Carek1230 said:
I have negotiated with some financial institutions to pay off at a lower rate or balance. That is tricky tho cuz they can then turn on you and reort you as a bad payer or as a write off loss to the credit reporting agencies.
Yes, they do that. Even once you negotiate and pay them instead of ignoring or taking bankruptcy, they still report you as late and write you off as a loss so your credit is just as bad as if you ignored them! When we got the house, my loan agent told me Cosumer Credit Counseling is WORSE than a bankruptcy!
I have gotten to the point where I don't care, I could give a rip about my credit. I try to pay cash for stuff, I have my mom or sister loan me money or co sign for rental agreements, etc and I've had no problems buying a new car and with a new car loan, I just pay higher interest. I have one credit card I use regularly and have tried to make it a point to pay off. When my alimony runs out I am screwed, but until then I live one day at a time and to its fullest.
I don't care about myself, I am so fucked, it's over, for life. The bankruptcy was in my name only but these bills have my husband's name on them and he has a security clearance for the gov't so if he gets bad credit he loses his job! They think if you have bad credit you're the kind of person who will sell secrets to the Iraqis
Sadly, our lives are ruled by credit reports. I never get called for jobs I put in for that involve handling money as if I'm a crook, and even my car insurance once went up because of it. It's sick. Like the other person posted, money sucks, it sucks being an adult. The rich own us like slaves.
Creditors don't scare me. I screen the calls or if I answer and they ask for me I say "she's not here" and I rip up the stuff in the mail. It's frustrating I know but try not to let it consume you.
I try not to, because it makes me literally hyperventilate and shake and lose sleep. I try to tell myself to stop worrying if there is nothing I can do it does no good to keep thinking about it. I don't answer the phone anymore either, since what good does it do to tell them I don't have any money when they keep asking for it? Same with the mail, I hate seeing the mail come. It's never good news. I am so stressed out by this I have gray hair and wrinkles at 35 and I know I will die young, but at least I'll be out of my misery.
Now our government needs to do something to help people like us who are so indebted and stuck living paycheck to paycheck! THAT is where the relief will really happen.
Our government recently took a step AGAINST us by making bankruptcy harder to take. They also have relaxed the limits on late fees and interest the cards can charge you. It's all about the rich, screw us!
Now for those who might ask how we got this way, why did we run up the cards, it's because we didn't have any money! There were times I had to charge food and gas because there was no more money. I have nothing to show for my debt, my furniture is old and broken, my clothes are threadbare and my shoes literally have holes in them. If I have anything at all I buy for the kids, not me. I was never extravagant (well except the last U2 tour but that isn't the current problem, I was too poor to go to even one show this time) It's just the bills, high gas, car problems, life in general. If you don't have enough money you get fucked by everyone.