Not Sure What We Need.

Bankruptcy is a tough thing to get through. I know the laws have gotten tougher and you will have no credit for 10 very long years. You need to call the credit card companies and talk to them. They will work out repayment plans and lower the finance rate in some instances. I recommend thinking long and hard about filing bankruptcy. Its a tough decision. Good Luck!

Sorry you have to go through this. I've been in a similar situation, but when I was out of school, single, loads of debt: credit and student loans. Depends on how high your credit limit is on your credit cards and if you are close to that line, even if you pay just a very little amount, dependig on the bank they may still charge late fees and also over the limit fees every month. I tried debt settlement, which was supposed to negotiate on my behalf to settle the debts; however, after not paying any credit card bills, the banks sued me. I looked into debt settlement but that would not have worked for me neither. Last resort was filing bk. I had to, because I still had school loans which amount to as if I bought a small condo. The credit will be tainted for years but you can slowly earn it back and, yes--sometimes it is better to have bk on your credit history than continuous late payments and accounts in default. Of course, that is the last resort and hopefully some of the other options named below will work. By the way, the filing of bk among new graduates has increased a lot, don't know about the general public. Most importantly do not feel bad about it. The few big banks that now own most of the credit cards are making money hand over fist and the law is in their favor unfortunately. GOOD LUCK!!!

Before you can file for bankruptcy, you have to complete a federally approved credit counseling session. The credit counseling session is about $50, but that can be waived if your income is really inadequate to allow for it. Maybe it would be a good idea to take that step one way or the other. The purpose of that requirement in the bankruptcy law is to make sure that you've explored your other options, and so if there is another way for you, the credit counseling agency may be able to suggest it. If not, you'll know that you've exhausted your options and you will have fulfilled that pre-filing requirement at the same time.

Filing for bankruptcy is obviously not a positive mark on your credit report, but neither are a lot of late payments. A lot of people who file for bankruptcy and then manage their bills and rebuild their credit carefully after discharge are able to qualify for conventional mortgage financing within a couple of years after bankruptcy.

I saw that someone else here said "you will have no credit for ten long years", and it's important that you realize that that simply isn't true. It's a very common misconception because bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for ten years, but its importance to lenders diminishes steadily over time, especially if you are able to establish small accounts and manage them well after bankruptcy.

It is also not true that a creditor can't send you to collections if you're "paying anything". If you are paying less than the contractually agreed minimum payment per month, late charges can still be applied and accounts can still be turned over to collections under most contracts.

Most bankruptcy attorneys offer free consultations, too, so it seems like it would be in your best interests to take those steps--schedule a free consultation and maybe complete the credit counseling--just to allow you to make more educated decisions and really understand your options and what happens after bankruptcy in terms of your credit report and future opportunities. It may not be as bleak as you're thinking.

Sounds like you really need to write down your monthly expenses and see what you can live without. You would be surprise at what you can find. My sister had this similiar problem and now they are doing great without filing for bankruptcy. Is there a parent or someone that you may borrow some money from just to get started and then pay them back when you are more on your feet? Cell phones, cable, internet, selling a car and buying one that is cheaper or could you just have one car? These are things that my sister found that really added to the monthly expenses. Good luck!

Hi T. - Just one Mom's opinion, but your case sounds like exactly what the bankruptcy laws are for. I have a sibling who filed and it has turned their lives around (for them and their 3 children). They went through repo of their minvan and they even lost their house. As long as you LEARN and don't keep the same spending habits, it could be a tool to help you build a new life for yourselves. My sibling once again owns a home and they have all learned the lesson of their life. Don't be ashamed, just don't do it again is the key. Good luck to you.

You are not alone. I can't advise you on what you need because my situation is very similar. There is never enough money. I have a 2 year old little girl and worry what our money issues will hold for her and my family in the future. We have a mortgage, major credit card debt, two car loans, and two personal loans. I have to wait for my husband to get paid to pay all bills with nothing left in the bank. We have no savings so needless to say I lose a lot of sleep worrying about money. I compared Work vs. Daycare and decided to stay home because I wasn't making very much after daycare, gas, etc. From experience I can tell you that staying home is not a quick fix. I am now a SAHM with debt galore. No one wants to live paycheck to paychcek but reality is that many people do. If I had a financial solution I would let you know. So best of luck and know there are many others in your same position.

We went through the same type of thing. HAve you looked at what it costs you to work vs. Child Care? You may actually realize once you pay the expense to work youa ren't making muce, I was making $20 week!!! That was for full time employment. Anyway I would recommend looking into something that will allow you to cut back and bring in more. Easier said than done I know!! Bankruptcy may be your only solution but pray on it! It woudl definitely affect you purchasing a home someday! I found an at home job with The Body SHop you canlook at my website and see if this would work for you... www.thebodyshopathome.com/web/faithjones

I know several people start a child care in their home or walk dogs.. not the best job if you don't like it however you are able to have your child with you and get exercise too!! I am sure you will come up with a way... somehow we always do!! :>)

T.-

I started my own business in June of 2006. I sell lia sophia jewelry- www.liasophia.com/jackiehugelier . The buy in is $149 which you can pay for with your first show. On average I make around $150-$200 per show. Each show takes about 2-3 hours. I started by asking friends and family to help me out with booking a show with me and from each show I did I got more and more people to book with me and am still going strong. I hope this information helps you. I promise that I am not trying to promote my business in your time of need. I really feel like lia sophia has helped me obtail my personal goals and I hope this information helps you with yours.

Bets of luck to you,
Jackie

well my husband and I are in a similar perdicament. we have three children so we can not afford daycare for all the kids so i am a at home mom. We havent been able to pay our credit cards in over a year and they just keep racking up. Yes it will have a affect on your credit scores the only way to kinda help that is to pay something every month even if it's 10.00 because that way they can't send you to collections and you won't be getting hit with all the extra late fee charges. Other than that all I can suggest to you is maybe trying a in home daycare if you trust those. I actually am now watching 4 month twin girls with my 4 month old daughter during the day while my other kids are in school and if you are interested and live close enough we can dicuss a price that would work for both of us. I do have a few years experience at a daycare. I've worked at kindercare in Lombard for a year and I worked at Childtime in Villa park for a year . I also went to a few Early childhood classes, C.P.R classes and first aid classes. and I have three kids of my own and that's the best kinda reference there is i belive. SO if you are interested in lowering your daycare costs let me know i would be happy to help. My number is ###-###-#### and my E-mail is ____@____.com. Thanks B.

I would suggest the same as some of the others. I recently realized that living paycheck to paycheck was not for me and since I couldn't go out of the home to get a part time job I decided to start a home based business. Look into something you enjoy. I looked at Lia Sophia, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple and finally decided on Homemade Gourmet because they seemed to offer most of what I was looking for and the start up was only $79. I decided that not everyone can afford jewelry or make up or even Pampered chef but everyone eats and they have items from $4 to $25 so there is something that everyone can afford. You would be surprised at how helpful your family and friends will be at helping you get started and before you know it you have a great customer base started and you are making profit! It's fun to get the family involved too. The more you put into it the more you get out of it and you can have your Credit Cards paid off in no time.

Hi there -- What we did in the credit card situation is, paid the highest interest rate card OFF, as quickly as possible -- if it means paying only minimum on other cards then do it BUT DO IT ON TIME!!! Then when that one is paid off, go to the next highest, until it's paid... It's something you have to do, and if it means cutting out eating out or buying a pair of shoes, so what, your credit is the most important thing... Not sure if you know this, but since GWBush has been in office (no reflection on republicans so don't go getting in a dander out there), the corporate credit card companies have instilled a Universal Default which means that if you are late even w/ your gas bill (they report to your credit company -- unless your gas bill is part of your rent that is :), your credit card companies have a line in at the credit agencies (TRW, Equifax and Experian) and once you are late w/ a credit card or utility, they can jack up your rate to 29.9% in some cases. It's a financial slaughterhouse for those who played their credit cards loose in the last few years. What you should do is call each credit company and tell them what is going on and ask to lower your payments or work out a schedule for you. Then, whenever you see a credit card offer w/ 0% financing, open account and transfer whatever you can to that card. Don't do this too many times because too many credit cards and credit lines work against you w/ credit companies and your overall credit score. If you have cable TV, a land phone line and the internet, put them all on 1 company deal, you can save $50 a month dong that. Stop eating out if you do that, too much money lost. It's a long hard road to getting better financially, but it's worth it.
Most of what it takes to do this is having the inner strength to DO IT, to actually NOT spend extra money on entertainment, we feel like we deserve it.

A few yrs ago my husband and I decided I would leave my job when i got preg w/ first, he's now almost 3 and we have a daughter, and it was SO HARD at first to even live w/ this tight budget, i cried so much giving up all these things like $30 haircuts and buying clothes for myself when I didn't need them. Felt so sorry for myself so many times but with financial strength comes peace of mind.

To save tons of money, I joined the Dupage County Freecycle group (you can find them on Yahoo), you can give away your still-useful things and pick up stuff for your children and your house, all it takes is a car or van to pick things up with. There are tons of things you can do to save more money. Daycare is usually super expensive -- are you in a center or a home daycare? Before making our decision for me to stay at home, we looked into daycare and i hated everything i saw out there -- the centers were too expensive and too many kids per teacher (they weren't breaking laws, but anything over 4 kids per worker is too much in my opinion), and the home daycare providers either had dirty houses and weren't educationally based, or i just didn't like the lady running them or whatever, soooo...

I now do daycare between 7 am and 5 pm, 3 days a week, i make $140 a week on these two part-time kids I am taking in. I could make more but don't want to take advantage of the families i'm helping, plus my kids get regular playdates and we still have a day or two during week to go and play outside the house. If you worked out of your apartment (keeping in mind that you must be reliable, dependable, and not planning on moving for at least a year, as you will do year-long contracts w/ parents -- i can give you a sample contract if you are interested). The benefit of staying at home w/ kids is just that, you are home w/ kids, no expense for work clothes, no trains no cars, etc., you save TONS on not going out to lunch even 2x a week. It's amazing. But the best part is, everything you buy for the "daycare" you are creating is tax deductible at the end of the year, you can potentially get back up to 50% of what you are buying (like toys, diapers, wipes, anything relating to baby and food and medical expenses, so much is deductible you'd be amazed). SO, you can potentially make up to $45 if you become licensed,have a pretty clean home etc., (for infants it's 45, it's $40 for 1-2, $35 for 2-3, etc) a day per child, if you take in 2 children and say make $60 a day full time, you have $300 at end of week. HOWEVER you MUST file taxes and give parents business receipts, keep track of what you are making, keep track of your receipts marking each item and figuring out the sales tax (also deductible) -- you can pay an accountant to do this for you but that's a stupid expense when you should do it yourself and learn)... ANYWAY HONEY, sorry, i'm just going on and on, but i think you do need help or advice and it's hard to get started but there are a lot of things you can do to change the flow of your money. Let me know if you have questions -- not sure if i mentioned above, i used to work in finance and have counselled so many people w/ their credit. Whatever you do, don't file for bankruptcy, w/ the new laws you are really screwed for a longer time. If you want to buy a home, say in a year or two, you need to set a goal and work toward that, but it's up to you if you stick to your plan. Okay over and out, good luck to you, I hope you figure something out!! :)

T.,

I have a very wonderful friend who's story sounded very much like yours. She herself, pulled her and her husband out of debt. She is now our fianacial planner and she is just awesome. She also runs a class called budget in a binder.

I would highly recommend you give her a call. She is just so sweet and compassionate and also has a little boy that will soon be 2. You will have a lot in common.

____@____.com

WaterSeed Wealth Management, Ltd.

2020 Calamos Drive, Suite 200, Naperville, IL 60563

###-###-#### fax ###-###-####

Tell her D. V. referred you to her.
Phone: