also, I agree with the others to sell your car ASAP. You can get a great used car in CA for only a couple thousand bucks -- not much more than one of your monthly car payments, and because of the climate the used cars don't usually have rust issues or anything like that. I'm sure public transit isn't an option for you (unless you live in SF proper) so I won't tell you to completely lose wheels-- but skip one month of your credit card payments if you have to, use that cash to buy an old beater, and SELL the car you are making payments on, RIGHT AWAY.

Thanks for the advice guys..

It not quite as bad as it feels I guess; the car actually is paid off and the credit card companys aren't calling yet (even tho I'm using one to pay another's payment)...

Suze Orman usually has good advice about how to stay out of bankruptcy.

manta if you could find the name of the debt management company you used, that would be great. My friend* WM's credit card debt is bad...I'm not sure how bad - bad enough that I don't want to know about it, and bad enough that he is also talking about bankruptcy.

onetime, I don't want to steal the thunder from your thread but do you guys know at what point you should consider bankruptcy? Because I don't think that WM is even able to make payments on his cards anymore. I have urged him to pursue bankruptcy because I thought that was a good option considering his situation but now I'm not so sure.

*alias used for privacy.

credit cards will get you... glad i never had one..

dont let your student loans go into default either. if that happens, your screwed since they sell the loan(or hand it to another bank/etc) then they tack on another fee..then a few months later, they flip it to another person and they add their fees..... i had a 8g loan turn into 14gs within 5 months...luckily i'm back on track but that period of my life sucked...

might be time to leave your area and head to a cheaper place to live. redo the portfolio with a different edge and see if it catches anyone attention.

i'm sure everyone is having issues now, just dont be lazy on seeking money adventures.

I went through bankruptcy in 2001 when creditors were threatening legal action... I was basically forced into it when I ended up owing $6000 on a recently-purchased used car that turned out to be a worthless lemon. It sucks, but it kept the creditors off my back and gave me a much-needed fresh start... The downside is, you have to go through a lawyer, and it stays on your credit report for 10 years. It's not an action to be taken lightly.

Unfortunately, the bankruptcy laws have been changed since then (the changes were basically shoved through congress by the credit card industry), so I can't offer any advice specific to the new rules.

Original Poster, WonderK and others, I believe the debt management services company is American Financial Service. Be careful, there's a few different ones with similar names.

A CPA girlfriend of mine that had grown up in the projects/part-time homeless (and pulled herself out of poverty) told us about it. Great advice. The service co. definitely makes a little profit off you but they take over your debt, restructure it, lower your monthly payments substantially, and basically put you on a manageable plan to actually pay it off, instead of watch it spiral deeper. The problem with credit card debt is that right when you CAN'T pay it off, that's when it suddenly starts to explode in size, due to the insane way that they build up penalty after penalty right on the people who can't pay it... ridiculous practices.

I'm surprised nobody has asked this but onetime are you LLC, INC, SP, or not even registered as a business? The reason I ask is the rules of Bankruptcy are totally different for companies than people. It sounds to me like you have alot of personal debt, but i've seen way worse situations than you're in and they've managed to pull out easily enough by simply getting another job even though it meant a paycut. Just downsize your lifestyle, move, talk to a debt consolidation agency like the one listed above and most importantly get a new job. Just keep you head down for a few years until its at a point its more easily manageable.

many entrepreneurs have gone bankrupt (some more than once) before they've managed to succeed. in fact, that was one of the biggest criticisms of the revised bankruptcy laws back in 2005(?) is that it really only made it more difficult to start a company.

at any rate, do what you need to do and don't feel any shame in that...there's certainly worse things than simply spending too much money.

If you have a nice apartment and no family, try lining it with hipsters (if it is in a 'cool' locale). Hipsters will gladly sleep on a couch or a floor or in a closet for a few hundred bucks a month. I mean having a place to live could be a great tool.

Also, how do you look physically? Before I got fat from nearly dying of rheumatic fever, I use to be a go-go dancer at a gay bar. Four hours a night in your underwear and occasionally being a barback netted me like a 100 bucks a night. It wasn't bad for the time. If I hadn't nearly fallen over dead and basically couldn't work for a year (wasn't eligible for any welfare), I'd be much better off.

Ever thought about picking up and delivering envelopes from very illegitimate sources? It's a really good way to make money if you know the right people. I can't talk anymore about it.... biggest rush in my life.

Then there's the last piece... craigslist hooking. Terrible. Don't even do it if you really have to. On a side note, I tried doing porn once but the producer ended up trying to date rape me... and it was pretty awful. Don't accept a drink from a scumbag.



If all else fails, chinese restaurants pay well and tax-free but usually dislike round eyes.

I'm in the conundrum where I don't even know how many times I've been sued, taken to small claims court or had my wages garnished. All of that mail was going to a PO box I didn't have the money to pay for. So unless I can make at least 18 dollars an hour some place... I have to find illegal immigrant work now.

Rockandhill - that is by far the best financial advice I have ever read. You should take your wisdom to the masses and write a book.

Onetime -- are you married? Kids?

I would really try to get some solid legal and financial counseling on this one. Please don't be in a hurry to delcare bankruptcy. The student loans stay with you anyway, and so you're really talking about the other half, about 45K -- is that all credit cards?

You may need to sell your house and your car, then rent for a while

If your debt is credit cards, there are ways to work settlements, which are also a pretty good whack on your credit, but nothing like bankruptcy. Now, you owe them the money, and there is no question about that, but if you exhaust all your other resources -- house, car, savings -- then they will work with you so that what you do is to pay a fraction of the total that you owe.

Get some real help on this, Onetime -- and I hope it works out for you.

Rockandhill, what an inappropriate post. Whether it's true, half true, not true at all -- that helps no one. Next.

In what universe? Is this assuming no housing costs, like moving back in with elderly parents?

taxes?

my guess is that if he was making 78,000 a year, he'd not be considering bankruptcy

getting a good paying job at an arch firm isn't exactly easy now

j, I have to say, I'm convinced you're either insane or bernie madoff.

(I mean that in jest, didn't mean to make a personal call-out.)