I was debating on whether to speak about this on my blog, but since everything else in my life is talked about on here, I might as well not hold anything back. I am filing for bankruptcy. The paperwork is in motion and I hope to have everything filed in a few weeks. Why did I file? Some people (who will remain unnamed) have told me that I shouldn’t “run from my problems”. But before I “ran”, I tried to deal with it, the right way. Really, I did.
A year and a half ago, I was $48,000 in credit card debt. I was in over my eyeballs. I hadn’t even used the cards in 6 months and couldn’t even make the minimums. I’m sure many are wondering how one gets into $48,000 in credit card debt. It’s really easy, actually. I lived beyond my means for one too many years. Ten years ago, when I first moved out on my own, I paid cash/check for my rent, my car, my car insurance, my cell phone and other utitilies. Any other purchase I put on a card. This included food, gas, clothing and entertainment. I would have enough money to pay at least double the minimum, so I thought I was OK. The credit card companies were my buddies. They would send me even more cards! It was great! Then, when I could only pay the minumums and missed a payment here or there, they increased my interest rates to almost 30%. Then they decreased my limits so without even spending money on them anymore, I was over the limit from the interest. Then they would charge me an overlimit fee!
In the winter of 2007, I decided to take control. I researched my options. I could either file for bankruptcy or do a debt consolidation. Now, since I have NO assets, I couldn’t really do a consolidation, but I could work with a not-for-profit organization who would fight for lower rates for me. I met with Debt Reduction Services (DRS) and in January 2008, signed onto their program. They negotiated with my creditors and decreased my interest rates. I paid $979 per month until May of 2009. Of this $979, all but a $50 administrative fee was going towards my debt every month. The problem, I had no money! I had no credit cards! I still couldn’t afford it, but with Harry’s help, we made it work and I was slowly paying off off my debt. After Harry passed away, I continued to make payments, struggling to afford it until I lost my job in May. It was at this time that I contacted DRS and told them I needed to remove myself from the program. I had paid off $13,000 of my debt and was left with $35,000. DRS told me I would need to speak to the creditors myself at this point. And speak to them I did. They didn’t care what happened to me, they just wanted their money. They would call me literally 20 times a day, starting at 7:30am and not letting up until 9pm at night.
My only other option left at this point was filing for bankruptcy. Although this will remain on my credit record for a long time, I feel this is the best decision for my situation. It is a fresh start for me, which is really what I need right now. The moral of this story: DON’T BUY STUFF YOU CANNOT AFFORD!!
