Lifestyle Bankruptcy

Welcome to our Community
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Feel free to Sign Up today.
Sign up
4

4112

Guest
So we got behind on our car payment and they repossessed our vehicle. We also have some medical bills, so now my wife wants us to file for bankruptcy but I'm not sure guys and gals. What does my community here think?
 

ThatOneDude

Commander in @Chief, Dick Army
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
35,390
34,272
Man, only you can really answer that. How much debt do you have? Could you consolidate debt instead of declare? I'm sure we have some members who are more well versed in this sort of thing.
 
4

4112

Guest
We owed 18,000 on the car and I'd guess around 8,000 in medical bills. I no financial guru nor do I have the best credit (650's) but I'm not sure how declaring bankruptcy would fuck me over in the long term. I'm leaning towards not to file.
 

ShatsBassoon

Throwing bombs & banging moms
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
18,555
33,607
That sucks, but to declare bankruptcy for less than $30,000 doesn't make sense to me.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
You should probably not file for bankruptcy.

You should make a debt elimination plan and start shedding costs asap. You should both be looking at any additional work you can do. Things are going to suck temporarily but you're setting yourself up for the future.

The car is not a big deal. Let it go. It was too expensive anyway.

Medical bills need a payment plan. Contact whoever charged you and asked for payment plan. Sometimes this can be as low as 20 or $40 a month. There are often deferments and other hardship things that are offered especially if it's from a hospital. The prices are all fake. They are used to bill insurance companies which negotiate down rates. No one is negotiating on your behalf if you don't have insurance but I'm not sure your situation. Regardless the price goes down dramatically when you're cash paying.


I would not take the credit hit and other drama for only two debts of a total of $26,000.
The car will be auctioned off and you will owe the difference between the car value and what you owe usually. Yes that means you might owe on a car you no longer have. Whatever. A few thousand dollars and shed that debt gone.
 
4

4112

Guest
You should probably not file for bankruptcy.

You should make a debt elimination plan and start shedding costs asap. You should both be looking at any additional work you can do. Things are going to suck temporarily but you're setting yourself up for the future.

The car is not a big deal. Let it go. It was too expensive anyway.

Medical bills need a payment plan. Contact whoever charged you and asked for payment plan. Sometimes this can be as low as 20 or $40 a month. There are often deferments and other hardship things that are offered especially if it's from a hospital. The prices are all fake. They are used to bill insurance companies which negotiate down rates. No one is negotiating on your behalf if you don't have insurance but I'm not sure your situation. Regardless the price goes down dramatically when you're cash paying.


I would not take the credit hit and other drama for only two debts of a total of $26,000.
The car will be auctioned off and you will owe the difference between the car value and what you owe usually. Yes that means you might owe on a car you no longer have. Whatever. A few thousand dollars and shed that debt gone.
As always you deliver some solid advice. Will you adopt me, I'll clean up my debt first lol
 

ThatOneDude

Commander in @Chief, Dick Army
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
35,390
34,272
As always you deliver some solid advice. Will you adopt me, I'll clean up my debt first lol
He's trying to take your spot @Lars!!!!!


But seriously, things always seem worse than they are when you are first presented with a problem. With some planning and elbow grease you can turn this around.
 

IschKabibble

TMMAC Addict
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
15,833
21,579
The prices are all fake. They are used to bill insurance companies which negotiate down rates. No one is negotiating on your behalf if you don't have insurance but I'm not sure your situation.
Call the hospital and tell them you know their prices are overinflated and that you'll only be able to make reasonable payments on reasonable charges. Tell them you want an itemized statement totaling all individual charges. Then call and bitch, bitch, bitch until they reduce. They most likely will.
 

ThatOneDude

Commander in @Chief, Dick Army
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
35,390
34,272
Call the hospital and tell them you know their prices are overinflated and that you'll only be able to make reasonable payments on reasonable charges. Tell them you want an itemized statement totaling all individual charges. Then call and bitch, bitch, bitch until they reduce. They most likely will.
Dat squeaky wheel approach. I like it.
 

gangsterkathryn

저승사자
Oct 20, 2015
17,319
20,573
On a serious note, though. I wouldn’t file bankruptcy. I think what Splinty says is really accurate. And bankruptcy I think looks worse than a repossession.
It’s taken me awhile, but I’ve been building my credit back slowly after it was fucked. I’m 100% happy I didn’t file bankruptcy back then because I’ve been able to handle it, just slowly. I have some medical debt that I’m going to work on tackling next. Like Splinty said, call and negotiate those.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
As always you deliver some solid advice. Will you adopt me, I'll clean up my debt first lol

Never forget that these are just stupid numbers on paper. People get depressed, suicidal, lose relationship over debt and credit.

Don't expand it. Just keep making payments whereever you can and your credit will magically maintain even when you owe a lot or have outstanding debts.

Food, water, shelter. Then worry about the numbers on paper. Good luck mang
 
4

4112

Guest
Thanks everyone, this is why I love this forum. I know some people on here don't gel well but, I really do appreciate everyone on this forum.
 

IschKabibble

TMMAC Addict
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
15,833
21,579
Dat squeaky wheel approach. I like it.
Coupled with calling them out for what they are, they almost have no choice but to reduce. @Frankinmetz, you should also call a couple law firms in your area. Ask if they offer free consultation. If not, try to squeeze a few suggestions out of the legal assistant on how to negotiate a ridiculous medical bill. They're not supposed to give you legal advice but it can still be informative.

Something's gotta give soon. Hospitals have too much power.
 

Wild

Zi Nazi
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
85,008
123,340
We owed 18,000 on the car and I'd guess around 8,000 in medical bills. I no financial guru nor do I have the best credit (650's) but I'm not sure how declaring bankruptcy would fuck me over in the long term. I'm leaning towards not to file.
I would contact the auto lender and medical companies & explain your situation. Tell them Covid has caused you financial burdens & request relief. Start with asking the medical companies to write off the entire $8k. You should be able to negotiate that balance down significantly. Once you’ve negotiated it down, ask them for financial assistance. 90 day grace period & monthly payment plan after that. Same with the auto lender. Tell them you need your payments deferred for 90 days. They don’t want to repossess the car, send it to auction, etc. They’d prefer you keep paying on it and should be willing to work with you.

I would avoid bankruptcy at all costs. It can really set you back for 5-7 years and become a serious pain in the ass to recover from.
 

Wild

Zi Nazi
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
85,008
123,340
One other thing. If you can get relief on car payments, put that thing up for sale on Facebook market place for $1000 more than what you owe on it, so you can negotiate the price down to break even if necessary. Sell it for what you owe and call it a day.

I’ve sold several vehicles myself this way. Some with a bank held lien, some with title in hand. Either way, the process is simple. Print an auto purchase agreement online. Fill out the VIN# and info on the form. You and buyer sign it & they take possession. Take the money from the buyer and send it to the bank for payoff. They’ll mail you the title in 7-10 days. Once received, take it to the buyer and sign it over to them. Done.
 

Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
8,925
14,261
I don't have much to add here beyond what has already been said, but I wish you the best of luck. I know it may seem bad now, but the amount of money you owe isn't insurmountable. And it definitely is not worth the bankruptcy ding.

I've seen this with a couple of friends, and the worst thing you can do is ignore the people you owe money to. Even if you can't afford a payment, answer the phone if they call and just be honest with them about why you can't pay. Because if you do ignore them, they are then forced to get it however they can. But if you stay in communication with them, the will almost certainly work with you in the way of a payment plan or balance reduction. (and FYI I'm not accusing you of doing this, just trying to give some advice). When calls and other communications keep getting ignored, they will escalate to the next level of collection.

You can get through this man, you just need some patience and diligence (and maybe a little extra elbow grease). Some good advice has been given to you in here, please take advantage of it and you will get the ship righted.