bankruptcy?

[Mrbobcat]

Hey guys, my sister keeps suggesting that I file bankruptcy since I've been worrying about paying bills for as long as I can remember. She filed a couple months ago and is happy. I'm not in "that" bad of shape right now. But I did get let go from my main job a few weeks ago and don't want to get further behind. I always pay my bills even if I have to "borrow" from another source such as credit card or home equity. My credit is excellent right now, but I had to defer my student loan payments again. If I can get a regular 40 hour a week job I should be fine, but have'nt had one since I got my LPN license a year and a half ago. I worked 3 part-time jobs for awhile, but now I'm down to 1 and unemployment. The economy is'nt good for nurses in my area either.
My sis also said her lawyer told her she could go out and buy a new car right after filing. I thought your credit would be shot if you filed for at least 3-5 years. Is this correct? I do know you could'nt get a house for awhile if you filed. Any body else tried to get a new car loan after bankruptcy and if so what kind of interest rate could you get? I guess it would save me around $250/month in credit card payments and maybe $60 or so in my private school loan. It costs about $1300 to file and I don't have that much cash (obviously). But paying $1300 to get rid of 13.5k sounds like a good deal. I guess what she did was stop paying the credit card bills for a few months to save up some money. That does'nt sound like a good idea, but that's what the lawyer said to do and it seemed to work for her. I think I would rather just get a decent job and move if I have to, but what do you guys think?

[FenwickHockey65]

I don't know much, but I was under the impression that you couldn't buy a house or car or anything big like that until a few years after declaring?

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.

[diddiyo]

i love how the most important thing to you seems to be buying a new car in this situation.

[Xmicro_SS]

A close friend of mine went through that about 6 years ago....still biting him in the A$$. Do not do it unless it is your only choice. That BS about taking only 7 years to get credit back, only if you keep a perfect record of paying bills. If you pay a bill a couple of weeks late or forget something, they want to run from you. There is no Get out of Jail FREE card.

[The_Blur]

Allow me to start by saying that you should go back to school. I would talk to Indiana State University's online LPN-to-BSN program. You may be able to put your previous loan on hold. You may also be able to find other part-time or full-time work while doing this. Why do I say this? In an employer's market, your low nursing degree is nearly worthless. Everyone with LPNs are looking for jobs. It might be a while before you find a job in your career field.

Next, allow me to say that there is no good way out of debt. Bankruptcy might do your sister well now, but she won't get approved for her next car purchase. Imagine trying to convince someone that you could buy a house or pay for your kid's college with a reputation that says you can't manage debt. It won't be good.

If you can't pay $1,300, what makes you think that you could pay $23k for a base Camaro or $31k for a V8? It might be this sort of thinking that put you in this position. I hate to make the judgement that you're irresponsible, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt by defending you. You're on a car forum, so it makes sense that you would talk about car payments here. I can forgive that, but if you're driving a new Camaro before me, there will be some scrutiny, especially since my degree resulted in nine semesters of out-of-state college debt and I remarkably do have a job.

Focus on your bills. Give some fluids. Go do some medical experiments for money. Do what you can to get through your tough situation. Don't worry about anyone else's problems right now. You can do this if you can swallow a little pride and find something to keep your bank account from going red. Keep trying, and I promise you that you will make it.

[2010 SS RS]

Wow....Does not sound like a good idea to me. Credit is really tight and underwriting has gotten very strict. Dont bail on your obligations thinking you can walk away without ruining your credit. It will follow you for years. I concur with Blur.....Find a way. Work at a Nursing Home, or even Hospice. Some things never slow down...getting old and well...... Good luck

[Mrbobcat]

Yeah I already "settled" for nursing home work, but even that is'nt looking promising right now. I also worked in correction health care, but that is super stressful. It took me 3 years to get the LPN license and I thought about going back. but there is no way right now and I'm pushing 40. I borrowed too much on my last degree in accounting and could'nt find a job in that and then went into nursing. btw, things would also be easier if I could find someone to share expenses with like a girlfriend-possibly later on, but not having any luck with that lately either. As far as car payments, that's why I'm looking at the V6. If I can get the college discount before the end of the summer and hopefully get 2-3 grand out of my car, I should be looking at payments in the low-to mid 300's and I'm paying high 200's now for a 5 year old car that's gonna start needing new parts. Not too much of a difference and I would have a decent ride for the next 6-7 years. I already got brakes for my current car, but now it need tires and the wheels are getting rusty too...

[Grape Ape]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

I don't know much, but I was under the impression that you couldn't buy a house or car or anything big like that until a few years after declaring?

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.

I've never had any direct experience, but I've heard that there is a limit on how often you can file. So it might be easier to get a loan after filing (if your credit already sucked) since the lender knows you cannot file again for several years. But I would expect to have to bring a big down payment.

A bigger issue is that a lot of employers will run credit checks as a measure of responsibility. I work in finance and would obviously expect this to be an issue getting hired and wouldn't be surprised if this was also the case in nursing.

[soverydeb]

they will let you buy a car, but they will kill you with 20% interest. Don't do it.

[dodson914]

Are you thinking of filing Chapter 13 or Chapter 7? You could go out and get a car I suppose but like has been stated before interest will be awful. If you are seriously considering this you need to go and speak with an attorney. This process will not make your student loans just go away. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

If there is any way possible for you not to file, DON'T.

[Grape Ape]

Originally Posted by dodson914

Are you thinking of filing Chapter 13 or Chapter 7? You could go out and get a car I suppose but like has been stated before interest will be awful. If you are seriously considering this you need to go and speak with an attorney. This process will not make your student loans just go away. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

If there is any way possible for you not to file, DON'T.

Good point: bankruptcy doesn't reduce student loans or tax debts at all.

[dayvedayve]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooo! Now is not the time. They really tuffened up the bankrupcty laws and you will still end up paying for most of your debt and will have the bankrutcy on your report for 7 to 10 years. Your insurance will go up and some employers decline you because it shows up on background checks.

[Mrbobcat]

That's what I thought. My sister just had it done about 2 months ago. Her lawyer told her she should go buy a new car right away but she did'nt want to as she just got a "newer" car last summer. I kind of wish she had gone looking just to find out what kind of rate they would offer. I guess the lawyers rationale was that she no longer has all the credit card bills anymore. She already has one new credit card, but of course it has a small limit and she is only going to use it sparingly and pay it off to get her credit rating back up. Her lawyer also told her her credit would'nt be good for only about 3 years for big purchases like buying a house. btw, I know it does'nt pay off your federal student loans, but I also have a private student loan that I hear it does pay off. I still don't intend on filing unless I can't land a full-time job in the next month or so, just trying to get all the info I can to make a better decision. I'm also wondering if you can get out from under your house if you file as I thought about selling it but it needs a lot of work to get what I want out of it to pay off my home equity loan?

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

You will be in hell for at least 7 years. I would sell everyhting I had before I would do it.