In an effort to help your family find debt relief you have started working three, instead of two, days a week. As a substitute teacher in a district that can never find enough subs, this was an easy goal to set. Bringing in $450 instead of $280 a week, the extra day combined with the slight pay increase from the district has been nice. In fact, some days, you are able to work four days and up your weekly income even more. Even when you earn close to $1000 every two weeks, however, your added income is barely making a dent in the massive credit card debt that you and your husband have built up.
Things have gotten so desperate, in fact, that your husband has met with a low cost bankruptcy attorney to see if that may be an option. Currently, you have made the decision to give yourself another six months to see if there is a way to seriously cut your expenses and make some significant changes. The pressure to find debt relief is especially stressful for your husband whose job is not going as well as he would like. He has often mentioned that he simply cannot see himself working this hard for the next 10 years. Instead, he wants to sell your large two story home, take the equity and pay off as much debt as possible and move into a much smaller home.
Many Americans Find Themselves Struggling to Find Debt Relief from High Interest Credit Card Balances
Bankruptcy law firms can advise their clients on financial options that allow them to step away from what can seem like insurmountable credit card debt. Finding a way to save today’s financial stresses without creating a very negative credit report in the future, however, is not always possible. And while centuries old tales like the Tortoise and the Hare pint out that slow and steady really can win the race, this is a difficult approach to debt that comes with very high interest rates.
For every family dealing with debt because of less than responsible spending habits, there are also many other families who are facing their challenge to find debt relief because of other circumstances. Did you know, for instance, that bankruptcies resulting from unpaid medical bills affected as many as 2 million people in the U.S. during the year 2013 alone? As the cost of medications and medical care continue to increase, there are many economists who fear that this will continue to be a serious problem for our country.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the current bankruptcy numbers in America:
- During 2013 there were a total of 333,626 Chapter 13 bankruptcies filed in the U.S.
- In comparison, during 2013 there were a total of 8,980 Chapter 11 bankruptcies filed in the U.S.
- A Chapter 7 bankruptcy takes approximately six months to complete./li>
- Even though it takes just a half a year to complete, however, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on a person’s credit report for 10 years after it is arranged.
- Although costs can vary from one state to another, in the state of Texas, Chapter 13 filing often costs less than $500 to begin a case.
No matter where your financial situation is currently, you likely have goals that you want to achieve. Knowing that your debt is so great that you cannot find a way out might mean that you will be forced to work with a low cost bankruptcy lawyer to see if they can provide an option. No one wants to be living from paycheck to paycheck, but If you are strapped with extraordinarily high credit card debt and interest rates, you may find that your options are actually very limited. Working with a reputable lawyer who can help you understand the options and ramifications of those options, however, may help you make an educated decision about just what your next step should be.
Working more hours and cutting your spending is important, but sometimes even these initial measures are not enough to
tackle the kind of debt that some families face. Are you ready to talk to a lawyer and see if there is another solution?