The Continuing Story of My Bankruptcy

I have another blog, but I have a bad habit of not posting on a regular basis. I'm going to try with this one, to actually post at least once a week, if not twice a week. I want to gather a "platform" for my "brand" and my "book" oops--it's actually going to be a book, no need to put it in quotes! But I also want to try and give hope to people who are struggling. Particularly those who are trying to decide if bankruptcy is the way to go. As someone in her forties, I had to decide if I wanted to be in debt for the rest of my life and have no hope of saving anything for my golden years, or declare bankruptcy and try to salvage something for the future. Since I'd spent over twenty years in some sort of debt, the decision wasn't really easy, but Discover card was about to put a lien on the house. Since the house isn't solely in my name, I didn't want that to happen, so I filed. Here's another part of the story. It's long, and since I know people are impatient, I've broken up the story into several parts. I also did that so I would have something to post every week.

So what's my story? I got a credit card at 18, courtesy of my dad, and it just got worse. My dad wasn't the best when it came to money, and due to my mother's intervention after my dad had surgery, she took control of the bills and paid them off. I wasn't so lucky. I stupidly thought I'd get a good job someday, and meanwhile, my debt grew bigger. I took on multiple jobs, but I didn't curb my spending. I'd try to avoid using credit cards, but my car would break down, or I'd have some other emergency, and because I had no money saved, I had to pay for it with credit. It was a vicious circle, and when I got laid off from my post office job, my mom didn't want me to look for work. Her health had deteriorated, and she wanted me to take care of her. I told her she'd have to support me (i.e. give me enough money to cover my bills, and no, I didn't tell her how much I owed) and we were able to survive on her Social Security. Luckily, dad had left her $40,000 in life insurance. Mom didn't have a lavish lifestyle, and she got by okay. Ironically, it was probably at the end of her life where she was the most financially comfortable. But she died, and the $18,000 she left me didn't go very far. I probably should have declared chapter seven while I was taking care of her. That way, since I didn't own property, I could have walked away from my debt, and I would have a fresh start, plus an inheritance. But I didn't. Hindsight is 20/20.

More to come!!!