Derek1061, I am so sorry to hear about your situation. I see this was posted awhile ago, I hope everything has turned out for the better. Please let me know if you have any updates and I would be happy to provide you some additional advice.

derek1061 wrote: Ok so heres my situation I now have almost $14k in credit card debt, and am unable to make the payments. Over the last 6 months my hours got cut at work, and I was diagnosed with a disease that limits the hours I can work and the environments I can work in. I used up all of my savings to make the minimum payments on my credit cards for the last 4 months, because with just my pay alone I couldn't afford to pay my bills and be able to eat. I don't qualify for government assistance of any kind i.e. food stamps, EBT. The only thing I have to my name is a car that has about $8k in equity, and a $6,000 loan. My credit is already shot, so I'm not terribly worried about that. What do you guys think I should do?? Should I claim bankruptcy now or wait until the credit card companies start suing me?? Please I could really use your help. Also can they garnish my already low wages, to force me to pay. I really worried that I won't be able to survive anymore, and frankly I'm scared.

There is a calculation that your employer must complete before garnishing wages. Of course the credit card company would have to send your debt to collections first. If you really don't work a lot and make only a little money, you should be under the limit.

Bankruptcy should always be a last resort, how ever, with that said, I have been a finance manager for quite a few years and can tell you, most if not all of my customers recover very quickly "IF" after their BK is discharged, they start rebuiding right after! Credit card companies do and have the right to garnish your wages, if they are able to obtain a judgement from your local courts, with that said, there is a few more steps involved before that happens, most credit card companies will just keep calling, and sending you bills with escalated interest rate charges which just keep compounding, after so long, they want your debt off their books, so they have insurance in place to cover their loss, that gives them the chance to sell your debt for pennies on the dollar to collection agencies, its these low life scum that will sue you, and then try to win a default judgment so they can garnish your wages or attach liens to any property you may own. You know your finances better than any of us, you know what your options are, you follow what your gut tells you to do, people file bankruptcy everyday for many reasons, its happened to the best of us, and we bounce back better and more solid because of it! Sometimes we have to swallow our pride an do whats best for our well being, if that means having food in our bellys and a roof over are heads, we do what we have to do! Best of luck to you! What ever course of action you take, just remember, its not the end of the world, just a bump in the road!

Having been through bankruptcy, my opinion, DO NOT FILE! The only people that benefit from BK are the lawyers and the court system, not the debtor. It may seem like a quick fix but that’s the farthest from the truth. I have been at a very low point financially so I understand from that perspective what you are going through. But like the post before my post stated, scale back where you can, and even if you have to take on one credit card bill at a time that is what you do. Call the CC companies and see if they will work with you. Combine your cards if you can, if you can just combine a couple that could do away with a couple of monthly minimums due. See if maybe you are signed up for any programs a credit card may have offered when you first opened it up that will allow you to get assistance from them during your time of financial need.

Also, if things are starting to get really passed due and you are getting collection calls, don’t let these upset you. They will say they are going to sue you, etc. use all kinds of crazy collecting tactics, but honestly what they are going to do is keep calling you, and place a negative on your credit. That’s the worst of it. So, you put you first, and do what you can. Don’t stress. Take on one bill at a time and do the best you can! You will recover from this.

Best of financial and physical wealth to you!

I'm sad to hear that you're in this situation. I was there for quite some time when I served in the Army. Luckily I had family to turn to, as I hung my head down low and asked for help, and that has been repaid - fortunately.

For me, the last thing I considered was bankruptcy. Even though it crossed my mind on a few occasions. However, I learned to scale back on anything that was not necessary. I looked at everything, cable, phone, gas, etc. and made serious changes. I hope that you are able to do this if you haven't already...

One thought would be to call your credit card company and explain that times are hard due to an illness, let them know that you need a lower rate ASAP. I can only assume that they would understand and try to help.

God bless!

Mike

Ok so heres my situation I now have almost $14k in credit card debt, and am unable to make the payments. Over the last 6 months my hours got cut at work, and I was diagnosed with a disease that limits the hours I can work and the environments I can work in. I used up all of my savings to make the minimum payments on my credit cards for the last 4 months, because with just my pay alone I couldn't afford to pay my bills and be able to eat. I don't qualify for government assistance of any kind i.e. food stamps, EBT. The only thing I have to my name is a car that has about $8k in equity, and a $6,000 loan. My credit is already shot, so I'm not terribly worried about that. What do you guys think I should do?? Should I claim bankruptcy now or wait until the credit card companies start suing me?? Please I could really use your help. Also can they garnish my already low wages, to force me to pay. I really worried that I won't be able to survive anymore, and frankly I'm scared.