Buried Beyond Belief! (judgment, fees, buy, bills)

[darstar]

I think in many cases , the turmoil that surrounds going BK , reflects equal with both spouses , if , and this is a big IF, they both work outside the home , and both contribute income wise to keeping the family going. The rub come to play , when one or the other depends totally on the income producing spouse.
If anything , most women , when the chips are down , the survival mode kicks in , and in the end , they handle it better than the male.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by bls5555

Doesn't sound like you have kids, so sell it and rent something SMALL AND CHEAP.

Originally Posted by czubmeister

Roped into 2 barmitzvahs at 18,000 each a few years ago that went on the cards. Stupid.

I hope those were your kids...

Bankruptcy may be your best option but you are going to have to accept a drastically reduced standard of living in any case.

You're going to have to get rid of the house, replace the car(s) with something you can afford, maybe get a second job with some health benefits and never use a credit card again. If you don't reign this spending in on your own, you're going to lose everything you have (including your marriage).

$85K is good money but you've gotta act your wage. Not rich? Don't act like it.

[drjones96]

Kind of late to the party but I just skimmed the thread a little.

Average folk wonder how this could have happened. "How the &*$% do you get that far in debt?"

Folks, it's very easy. As long as you keep paying the bills and maxing out they'll keep raising the ceiling until you're in deep. All the while they'll keep raising the interest rate and claiming that it's being driven by a rising prime rate....blah blah blah....BS. They keep raising it because when they've got people hooked they're going to put the screws to them.

I'm just speculating here but it sounds like your wife has high expectations for the living that you will provide for her and the kids. And it sounds like you have a hard time saying no when you're asked to buy something extravagant (ie $18k for kids' parties). You know it's stupid expensive but you can't say no....because how would that look if you said no? You're a high roller right? You made the big time. You make a good living and you deserve to be seen living large as well as your kids. You don't want to disappoint anyone by letting them down and degrading the image that you want to be portrayed as.

I'm not going to say what you coulda shoulda woulda done. That does no good. But your wife and kids are going to have to understand that you're all going to face financial ruin (I'm not talking about not being able to get into the country club ruin...I'm talking living out of a cardboard box ruin) if you don't change your whole way of life.

[czubmeister]

Originally Posted by greggd

What did he tell you to do about your home? Do they advise the mortgage co?

Now may be a good time to take advantage of those all cash/weekend jobs with the pa system.

Attorney said that they won't take our house. But I am hustling like you wouldn't believe to get some cash fast to be able to pay next month.

I've been working with a company this week in helping them with some office automation projects and I may sign a deal with them next week once I work out some details.

Our cars aren't worth enough to liquidate so they should be fine to.

As for our marriage, I am lucky in that department that we do have mutual respect for each other and while things are rough at the moment, we will be fine.

[FarNorthDallas]

I would probably let the house go. It's too expensive.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

I would probably let the house go. It's too expensive.

A lot of the problems he has with the House , is , the equity loans he took out , until, there was no more equity left. Compound this with the falling value and the interest reset , makes the house a looser.
The Government will be giving some release on the interest rates , and the terms , but , when , and would that help ?..... Seems to me , He should ( while he still has credit ) , look for a foreclosure deal house , like kind , and maybe at a 50 per cent reduced price. If a loan would not work , maybe private equity loan would , as there are a lot of places out there for sale , deals have got to be everywhere along with terms. ......then , once the new place is secured , just walk from the other place. The short fall would be a debt , so , seems to me , that should be part of the BK. The Government will be more likely to give new buyers a break , than those that are already too deep in an upside down house , that a another plus , seems to me ?
Whatever the case , this will take a lot of fancy foot work , to accomplish , but , it would be using bad times at the best advantage now. Getting rid of a buried house is the key to recovery , when He is tiring to live a new live on cash. maybe his brother could help with the finance of the bargan new abode...........just some thoughts to think of.

[scuba steve]

Any updates on this story? How has selling things that aren't needed anymore been going?

[czubmeister]

Originally Posted by scuba steve

Any updates on this story? How has selling things that aren't needed anymore been going?

Well, I've cancelled my efax account on the business. Time warner will be here on Tuesday to install the IP phone so that should save a bunch. Been out of the house to eat only a couple of times. Our dining out bill in November was $428.00. The dining out bill for December is $49.00. Yea.. we're making some changes.

I haven't sold anything yet but am lining up some stuff so I can build up some cash reserves.

We've only spent $400 on groceries in December instead of $800.
I just finished filling out all the paperwork for the attorney and I'll mail it out in a couple of days. I'll post the forms in a couple of days so you guys can see what they look like.

Received my first call from Citibank. Started out as an automated call. Hung up on that one. Got a call a couple of days later and it was a live person saying, "You have been an outstanding paying customer and you have missed last months payment. "Is there anything wrong?" I said that I was filing chapter 7. She asked for the name,address and phone of my attorney then said ,"Happy Holidays!" It was as though she has had this conversation all day long.

I've been trying some prospeting for my business but of course everybody is out of the office untill after the first. At least this gives me some time to ponder the future.

I've personnally spent ZERO on christmast gifts and my wife has only spend around $200.00. This has to be an all time record. I'm sure I'll get more phone calls from the credit card companies.

We'll it's Christmas now. We need to move forward on our live so I'm not going to feel so glum.... even though it's very hard.

Happy Holiday's!

[movin'on]

Well, sounds to me like you've taken some very concrete steps to move forward and get out from under.

Good going! I know it cannot be easy.

Just keep plugging along. I haven't read this whole thread (or maybe I did), but I think to get into a less expensive house might be a good option. What do you think?

[dramamama6685]

Agreed, good job! You're doing the right things and though it will not be easy, it will eventually pay off with peace of mind.