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Bankruptcy now... or never???
Kremmit:
I don't want anybody to think I'm advocating bankruptcy in my earlier post; but I wanted Mr. C to know that it's not as bad as folks will try to tell him it is. It's better to avoid the BK if you can.
The new laws may not force your hand as much as you think. My understanding is that the bill would not prevent you from filing, but that it will force more people into chapter 13 instead of chapter 7. Chapter 13 filings put you into a re-payment plan, and do not erase your debt the way chapter 7 does. Whether you're one of the people that would be moved from ch7 to ch13, I dunno.
Somebody already posted this, but I'll second it:
http://www.daveramsey.com/
If you can get by without filing, he's got about the best strategy I've heard for getting debt-free. I've been listening to his radio show for a while now, and the thing makes sense. If you don't get the show on your radio, it's on XM and Sirius, and he just announced today that the show will start being both streamed and downloadable via his website over the next few days.
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Also, somebody posted that folks should stay debt free aside from theirr house and car. I'll take that a step further, and say that you should not owe on a car, either. There's no reason to saddle yourself with a car payment every month when you could be spending that money on arcade parts! If you're rich, you can afford to buy your new car for cash. Otherwise, let some other doofus pay the depreciaton $$ on a new car, he'll sell it off in 3-5 years, and if you're making a nice living, buy it from him for cash. If you're making a little less, spend more time shopping to find one that's 7-10 years old but still in good shape, and buy it for cash. If you're dirt poor, buy a $500 junker for cash, and drive it til it dies. Whichever level you're at, if you don't have the cash, here's what you do: instead of taking out a loan, buy that $500 junker and drive it for a time, while you make a car payment TO YOURSELF in the bank. If the junker dies before you get enough to buy the car you want, just get another junker out of your car fund, and keep paying yourself. You'll be amazed, you can really drive a 1980 Chevy LUV instead of a 2005 Lexus, and you'll still get wherever it is you're going, plus it will haul games. When you do buy that Lexus, It'll be sooner rather than later, due to the fact that instead of PAYING interest, you'll have been EARNING interest on your savings.
Personally, I'm done with cars newer than 1969 or so. Old cars actually APPRECIATE in value, instead of depreciating like new ones do.
paigeoliver:
I drove my $1000 truck for a year and 20,000 miles. I sold it for $500 (it got hail damage and needed a new windshield) and I bought a 99 model compact car for cash (which was also cheap). Main reason I switched was that I didn't need a truck anymore and the car with the better gas mileage (32 instead of 16) would pay for itself in 2 years in gas savings alone.
My $1000 truck only depreciated $500 with the addition of massive hail damage, 20,000 more miles and a spidered windshield. I would have lost $5000 on a newer car.
ChadTower:
I still say he should look into credit counseling. They can reduce your interest rates down to almost nothing for you without lending you any more money. It worked awesomely for us without having to run from our accountability.
http://www.genus.org
Great site, helped us get out of $60k in debt within 4 years. Non profit, gov't approved and the lenders like them too since it's better for them than a bankrupt client.
I have also noticed that most of the people talking about "I have no debt, I drive a $750 car, I don't need this and that" don't have kids. You cannot stick your wife and kids with a $750 car. It's too dangerous for them to break down on the side of a highway when it's 5 degrees outside. I'm not saying they need a $30k SUV but they need safe, reliable transportation. I got my wife a '97 Subaru Legacy Outback about 18 months ago for $12k. It has a great safety rating, is nearly impervious to snow and ice on the road (AWD), and starts every morning. Some things, even though they cost some money, are more important than the money they cost.
rchadd:
credit cards are ok only if you pay them off at the end of the month. the interest rates are extortionate. even the CEO of BarclayCard told his kids to not use credit cards!
SirPeale:
--- Quote from: Zakk on March 09, 2005, 11:00:05 pm ---This isn't a lecture, just a bit of advice. I swear that when I see people buying beer with a credit card I just want to kick the living crap out of them.
--- End quote ---
They may be using an easy checking card. I've got one (I'm sure most do) and it just takes it out of my checking account.