Anyone been bankrupt before?

[FatBoy]

So you're a train guard 'eh ? The way i hear it they're constantly looking for Guards to do overtime. They have plenty of Drivers but are a bit short on Guards.

Being on a "swingers" line makes fuck all difference - you still find out each Wed / Thurs what you will be doing the following fortnight and what time you will sign on. Any changes made to that master roster must be communicated to you, and there are rules surrounding maximum lift up and lay back compared to the original sign on time on your master roster.

Hit up TCAC and ask for overtime towards the end of your shift. There's always jobs on the clip for people keen to extend, usually because someone has gone sick or relinquished their shift due to sickness / injury. The supervisors will be your biggest fan and actively look for work to give you if they know you're dependable and keen to work longer hours. Claim the extra mileage too...

If you've got a personal mobile fuck it off too. You and i both know you have one provided by work and get $10 a month in personal calls allowance. Let your mates ring you.

If you opt for a second job just remember to declare it to your depot manager. There are plenty of people doing it and it's been approved. You are a rail safety worker and subject to fatigue rostering principles. If you don't declare it and HR somehow find out (trust me, it does happen !) they will fuck you up in a heartbeat...


Everything else has pretty much been said. Fuck the car off, walk / ride a pushy to work and you get a free travel pass, so use the fucking thing ! Eat at home and make your own lunches. It's not glamorous but it's a shitload cheaper and more often than not better for you ! Use the ice machines / cold water bubblers in the meal rooms instead of buying $3 bottles of Coke.

You got yourself in the hole, you can get yourself out. You just got to work out the smartest and most efficient way to dig. You've got a good secure job that provides you with everything you need right down to shoes and socks. Be a tightarse and you'll pull through ok.

Good luck mate...

[Oxygen Theif]

fatboy

So you're a train guard 'eh ?

obviously fellow train crew as you seem to know the system inside out. Still think only knowing the next two weeks would make it hard for other employers but yeah i will talk to my pizza place and see if i can get 15 an hour out of them (still ten bucks less than our pay but..).
Next step is HR as yeah, would hate to lose the job over something so fucking minor.

Lost the work mobile about 3 yrs ago and they never got around to replacing it, ten bucks or so a week for my personal mobile that i can literally wring with calls and texts isnt going to break the bank though.
Putting up a few things for sale on gumtree tonight and plan on making a lot more cold lunches etc. Buying slabs of coke zero instead of even the $1 dollar cans at work should help too.

As for the overtime, had the odd day in but it doesnt seem that hectic right now. Had a whole week of Standby's last fortnight and only got called out once or twice (i am on intercity though).

Yeah everything else has probably been said regarding creating a budget and reigning the stupid spending. The whole 'selling the car' issue is the only one i will have real trouble committing too...
fingers crossed.

still unclear on the real problems with giving up though.
all i seem to have got from guys on here seems to be moral outrage at someone not making good on their debts and the inability of that person to be able to buy a house at some point.
I can see why this would prevent most people from going through with it but seriously, moral dubiousness aside, if you give up the great Australian dream of owning a house then how does it screw you otherwise?

[MartyXF]

Nigger, you dumb.

[JMick]

........... ten bucks or so a week for my personal mobile that i can literally wring with calls and texts isnt going to break the bank though..........

All those little ten and twenty dollar items add up though. It's all money you don't have and shouldn't spend. I've just spent nearly ten years on a carer's pension and then a couple of years of only being able to work intermittently. Watched every cent and managed to pay off my house before I was 50.

Self discipline: get some.

Mick

[Fondles]

Don't be looking for that R34 just yet, looks like you might have to shell out some coin to the trustee.

Payments to the bankruptcy trustee

A bankrupt is required to make regular payments or ‘contributions’ to the bankruptcy trustee for the benefit of creditors where their net income is above a certain threshold.

Income includes:

salary and wages;
salary sacrifice arrangements (including superannuation); and
voluntary employer superannuation contributions in excess of those required under Super Guarantee, industrial award or law;
a superannuation pension or annuity;
value of fringe benefits from employers;
payments made on termination of employment; and
a pension or annuity paid under a policy of life insurance.

Fifty per cent of assessable income in excess of the ‘actual income threshold amount’ must be contributed to the bankruptcy trustee.

This is calculated according to the following formula: assessed income minus the actual income threshold amount divided by two.

The actual income threshold amount is based on the ‘base income threshold amount’ of $41,823.60 (current to September 19, 2009) and increases depending on the bankrupt’s number of dependants (see case study).

[hcca]

still unclear on the real problems with giving up though.

It's pretty obvious to everyone except you - you want a quick fix with minimal percieved consequence and no real desire to change anything. Until you admit to that, you'll never fix your situation.

all i seem to have got from guys on here seems to be moral outrage at someone not making good on their debts and the inability of that person to be able to buy a house at some point.

Yeah, that's not it. You seem to be proud of what you've spent money you never had on. 2 flatscreens, 3 consoles, overseas holidays, track days in your Skyrine.. fuck me, i'll bet you've never paid for any of it with cash you earned in advance ever.

Drinking store bought coke zero instead? Drink fucking water.

I really think everyone is wasting their time here - unless you really have to, which you don't, bankruptcy is a shit idea. You CAN pay it back, you just don't want to. Man up, sell the shit and change your life or you'll be doing this shit till the day you die.

[Rona]

So essentially he'll be paying the money back either way so why not just man up and do it the proper way considering he has the means just not the mind/control yet it seems, getting closer though.

[Oxygen Theif]

interesting, your probably paying less than u would properly but still throwing a quarter of your wage at them for 3 plus years?

going to the banks tomorrow to see if i can arrange some kind of debt agreement. credit history still pretty good so no sense in throwing it all away just yet.
oh and cheers Mick, i know my discipline is clearly not one of my greatest strengths but will do as well as i can within reason.
just think chucking the phone is pushing it.

will certainly never go over the cap.

[Oxygen Theif]

Drinking store bought coke zero instead? Drink fucking water.

haha i fucking lost my shit when i read that.

[SkidFace]

Pat, in all honesty mate you made this thread asking for help but don't seem to want to accept any of it.

You need to LISTEN to the people writing big long paragraphs about budget plans, just remember they are probably ten times better off than you in life financially, and not to mention there are people here who have clawed their way back from worse than your own situation.
Sorry mate but no matter what anyone says, you have a shitty excuse to come back at them.
"sell the car"
"but I do track days wah wah"
"drink water"
"I'll buy coke zero how about that"
it's as if you don't want to nail the debt???
You should be replying "Fuck yeah I'll do that!!!" and then doing it, get off PF and go make your life better. It's not up to us, all we can do is provide advice. If your personal life changes because you adjust your spending habits well suck it up and get over it. If your mrs has to drive to see you and you don't take her out to fancy restaurants, and she bitches, explain to her how fucked your life is!!! If she can't understand how much more important it is that you pay off your credit cards, well then maybe she isn't the girl for you.
Even if you won't sell the R33, take it to a trustworthy friends, cancel the reg and park it up. At least eliminate the running costs. I ride a pushbike to work, it's great because I stay fit, it cost me $30 to buy the bike and has no recurring costs, and because i'm close to work it takes about 10 mins max on a bad day to get to work.
Bottom line: SUCK. IT. UP.
I'm 22, have paid down 4 credit cards and two personal loans in my 4 years as a borrower. If I can do it on 27k p/a then you can do this.

[Fondles]

The plastic cards have been cut in half yeah ?

[Billzilla]

I'll just say what the others are saying.
Sell the car.
Get a second-hand scooter, mine costs $9 to fill and it does 250 km on that.
Cut-up the cards.
Eat boiled rice and get invited around to mate's places for dinner as much as possible. (not mine)
Do as much overtime as possible.
Get a second job, preferable cash-in-hand.

[SkidFace]

Oh yeah, we have a guy at work who was worse off than you, had a mortgage and 4 credit cards, his trick with cheap food was to buy bulk rice, bulk tuna and avocado, he'd pre cook the rice and bring some into work along with the equivelent of a tim of tuna and one avocado. He had that for lunch and usually for dinner too...not very fun but cheap as fuck, has nourishment and isn't going to kill you if you eat it regularly. A massive bag of basmati or jasmine or whatever rice is really really cheap, so is bulk home brand tuna.

[rjnobbs]

I think we need to go out for one last bender before you bankrupt, all on your plastic. Coke and Hookers for all.

[kabab]

You may think its hard to sell the car but believe me its not! Life will continue without it..

Having less finical stress is better then any car in world!

I've sold a couple of very nice cars to make way for more important things in life and each time I was actually happier when it was gone...

[Cplus]

QUERY
to those that know more than I - it's not something you ask for is it? surely it needs to be "approved" as such, yes? you need to "prove" that you are unable to meet payments - not just "oh noes, with this lifestyle i have it will take me 30years to pay this shit off and that will suck?"

[Cplus]

Fatboy with more hidden truth.

the more facts to this story that come out, the worse it gets for this bloke.

$10ish a week for the mobile = almost $700 a year off your debt when you consider the interest you then save.

for every dollar you DON'T pay, it's costing you a $1.25.

so your $100 phone and web bill is actually $125 a month.

your waste of $100 fuel a week is costing you $6,500 a year.

Bankruptcy will affect everything you face for the immediate future - it is not a way of wiping away debt to zero - what made you think that?

every payrise, every cent of overtime will go towards the debt.

your super will be massively lower in 7 years than it should be - this will compound by a HUGE amount by the time you retire.

it is last resort stuff. for blokes that have no source of real income to pay the debt anymore cause the business is dead or some other major fuckup. you were given access to credit that the banks considered you could service - which you currently can, if you are meeting the payments, just not moving forward, why should you be entitled to bankruptcy?

Also i will be doing the odd night at the pizza place just to see if it helps.

dude, that's exactly the type of thing i was suggesting. you get two week our rosters? well pizza places work on 1 week at best - perfect.

[Oxygen Theif]

Cheers skidface,
dont think i have been totally oblivious to peoples suggestions, i have a lock up garage so could just keep it there.
call insurance and cancel it, rego is due so let it lapse for a yr or so.

already committed to no more track days etc.

already accepted suggestions re second job if with some bitching.

making packed lunches and putting spare luxurys up for sale.

so some sucking up is occurring but not without considerable lack of grace on my part as the realisation dawns all is not going to be sunny days and fine wine.
Tuna rice avocado combo sounds delish, will try it next trip to coles.

can i have the luxury of 20cent a can cokes though? eh?

just kidding

cheers again for all the help

[Fondles]

So, did you cut the cards up ?

[Oxygen Theif]

lol yeah most of them.
one left for emergencies.

+1 re big party before going bankrupt.

hmmm you guys better like Dorito's.

[Oxygen Theif]

QUERY
to those that know more than I - it's not something you ask for is it? surely it needs to be "approved" as such, yes? you need to "prove" that you are unable to meet payments - not just "oh noes, with this lifestyle i have it will take me 30years to pay this shit off and that will suck?"

fred appleton website makes it sound like you can just put your hand up and say a safe word. no worries, troubles gone...
pretty convincing stuff but obviously they have a slight agenda.

[CXTdreamer]

Where the fuck do you find 20c/can Coke? Pretty much the best price you'll ever find at supermarkets is $12/slab after christmas and easter when they need to get rid of a shitload of unsold stock and thats 250% of your 20c can

[komori440]

Pat: With regards to your car, another point is that as a bankrupt you can't own a car over a certain $$ value. I *think* it's a redbook value of either $5k or $10k, I've just done a 14 hr shift and me head she's not working so well...

So bear in mind you will have to sell the car if the trustee deems it to be over the limit they set if you go bankrupt. It may hurt but fuck it off, by a shitter and suck it up for a spell... Look on the bright side this will teach you money management skills that will be with you for life as a hard learnt lesson

[IMOA]

The really stupid thing is he doesn't need a car, he lives in Surry Hills, walks to work and has free public transport. If he sold the car, rented out his garage and added the running costs that he's paying now for the car to what he currently pays for the cards/loans he'd be completely out of debt in 5 years. No extra shifts, no second job, no cutting down on entertainment, no taking lunch to work. Just sell the car and be debt free in under 5 years but apparently thats too hard.

[Oxygen Theif]

KOMORI

Pat: With regards to your car, another point is that as a bankrupt you can't own a car over a certain $$ value.

uh yeah checked it out mate, would keep it. when this Fred dude returns my call i will get the skinny on the General Motors option once and for all.
I know i dont 'need' a car but i fucking love having mine for random trips out to pick up the gf etc.
Massive boon when its raining and want to go for a quick cruise to Broadway/Bondi Junction to catch a flick or do a big shop.

I know its a luxury i cant afford right now so looking at other options, might put car space on gumtree just to see what it would go for. would have to spend 120 making another key for them but that would pay for itself pretty quickly.

ok thanks again guys.

[komori440]

I kinda got around the car thing as my VH redbooked at well under the limit.... They didn't really need to know about the money it owed me in performance improvements etc etc.... Either way I garaged it for 12 months and drove an awesome poo brown corona and then a Subaru Leone for a while... Transport but not much more, the Corona cracked awesome key-bangers tho

[peal]

I effectively earn <15k a year and still save money to go on a holiday each year - sure life is a bit shit sometimes, but guess what, life is about short term sacrifice for long term gain. You need to wake up and realise you earn fuck all and adjust your lifestyle accordingly.

[Oxygen Theif]

wait so komori u actually were bankrupt.
do u find it hard to get phone contracts etc now? how has it made life diff?

[ed]

i fucking love having mine for random trips out to pick up the gf etc. ...when its raining and want to go for a quick cruise to Broadway/Bondi Junction to catch a flick or do a big shop.

[Oxygen Theif]

why eh?
coz it was so obvious it was a little retarded?