I was the one who brought up $1k/month simply as an example that if he wants to be out of debt in 3 years. Um. Dude.
making - Your points on the BK are correct - the big advantage is not having to pay back all that debt. My friend whom I told you paid everything all off in a year, only had $10 to pay off, not $40K. I didn't make myself clear, as I was only trying to say that for someone like her, it was a good thing to do - CCCS. She did not know nor try to negotiate on her own. (I met her after she went through this.) My apologies for not making this more clear. About the BK person who waited 5-6 years to apply for new cards. you said "are you sure you don't know what would have happened if she had applied earlier". I meant to say, if she would have gotten secured cards. The answer is "no I don't", since she did a BK in 1991, and I know there were far less programs out there for secured cards. This board is great, no one lets you get away without clarifying yourself - as it should be. LOL! I have had literally hundreds of people write to me about their credit situations after a BK, so yes, I am well aware of what goes on. I have learned even more after reading these boards!
Congratulations! I'm glad to see that you're reasoning this thing out. It's way too easy to panic. Been there, done that. You probably won't need a lot of negotiating skills, because they offer their "hardship" programs without a lot of hassle. Let me put it this way: First USA is one of the toughest companies to deal with, and even they have offered me 0.0% and 6.0% on accounts for a full YEAR. Here's what's ironic, though: the further behind on payments you are, the more they're willing to work with you. The good news is, like I said before, your accounts will re-age in (usually) three months, then you'll be current and showing R1 again with only prior lates. I get the impression that you and your wife have resolved to beat this thing. Good for you! Picture yourself, say, 2 to 3 years from now. Not only are your late payments from 2-3 years ago, but you're showing $40,000.00+ in unsecured debt almost paid off! Any lender in his right mind will see all of this as a good thing. Plus, you didn't hurt yourself with BK, CCCS, or any number of things that can leave a permanent scar. Once again, these companies WILL work with you. Yes, they're "heartless." No, they don't care about you. But they DO want their money from an unsecured loan! Just talk to them and get on the best program you can for a year and make hay while the sun shines. Good luck! P.S. I almost forgot: After a couple of years, you'll have a great chance to have some of the late payments removed, anyway.
OOPS! Still, I think that he and his wife are making great strides with the second jobs, etc... They'll get there. Sorry about the misquote.
Struggler, I don't mean to be contrary, but do you really think its scary to suggest bk in garnuth's situation? A year ago, I was looking down pretty much the same barrel as him....I could go an extra job (on top of extra work I was already doing) and pinch every penny possible to pay off all my debt in 3-4 years. Working 24-7 and eating macaroni and cheese for 4 years didnt seem too great to me. How is making this choice scary? And exactly what permanent scars do CCCS and BK leave? Even screwed up CCCS will be gone in 7 years. BK will be off the report in 10 years. Are you referring to being blacklisted by the people in the bk? Or to the fact that people can still find the public record?
Okay, if Garnuth was simply unemployed or otherwise saw no income in his near future, then yes, I could see going straight to BK. I based my comments on the fact that (1) He felt that he could start seeing daylight, income-wise, in a couple of months. (2) He and his wife are already taking on extra jobs and formulating a plan. (3) He strikes me as a pretty intelligent person who can figure things out, based on his previous comments. (4) He hasn't yet attempted to discuss these matters with his credit card companies, which I think will work with him better than others on here seem to think. I never meant that BK wasn't an option. I just meant that I would hate to see him dive straight into BK or CCCS, based on advice given here, without exploring other options. You have to admit, those are VERY serious decisions to make which will have a lasting effect. Besides, nobody ever suggested that he had to be debt-free in 3-4 years. His debt could possibly be manageable within maybe a two-year time frame or less. The main thing is to somehow get it under control. That's where I'm coming from; I just think he should explore some options.
