MONEYES, if you don't mind sharing your story I would love to hear more about it. I am really sorry to hear you are going through bankruptcy now.

Funny......so is the original poster at this point in time.

We're in the middle of paying a law firm to handle our bankruptcy for us. We want a clean financial slate. If we have to pay with cash more than credit.....that's perfectly ok with me.

We are 12 years post bankruptcy. Immediately after, we paid cash for everything for many years. Afterwards we began with one credit card and paid it off at the end of every month. Now, I get credit card applications in the mail every day. We only have like 3 cards that we deal with simply for convenience of shopping online, etc. It just takes time. Much time.

Yup, I really wanted to create a conversation.

What do you guys think of a high yield savings account?[/B] For me. Amex has one that seems simple and connects well to other bank accounts. The interest rate is 1.0 and you can sometimes find 1.14 but I am happy with Amex. I don't have much savings yet but this would be a nice start to saving more. On $2k I would make $20/year, rather, I get like $3/year with my regular savings now.[/quote]

BK likely is a touchier subject now with the happenings of the last three years. In my limited observation, BK was something people heard about but not in their house. Today, with everything that has happened related to many life events, the BK has become very real. Life after the BK has not been explained in the past well. You BK and then are left to figure it out. You mentioned a real life story of spending habits unchanged. Good point. In my search for answers, creditors are afraid that once a person BK's without a change in their mindset that they are more likely to repeat. Scoring models may factor the long term effect in. Counseling to make people aware of the after and the lingering pain would be useful. I am told the BK laws of today try to intervene with counseling. Behavior modification. Now I see businesses file BK over and over... change the name and go on. Employees and vendors alike get the short end. How...??? In looking at the approach you took with a family member investing some money into the mortgage, that was pretty insightful for the future. Oh yeah... the FG site has been quiet.

It appeared to me that the original poster was looking for some ideas and input on the situation described. Usually I don't comment on these but I shared on it. It did not seem to me that he was looking to slide out of the blame for the bankruptcy but desired further knowledge related to the after the BK. I too have had some of the same questions and found the answers here from Senior Writer Mary Tomkins and Posters. What I learned was that even with a good ten years after a financial meltdown there is no guarantee that previous creditors would ever issue you credit again. Frankly, I did not know that until FG. For many of us life is not perfect nor are we.

Yup, I really wanted to create a conversation.[/quote]What do you guys think of a high yield savings account?[/B] For me. Amex has one that seems simple and connects well to other bank accounts. The interest rate is 1.0 and you can sometimes find 1.14 but I am happy with Amex. I don't have much savings yet but this would be a nice start to saving more. On $2k I would make $20/year, rather, I get like $3/year with my regular savings now.

Not to sound insensitive to what you've been through. My question is was the debt that caused you to file BK accumulated before or after the risk of a new business. If it was before then you can't really blame anyone but yourself. We've all had our ups and downs but ultimate if we don't properly prepare ourselves for the dips in our finances then no matter what its our faults. As far as the previos poster age has nothing to do with how well you manage your personal & business finances. If there was no such thing as BK we'd all be a lot more conservative with our money. I know I'm working towards that goal and saving more myself.
As far as those close to retirement age I feel for you. Losing investment money is tough. The baby boomer generation needs to know it's not all about them. There are other generations coming along and they need to be taught from our mistakes. Otherwise this country won't be able to right itself. I don't think it's fair to negate what someone has to say because of their youth. If you want them to listen and learn from your experience & knowledge. Then just tell them don't discredit and insult them.

It appeared to me that the original poster was looking for some ideas and input on the situation described. Usually I don't comment on these but I shared on it. It did not seem to me that he was looking to slide out of the blame for the bankruptcy but desired further knowledge related to the after the BK. I too have had some of the same questions and found the answers here from Senior Writer Mary Tomkins and Posters. What I learned was that even with a good ten years after a financial meltdown there is no guarantee that previous creditors would ever issue you credit again. Frankly, I did not know that until FG. For many of us life is not perfect nor are we.

Not to sound insensitive to what you've been through. My question is was the debt that caused you to file BK accumulated before or after the risk of a new business. If it was before then you can't really blame anyone but yourself. We've all had our ups and downs but ultimate if we don't properly prepare ourselves for the dips in our finances then no matter what its our faults. As far as the previos poster age has nothing to do with how well you manage your personal & business finances. If there was no such thing as BK we'd all be a lot more conservative with our money. I know I'm working towards that goal and saving more myself.
As far as those close to retirement age I feel for you. Losing investment money is tough. The baby boomer generation needs to know it's not all about them. There are other generations coming along and they need to be taught from our mistakes. Otherwise this country won't be able to right itself. I don't think it's fair to negate what someone has to say because of their youth. If you want them to listen and learn from your experience & knowledge. Then just tell them don't discredit and insult them.

The debt was part of a long unemployment spell where I saw an opportunity to build on my experiences by going into consulting. So I went and set up the necessary facilties to open an office selling consulting services to governments. The debt was related to the unemployment and starting a business.

For many of our young posters... it is easy to make comments like the previous poster. When you have lived life another 10+ years we will see where you are at in life. Life is not perfect and events such as unemployment, medical bills, student loans, new business ventures (taking risks) do have there downsides and not to be forgotten are the retirees that had a standard of living that crashed with the financial disaster which ate their retirement earnings (second worst financial disaster in recent history). While I see your point, you haven't experienced enough life to appreciate what may come your way. Think about that...! In my case, I started a new consulting business and got hit with 9-1-1 (risk of a new business). My credit was perfect from 1973 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2011. I had one major blip. That doesn't dismiss what happened... but, I took a new business risk and got burned (so did the creditors).

Not to sound insensitive to what you've been through. My question is was the debt that caused you to file BK accumulated before or after the risk of a new business. If it was before then you can't really blame anyone but yourself. We've all had our ups and downs but ultimate if we don't properly prepare ourselves for the dips in our finances then no matter what its our faults. As far as the previos poster age has nothing to do with how well you manage your personal & business finances. If there was no such thing as BK we'd all be a lot more conservative with our money. I know I'm working towards that goal and saving more myself.
As far as those close to retirement age I feel for you. Losing investment money is tough. The baby boomer generation needs to know it's not all about them. There are other generations coming along and they need to be taught from our mistakes. Otherwise this country won't be able to right itself. I don't think it's fair to negate what someone has to say because of their youth. If you want them to listen and learn from your experience & knowledge. Then just tell them don't discredit and insult them.

I don't blame 'em.

Sorry guys, nothing against anyone personally.

For many us it seems pretty cut and dried. You created the financial situation and it lead to a bankruptcy. I don't think I blame the creditors either (I hoped it might be otherwise unrealistic as that may be). In my case I could have not started a new business and likely could have avoided the situation. However, from my own life and observing that of others it became clear to me that life may have imperfect events such as unemployment, medical bills, student loans, new business ventures (taking risks) leading to downsides (and not to be forgotten are the retirees that had a standard of living that crashed with the financial disaster which ate their retirement earnings) where people resort to the big BK. While I see your point and am not trying to down play or diminish my responsibility (even if it sounded that way I really am not). In my case, I started a new consulting business and got hit with 9-1-1 (risk of a new business). My credit was perfect from 1973 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2011. I had one major blip. That doesn't dismiss what happened... but, I took a new business risk and got burned (so did the creditors).

I don't blame 'em.

Sorry guys, nothing against anyone personally.

It will be six years since i have filed for bankruptcy. I am currently rebuilding my credit now and finding that companies I used to have credit through will not reissue credit to me again. I find a bit frustrating and disappointing at the same time. I was only 17 when I purchased my first car and 16 when I received my first credit card. I started credit off great until I left for college. That's when I really made the mistake. I am now 27 and am expecting my third child. Id like to buy a home within a year. I've realized I made mistakes and I'm trying to show creditors that I've changed. Has anyone else seem to run into the same problem??

Yeah... I am nine years post bankruptcy and many of the former creditors will not open accounts. Discover and American Express to name a few. In my mind a clean record for nine years should do it. Wrong! I had perfect credit from 1973 to 2001 and then perfect from 2002 to date 2011. No go! What happens too many of us as the banking credit card industry consolidates and the survivors are creditors who will not issue us credit? Bank of America took over MBNA America and I didn't even have a BofA credit card and they did agree to take me on as a card holder. ? Scary! Also, Capital One took me on with business credit lines of over $10K. Interesting to say the least.

It will be six years since i have filed for bankruptcy. I am currently rebuilding my credit now and finding that companies I used to have credit through will not reissue credit to me again. I find a bit frustrating and disappointing at the same time. I was only 17 when I purchased my first car and 16 when I received my first credit card. I started credit off great until I left for college. That's when I really made the mistake. I am now 27 and am expecting my third child. Id like to buy a home within a year. I've realized I made mistakes and I'm trying to show creditors that I've changed. Has anyone else seem to run into the same problem??