As has been stated before, filing Bankruptcy is pretty stressful. No matter where you live, the US or the UK (sorry I don't have any information on Canadian Bankruptcy practices), you stand to lose a lot of things, your home, your car, savings, bank accounts, certain assets, your self esteem. Part of my reasoning for starting this blog was to have a place to vent and to have a place where folks could find information and links that helped me and may be a reference for them.
I consider myself very lucky. I got to keep my house, my old car was already paid off and not worth much so that stayed, I almost lost inherited jewelry, but in the end, the Trustee said I could keep it and I'll have to turn over any income tax refund. I had to take two on line courses, one on credit counseling and one on budgeting and debt management as part of the BK Filing. That was all the debt management education I got.
Even before I was discharged and literally the day I was discharged, I started getting credit card and car loan offers. Seems these rather aggressive lenders knew about the discharge before I did.
One mailing I got was an "invitation" to attend an on line seminar on life after bankruptcy. The seminar promoter was a post BK filer and now had wonderful credit, fabulous home, fancy cars, etc. I was curious, I wanted to see what the information was. Since it was "free" I signed up. I never participated (you needed high speed Internet and I'm on dial up at home), but now I am on a mailing list for this company. I have been getting weekly e-newsletters that are touting, "Download our PDF on how to apply for a new credit card", OR "Download our PDF on how to search for an automotive lender", OR any number of other credit rebuilding practices.
The hitch-you had to have purchased the mini course of rebuilding your life after Bankruptcy from these folks BEFORE you can download these pearls of wisdom. What I find interesting, is with a little on line research, this SAME EXACT INFORMATION is available FREE. See my other posts from today. Bankrate.com has some excellent information (I'm using their site to source out a secured credit card as part of my Bouncing Back stage) and I also am finding good information on MSN Money Web Site and the Women in the Red forum.
For people in the UK, I strongly recommend Ladies in the Red. Katie is a UK post BK survivor and her site has tons of excellent information on IVA's, BK, Agencies to help you, a forum to post on, and my new favorite, Ask Auntie Annie. And guess what, It's FREE. No need to pay a fee.
I am just amazed what is out there and how some folks can prey on the desperate.
DISCLAIMER: All posts are my own observations. Please if you have ANY questions about your money, finances, etc, please consult with a financial professional and your own attorney if you are in any sort of Bankruptcy filing or Debt Management Program. What works and worked for me might not work for you.
1 comment:
i am a bit curious as to what you want a credit card for. Is it just to work on your credit score? or to finance something else? I would have thought you'd be more focused on paying debt down and savings.
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