I had to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy last summer after getting in to trouble financially. I have to pay back a portion of the debt and this has decreased my monthly income by quite a lot. I own my home and car, so I could not do a chapter 7( which wipes all debt clean). I actually got a credit card a few months ago, for people with poor credit of course, after the bankruptcy. They gave me a good limit but I thankful have a decent salary. It was a tough decision, but I know in 4 years I will be debt free (except my home). When I was winning at the casino, I could handle the payments but when everything went south it was completely out of reach financially.

As far as jobs, I've been in the same profession for 17 years and plan to retire in my field. Not sure about finding a job after bankruptcy but I would assume that you are ok if you don't need a security clearance or work in finance.....

It was a lot less scary than I thought it would be but it is a big decision. I thought the trustee would ask how I got into all this debt, but he didn't. Whew.....

Good luck and I hope this was helpful....

highlimit did it and posted it, maybe you can look at that post, otherwise, they may chime in soon on helping you...

This is my experience. I had extreme credit card debt and a foreclosure. There was no way I could make the payments so I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy. I got to keep my 2 cars. They were older. This cleared all the debt. At the last minute before the auction I decided to keep the house and do a loan modification. They added quite a bit to my loan, with all the missed payments and attorney fees. I lost all of my home equity to gambling, so I started over and have a loan that is probably more than the house is worth but I didn't have to move and my mortgage payments are cheaper than I could rent an apartment for. GA does not condone filing for bankruptcy but in my case it was my only choice, and it worked out for me. I had to borrow the money to file and I am paying that back.

I filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy about 10 months after I stopped gambling.

The minimum payments on my credit cards and personal loans, all accrued as a result of my addiction, amounted to about 75% of my pay. Obviously this wasn't going to be sustainable and defaulting on my debt was inevitable. I sought the guidance of a credit counselor who was very compassionate to my situation and recommended bankruptcy.

I consulted with 3 different lawyers before deciding on one. I would highly suggest you do the same. There are many bankruptcy mills out there that are in the business of processing as many cases as possible without giving you any personalized attention. After reviewing my situation my lawyer proposed a plan that would save me about 75% from what I was currently paying.

I had to assemble a thorough snapshot of my finances. This included bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns, etc. The next step was for the lawyer to file my case. At that time I stopped making payments to my creditors and began sending the proposed payments to the court. At this point your creditors can no longer contact you or make any collection efforts against you. About 8 weeks later I had to attend a meeting of the creditors. I was absolutely terrified of this. You have to attend a hearing, open to the public, where a representative from the bankruptcy court trustee will ask any questions they have about your case. Your creditors can also attend. In my situation, this took place in a room where there were about a dozen other people filing along with their lawyers. This was the hardest part of the whole process for me. I was sitting there, waiting to be called up, having a panic attack the whole time. Ironically I recognized another one of the filers as a guy I used to see in the high limit room of the casino I was a regular at. When I finally got called up I felt like I couldn't breathe and thought I was going to pass out. I was so nervous and embarrassed. Being vulnerable is a huge trigger for me and this was really putting myself and my business on display. They asked me 2 questions. The first one was a confirmation of my hourly wage. The second was simply "You understand you need to stop gambling?" I responded "I haven't placed a single wager of any kind in almost a year." That was it. I was free to go and relieved. They knew my financial situation was caused by gambling after looking at my tax returns. I have significant reported gambling income offset by an equal amount of losses. There was no doubt why I was financially ruined.

About 8 weeks after that my case actually went to the bankruptcy court. I didn't have to attend this. My case was approved and has been on auto pilot ever since. Every week money is deducted from my pay to put toward my case and I don't have to think about it anymore. in 3 more years I will be completely debt free and my credit will begin to recover.

You can still find a place to live or get a job with a lower credit score. Many people encounter financial hardships for a number of reasons throughout their life. It doesn't make you a bad or unwanted person. Filing bankruptcy, in my opinion, shows a level of maturity and discipline as you are trying to address your financial problems in a practical fashion. You will definitely pay more for credit until the bankruptcy is off your record (which takes 7 years for a Chapter 13). But for me it was a life saver and lifted a huge burden off my shoulders and made my recovery more manageable.