Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy can be a scary word for most people or a lot of people but for me I have learned to thank it. Last year was a rough year for us. It started off bad and it just continued to be bad. Though we found joy at times it was also a very unsure season for us.

We filed for bankruptcy last summer (2009). We knew that we had been struggling for a while paying bills and paying our mortgage. Every penny we had coming in was going out to pay for bills. We went to a debt counselor who only told us there was nothing they could do for us. Do you know how frustrating that is? To ask for help for something that is already embarrassing and then to be told “Sorry but there is nothing we can do to help you.” It was devastating. After meeting with the debt counselor we tried our hardest to do whatever we could but it looked like the bills and mortgage were getting the best of us.

With a lot of prayer and guidance from family and friends we made the decision to file for bankruptcy. Our thoughts at first were to file Chapter 13 (which is the pay back program) but after talking with the lawyers we decided that that was not an option for us.

Before meeting with the lawyer I had read as much as I could on bankruptcy just so I could better understand it. I had visited Dave Ramsey’s site and for him Bankruptcy was a horrible situation. And to be honest I was scared out of my mind. I didn’t know what to expect but I also knew living the way that we were living was not possible anymore. Not knowing if there was going to be money for food not knowing if the house payment was going to get paid or when all the bills were getting paid and if something had seriously gone wrong with either of us we didn’t have money put aside for it. We were living pay check to pay check.

What do we do about the house??? That was the big one. We had been struggling to pay our mortgage for over a year at that point. Since Chris bought the house brand new the taxes for the house and property were not figured out. So every year for the last 4 years our mortgage has gone up A LOT! We were aware that it was going to go up but the amount that it went up was way more than anyone could have thought. And there was no way we were going to be able to save it. We knew from then that we would lose the house.

Our bankruptcy was final in November and we haven’t even begun anything with the house yet. But where we are right now compared to last year is much better. Yes there are a lot of unknowns. We don’t know how much longer we have in the house. We aren’t really for sure on where we are going to live after here. But all we know is that we are doing the right thing for our family.

The reason the word “bankruptcy” doesn’t scare me and I thank it is because it has opened so many doors that I don’t know I would have seen if we were still where we were last year. Last year I was looking for a job nonstop to try to help support my family but at the same time I still had to think about my kids. Who would watch them when Chris wasn’t working? Would an employer be willing to work around Chris’ schedule so then we wouldn’t need a sitter? But nobody ever contacted me back. And in all honesty I was okay with that. I did not want someone else to take care of my kids. Yes that means a lot of sacrifice has to be made but we were also okay with that. We cut out all the unnecessary things which only really left us with the basics. You want to know a surprise- we survived. I have learned that shopping on a budget for us is very doable. I get groceries for $50 a week for us (right now that doesn’t include diapers or the kid’s milk-they drink soy milk and it’s about $20-$30 a week). I have started to make a lot of our foods or I should say trying. I love to cook/bake. It is so much fun for me. So making things from scratch is not only fun but cheaper and healthier.

I’m not a big goal person but I do know that in 2010 I want us to be more financially fit. And I am not really sure what that means but I am sure I will find out.

So here is a little piece of advice if you are struggling with your finances... get help right away. It’s okay to get help and its best to get help right away.