Anyone been bankrupt before?

[Oxygen Theif]

Managed to spend like an idiot over the last ten years and finally got to the point where with five credit cards and a personal loan my disposable income barely covers the minimum payments.
All up im probably paying about 1500 bucks a month just in interest and owe about 80k all up.

Figured i would eventually pay it off properly but just cant seem to make a dent in it, i looked at those debt consolidation things but you end up with almost the same shitty credit rating for 7 yrs you would get if you just went all the way and declared bankruptcy.
I dont really own much other than an old Skyline worth about 6k, from some googling i would get to keep my furniture etc but not sure about the car.

Should i go through one of these bankruptcy lawyers or is it possible to do it on your own?
I gather i will be paying back what i owe but without the interest?
any ideas?


ok flame on.

[nastypaul]

bad idea.

consolidate and make the sacrifices.

or get a 2nd job

[phat-turbo]

ring credit card company and advise of impending bankruptcy however before hand you would like to attempt an alternative arrangement of $x to reduce principal and seek suspension of interest (make sure you do this in writing along with comprehensive budget as evidence that you cannot afford the existing repayment structure)

[phat-turbo]

then if you still cant manage or the credit card issuer refuses to negotiate, full blown bankruptcy - none of that pussy part 9 rubbish

[Rona]

I didn't realise Asian hookers were that expensive.

[Rainpussy]

Consolidate. Interest is your killer.
You can do it.

[big_pete]

While we are talking financial questions...

What is the likelihood of a bank giving you a $10,000 personal loan if you have ~$5000 owing on a credit card?

[Rainpussy]

While we are talking financial questions...

What is the likelihood of a bank giving you a $10,000 personal loan if you have ~$5000 owing on a credit card?

Pretty good.
If your income is good, and you have a good history of paying back onto your credit card and NOT MISSED ANY PAYMENTS, they will.

I know from damn experience thats why. Stupid direct debit.

The bank will give you any amount of money really if you can prove you can pay it back regularly.

[big_pete]

Pretty good.
If your income is good, and you have a good history of paying back onto your credit card and NOT MISSED ANY PAYMENTS, they will.

I know from damn experience thats why. Stupid direct debit.

The bank will give you any amount of money really if you can prove you can pay it back regularly.

Cheers,
Wasnt too sure, as it would effectively mean i could pay off the credit card debt straight away and didnt think they would be too keen on that

[SkidFace]

Consolidate, bankruptcy is a last resort only. You will suffer for a bit but it's worth it.

[phat-turbo]

i highly doubt consolidation will be an option given he lacks tangible assets, has excessive unsecured debt etc, also the lender wont want to be in for the total debt exposure regardless of it potentially lowering his minimum repayment commitment...

approach credit issuer, request non accrual of interest and alternative principal repayments...

good luck
edit

[SkidFace]

OP: have you done the obvious and cut up all your credit cards, created a budget etc?

[SPDRCR]

Is there any practical difference between bankruptcy and part 9 debt agreements from a practical point of view in terms of getting credit down the track. We only deal with one lender but they don't seem to want a bar of either...

[ahabthearab]

I'm somewhat familiar with bankruptcy

If you cannot see a way out financially, bankruptcy is an easy solution. I think it's only 2 years now and your clear, In future years, when your a bit more sensible with your spending it doesn't seem to be a hindrance it getting credit cards or bank loans in the future.

Pride seemed to be the only thing that took a hit for me.

[Oxygen Theif]

thanks guys, amazing response and i didnt expect anything so soon or useful.

I did try to consolidate which is how i discovered how much interest i was paying when the nice lady at Bankwest added it all up for me and expressed disbelief i could amass a debt almost double my yearly after tax income.

Looks like full blown is the way to go, I do remember reading up on part 9 about a year ago when i rang one of those companies and then baulked at the huge 2-3k fee they ask before even going near you.
Pretty much same result credit history wise so why not just do it properly.

oh and

I didn't realise Asian hookers were that expensive.

its not that they cost that much on their own but see enough of them and boy does it add up! :P

so anyway do i need a lawyer? too lazy to write letters to five different banks asking for a no interest scheme. .anyone done this and succeeded?

[Howard Jones]

I dont really own much other than an old Skyline worth about 6k, from some googling i would get to keep my furniture etc but not sure about the car.

it is my understanding that you are allowed a car as long as the un-incumbent value of that car is no greater than $6850.. so technically, if you had a Ferrari a year old that was worth 300k, but the loan on the amount was $293,150,01 or greater you could keep it, although naturally you would need some sort of generous benefactor who would be willing to pay the loan for you as you are not allowed to earn more than $46 018.70 (if you have 0 dependants) (you can earn more than this, it will just be taken and given to your trustee)


either way you will be required to provide a list of all your assets, if you can reasonably value your car at $5000 or less you will be allowed to keep it. also they will let you keep all your furniture, clothes, tools, etc ... they only really go looking for real assets, ie, stocks, land, art, un-incumbent valuable cars ...etc

however i have never been bankrupt and this is just info i got off the one guy i know who did..

heres a handy pdf i just found on google
http://www.itsa.gov.au/dir228/itsawe...nt_Amounts.pdf

from here http://www.itsa.gov.au/dir228/itsawe...uptcy+overview

[Rainpussy]

have you actually tried to get out of this hole properly? How much do you make a week? Do you have a budget?

Those are 2 very important questions. How much you make a week especially.

[phat-turbo]

no you dont need a solicitor but dont be a lazy cunt - man up and write the cunt of a letter to each provider.

cunt.

[Nathan Tinkler]

It sucks. 7 years without being realistically able to borrow a cent.

Sebastien there is no bank that will let you hold a loan with them unless you are a billionaire with hidden money they know about.

If there is any chance of consolidating all your shit and paying it off then do that.

[Nathan Tinkler]

Oh yeah and 80k isn't enough to make it worth the pain- you can pay that off at $200 a week in 8 years so start doing that.

[ironhorse]

How old are you ? Think about your age and what you hope to be doing in the next 10 years from now.

[ahabthearab]

Not a lawyer, An Insolvency trustee
As wookie said, you will need to divulge everything, I'm sure there was a question about the colour of my turds in there somewhere.

Basic furniture, car to a certain value ( It was $2,000 but this was a fair while back)

There were no checks on personal stuff at all. Just sayin

[Rainpussy]

Yea its not. 80k? fuck. people get into debt at 800k (house) and pay it off.
You are doing something wrong.

[Nathan Tinkler]

Those cunts trying to get you to sign an agreement are leeches. Avoid at all costs. You can do the same with a telephone.

Oh yeah; read this entire site. No shit.

http://www.fredappleton.com.au/

[phat-turbo]

yeah but in fairness, a mortgage has 25/30 years amortisation.... dirty old credit cards demand 5% of the balance outstanding or something crazy...

$80k car loan is prob $2000/month... $80k in credit cards = $4000/month

[Rainpussy]

Yea we know that. Thats why consolidation is the best bet.
you don't even have to get a loan for the full amount, just to cover one or two of the high interest things, and you are back on your feet.

OP, do you have any GE loans do you? they suck balls.

[Oxygen Theif]

hehe fair enough to above post.

as for weekly income, hmmm.
clear 1k a week or thereabouts as a train guard. its just under or over depending on shifts so that is a fairly accurate guesstimate.

other costs..
per wk
300 rent
150 food
150 child support
100 petrol
50 random sundries
250 card payments

that was just off the cuff but would be about right.

if i just type the same letter up for the banks it might not be so hard, good to know i keep the car.
would be depressed as all get out if i had to sell that..

oh and thanks for the PDF Seb, will hit the link now.

[Rainpussy]

hehe fair enough to above post.

as for weekly income, hmmm.
clear 1k a week or thereabouts as a train guard. its just under or over depending on shifts so that is a fairly accurate guesstimate.

other costs..
per wk
300 rent
150 food
150 child support
100 petrol
50 random sundries
250 card payments

that was just off the cuff but would be about right.

if i just type the same letter up for the banks it might not be so hard, good to know i keep the car.
would be depressed as all get out if i had to sell that..

oh and thanks for the PDF Seb, will hit the link now.

You are spending more on food then we do. (me and the nopics)
Also, rent, you may need to look at sharing a house/getting a flatmate

150 a week/ 600 a month will go a LONG way towards getting shit sorted out.

[Sebstar]

Shit, I saw you had it tough but those are some major fucking expenses. You say you can't do certain things because of your son but you won't see him for 3 years anyway so harden the fuck up and pay off your fucking debts and don't take the 'easy' way out with bankruptcy. Do you seriously want to tell your son when he's older how his dad is a fucking whimp and had to take easy street because struggle street was too dark for him? Fuck no, you want to be able to stand proud and tell him that in the face of an avalanche of shit you stood tall and fucking fought your way through it.

other costs..
per wk
300 rent Slum it out in a sharehouse. I'm sure there are dumps for half that!
150 food Halve that bitch. Buy at markets. Buy bulk. Treat yourself to something nice every month so you don't shoot yourself
150 child support
100 petrol Buy a smaller car or take more public transport. If you really slum it, sell the car, cancel rego, buy pushy and ride that to work
50 random sundries fair enough. You gotta have something.
250 card payments Get a second job and smash those fuckers

It seems like you've already decided to go bankrupt but what kind of lesson are you teaching your son when he asks about your past?

[Rona]

Eat 2 minute noodles and pay $130 more off a week. That and scout out for overtime the money is there if you want to earn it get some tips off a few of the indian guards.