Submitted by Prestigious-Dog1615 t3_zf5jbf in personalfinance
I (34F) am at my wits end and considering bankruptcy. I spent years accruing debt after leaving an abusive relationship and then taking care of my fathers finances. I moved to smaller/cheaper housing, I traded my car into the cheapest I could manage, I eat as little as I can, I managed to get a decent raise at work. I cannot make it paycheck to paycheck solely because I pay nearly $1000 in minimum payments. I have a consolidation loan through upstart for $15k that is $350/month. I have a Bank of America credit card for $14,500 that is $415 a month at I believe 22% interest. I have a Truliant credit card for $5k that is 10% interest. I cannot increase the limit on Truliant to eat the BoA and thus have a lower interest. I tried to apply for a consolidation loan to combine all three debts into one payment and was denied. I tried to apply for a zero/low interest card to balance transfer BoA and was only approved for $1,000. My credit score is at 650. My therapist recommends filing bankruptcy, as I can't possibly pay all of this debt off in the 7 years that bankruptcy runs its course. But I would ideally like to buy the home I am renting with my partner within the 7 years. What is my best option? Is there another option that I am not considering? If I file bankruptcy, what happens to my car?
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EDIT: my income is salaried at $60k, my checks come out to ~$3,200 a month.
$1000 towards rent
$300 towards utilities
$150 cell and internet
$250 car payment
$60 car insurance
~$1000 in debt payments
$250 a month in gas and groceries roughly
$150 in medication/doctor copays for therapy/psych
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Advice came from therapist while I was telling her about my stress in life, not that I was actively seeking financial advice from her.
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