Life After Bankruptcy

Me and my husband had a simmilar problem, where we were struggling to get by and it would have made more sense for me to have a baby, or him to make less money than to live where we were..

it made me angry....

im just glad we're over the big mountain... now all i've got left is some little hills.

HI - I know that times are hard and it sometimes difficult to get a grip on everything, but hang in there. Things will get better. In terms of your student loans - you should be able to get a "General Forbearance" to put off payment for a while and stop those harassing phone calls. I to have student loans and have been able to get a "General Forbearance" even the my accounts are quite old and I make decent money. Go to the website of your student loan finance company and see if you can sign up.

Keep your head up and keep moving forward - there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Allyn

I know where you are coming from having just gone through bankrupcy myself, as well as lose my home and car. Had we had children we would have been offered a council house, tax allowances, child benefit etc. As my other half is blind but working, he is seen as not vulnerable even though I injured my back and lost my job, and brought no income in. Seems the harder you work the more you get penalised, and I can see why those on benefits have no incentive to get off them...free housing for life, no council tax to pay, no prescriptions to pay, free healthcare. In the UK unfortunately, you don't get foodstamps, but a monthly (or weekly?) cash into your account to do with as you wish, and many spend it on booze, drugs, **** and subsist on baked beans, while their 5 kiddies run around in filthy nappies eating cheap junk food. You however, can hold your head up high as you work hard, even though it's a pittance, and this will boost your self esteem and give you self respect, something that you lose when you become reliant on hand outs. One day you'll have paid off those student loans and you won't owe anyone a bean, and that is a great feeling!

Thank you all for sharing your stories. My husband and I are facing bankruptcy and we are very scared. It is comforting to hear from those who have been through it. We are in our fifties and due to the economic slump we will lose our business and our only source of income. We have already lost our home and our savings trying to make the business successful. I have faith that we will pull through and be back on our feet in five years, because faith is all we have left. Please - to those of you who have filed bankruptcy - is five years a reasonable time? Or will it be more likely ten years. I guess it all depends on what kinds of jobs two folks in their fifties can get...

While I can't see why someone would file bankruptcy I emphathize. quite a few years ago I got a divorce and subsequently incurred most of the credit card debt as a result. I almost declared bankruptcy but a consumer credit counseling service REALLY helped. In less than three months I'll be debt free except for my house.

I wouldn't suggest using credit cards to survive (not that you are) but if you do have debt try a CCS.

I know things vary from state to state regarding credit counseling services. For me, they were of no help and it would have taken longer to pay off less debt than I am under bankruptcy. I have 3 years of repayment. I just passed the second year anniversary. I can't wait to finish it off - but like you, I have a monster student loan that will be due as soon as the bankruptcy protection ends.

Sarakenny - have you met with a bankruptcy attorney yet? They can usually calculate how much repayment you will owe, if any, and whether one or both of you should file. Then they can estimate the length of time it would take to come out with your "clean slate".

My husband and I are also facing bankruptcy and we are very scared. Starting over in our 40's with 2 children still living at home...? I just can't fathom it. We too lost a house and a car. I keep telling myself it was a blessing in disguise since the house was over 100 years old and the utilities were killing us and the car was a Suburban and now we have a mini van and it doesn't cost us $100+ to fill up. But now all the other little bills are crowding in and we have a garnishment that is killing us! So bankruptcy seems to be the only answer. I'll keep you guys all in my thoughts and I hope you will keep us in yours! Blessings!

A fine example of our Government at work.

The journey continues....
I understand completely. You have mixed feelings about being in this condition. I was lucky in many ways because we stuck the bank with a huge debt, that was partially there fault for allowing the appraiser to give our home an unrealistic appraisal and fed into my husbands greed and laziness.

Finally I feel as though I am in an honest relationship. We are living within our means, and are budgeting every month to insure that we remain stable. What i don't like though is my kids feeling insecure about money. We lived a falsely affluent lifestyle. Going on expenses trips, lavish holiday spending, keeping up with the Jones's. Unfortunately they never knew how much debt we were in $780,000.00

Sometimes I thank God this happened but it burns me that no one cared until the big boys on Wall Street had to pay the piper. I think you should play it smart, ask for a deduction in wages or whatever you can do legally to get help. It sucks that Wall Street will receive a huge bail out and everyday people can't get food to eat! Also maybe your local food bank will help you? Non Profits don't have to answer to the Feds, from what i understand. Also you can barter for the things you need. Since the melt down there are a tons of books on how to make ends meet. I am reading them and trying to save money--Do It Now!

My biggest concern is my age at 53, I never thought I would have allowed my husband to behave so irresponsibly, its a long story, but I think you need to make your husband help out. Believe me, I feel for the same thing. Mine did not work for 10 years!! Always an excuse. Trust me he can do something! Even if a part time security guard job will help out. Also you may need to move home, living with your folks is tough but at least you can save money and get on your feet. Let him suffer a little.

I know I sound tough, but I feel your pain, and I don't you to go through what I went through. I was a fool, I should have jumped ship ages ago! Now he has a job and complains constantly, I don't care though, so what!! I know what your saying but he's this and that, No, his job is to support you, if he can't it maybe wise to get yourself in a comfortable situation. Stay married but don't stress yourself out.

If he really loves you he'll deal with it. What if he were in Iraq or something, you'd deal right. So look at it that way.

Please keep in touch, I understand.

Questa

We are in our final year (the 6th) of Chapter 13 consolidation. It's been a nightmare. My hubby became sick for a year before he had a massive heart attack so we had no medical insurance.

So I empathize.

The fact that you would have to take a paycut or have another child in order to qualify is terrible! Who is in charge of this mess, I would like to know? I see grown men hanging out on porches drinking out of paperbags, and they get government help! And I've worked in public health where we treated patients that had no social security cards and couldn't even speak English, and they were driving brand spanking new $30,000 vehicles paid for with cold hard cash!! Why can't promising, hard-working, tax-paying citizens of our country get some help when they need it?