bankruptcy, settlement, or stuck?

When you signed up did you request counciling? If you did a consolidation professional will contact you and go over your options. If not go to the side bar and click on free consultation and fill out the form. Bankruptcy should be a last resort. The good thing is you are young and have the time to work through a plan.

Bankruptcy will stay on your credit for ten years. In chapter 13, a trustee will set up a repayment plan with your creditors and it might continue for three to five years. It's not the end but you have to work hard to rebuild your credit after filing bankruptcy. You start getting offers usually after two years from the date when your debts are discharged and if you have done timely payments on the new accounts.

Settlement will be a better option. It's still a negative remark on your file but your future creditors will know that you took the responsibility of paying your debts instead of turning bankrupt.

Consider bankruptcy only when you have no other means to pay back and creditors are thinking about taking you to the court. They will try to liquidate any of your assets and recover the outstanding balance.

I second what Johnson4485 said above - Bankruptcy needs to be a last resort. Take it from someone who's been there - bankruptcy, no matter what chapter is filed, is a life changing event - and it's not a good change.

You no longer have a choice in what chapter of bankruptcy you file - you have to undergo a means test, which is given by your attorney. This will determine, based on your income and assets, what chapter you file for. If you have what the test determines to be enough income to pay even a portion of your debts, you will file Chapter 13 - a wage earner or debt repayment plan. This will last 3-5 years, and will drastically reduce your income, as the Chapter 13 plan payments will be determined by the attorney & trustee, and will take basically all of what they decide is your disposable income, leaving you very little to live on.

A Chapter 7 will wipe out your debts immediately, but you also have to report any assets you own to the court - all of your cars, your home, any vacation homes, rentals, business holdings, etc. - all of it is considered assets that could possibly be SOLD by the trustee to repay your debts before you will be allowed a discharge of your remaining debts. They allow exemptions up to a certain percentage, depending on the state you are in, but for the most part, Chapter 7 is not any better of a deal than Chapter 13.

debt consolidation or settlement is definitely a better choice for you. If you do not feel comfortable with the company that contacts you based on your registration here, you are under no obligation to participate in their program - you may choose one from your area that suits your needs. Just be sure to check their records with the BBB, and go online and do some searching on their name to be sure there aren't a lot of complaints against them.

BK will not eliminate your student loans (unless you pass a special hardship test that will gauge your potential earnings over the next 25 years)...I'm not sure if you can settle student loans.

Thank you everyone. I agree that bk should be my last resort... I just don't know what else I can do besides wait to try to settle. I have no job right now and am struggling to pay my car payment and rent and eat. I have nothing in the bank and just do not have anything to pay these people. I wish someone hit me over the head when I got that first credit card in college!

You need to take care of your basic needs first, like food and shelter, and continue to look agressively for a job. Once these needs are taken care of, then work on the credit card debt. You won't be able to do anything without food and shelter, least of all work--and if you have no job, then you can't deal with these debts. It's a downward cycle.