SplEEb wrote:There are companies that will consolidate your debts and negotiate a lower payoff with you creditors, it will still take several years to pay off. Bancrupcy is like suicide, its the easy way out.
Ding Ding Ding!
Go to a "consumer credit counseling service" and let them go through the process of negotiating lower apr/payment. They're non-profit but usually ask for some sort of "donation." This will not be presented as such and they'll press it on you like a motherfucker. Refuse the "donation" because by law they can't make you "donate." The whole business is shady, so stay on your toes, but it does work as long as you keep a close watch on it. Make sure they don't fuck up, and make as many extra payments on the highest rate card that you can. Then move on to paying off the lower ones. By the way, they'll make you close all your cards, but you should've done that a long time ago yourself. $20k really isn't too bad if it's between two people. Getting credit in the US after bankruptcy is a bitch, and as much as you try to avoid it, you WILL need one. Try renting a car, making a hotel reservation, etc without a credit card and you'll see what I mean. Good luck!
Hannibal wrote:Perhaps I should have said "knowledgeable". Paying a small fee for professional advice might save you a lot of money and heartache in the long run. You'd have to research your local resources yourself. NOTE: I'm not talking about debt consolidation companies (whether they call themselves NFP or not).
Do some research on Chapter 13. Its not a debt erasure but they consolidate your debts and form a reduced payment plan. Its the least harsh form of bankruptcy. I only did enough research to fake a school project but it might help.
ToxicBug wrote:Here they take away everything you own except for the essential things (bed, tv). You also can't get a credit card afterwards. If you're leasing a car, they can't take it.
In Canada you mean? They don't take everything. In fact, other than onhand cash assets (eg. property or vehicles worth more than 5k) they take nothing at all.
bitWISE wrote:Do some research on Chapter 13. Its not a debt erasure but they consolidate your debts and form a reduced payment plan. Its the least harsh form of bankruptcy. I only did enough research to fake a school project but it might help.
This is your best bet if you want to save your credit rating *very desirable*. Don't let anyone kid you a bankruptcy can screw you up for years especially when it comes to buying a house.
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hannibal's spot on - get some advice before you do anything.
don't know what things are like in the states, but you *should* be able to find a cheap/free service that can tell you what to do.
if you can't find a service then just go into a few banks and ask them, you can always just walk out again once you've gotten the info you want.
so that you can both finish school, it's probably worth consolidating all of your cards and getting a very small loan into the bargain - even if the interest rate is nasty. just make sure it's something that you can get out of later (either by transferring the loan to another provider or by paying it off in one go).
btw, on loans - in the uk if you take out a loan you take out insurance on it at the same time (usually with the loan provider), but if you shop around you can find companies that provide loan insurance for much better rates. it's probably the same in the states.
ToxicBug wrote:Here they take away everything you own except for the essential things (bed, tv). You also can't get a credit card afterwards. If you're leasing a car, they can't take it.
hey cool... i found out it costs $1000 to file bankrupcy, and under bush's new laws that are going into effect, after you file you have to pay for credit counceling classes.
so i can't even afford bankrupcy... ironic?