Bankruptcy is lifesaving

Student Loans have entered the chat.
- And medical debt.
  
  I don't think so, or at least is state dependent, I definitely had medical debt and it was definitely discharged along with all the other debt I had
  
  In my country that isn't a thing. Everybody has to have private insurance and if they can't afford it, the State subsidizes it.
  And if somehow you get something done that isn't covered by the insurance, they can't pursue you for that debt and it doesn't show up when doing things like getting a lease.
  It's not perfect (insurance costs a ton and keeps rising) but at least it's not some dystopian nightmare where people can't afford to get care in one of the World's top economies.
- Money you have to take out for college and then pay back at 10% interest.
- Discover and chase have entered the chat as well

Imagine being inside a month😵‍💫

I got talked into bankruptcy (by a bankruptcy lawyer, surprise surprise). It cleared $12k of credit cards and bank fees but not the then-$50k of student loans and the spending habits that were the real problem. Now I learned my lesson. No credit cards. Save up and pay. Have an emergency fund that can cover your expenses for months and months in the event you lose your job, or your most expensive unplanned repair. That's the real life saver.
- Credit cards are fine for people who can control their spending. I never pay interest, so I get my rewards for free and am building my credit. If you cannot control your spending habits, you might consider a card with a low limit.
  
  You mean you never pay interest by paying off the debt before the next billing cycle, right? Or is it fine to get zero interest for whatever amount of months on certain purchases?
  
  I used to feel this way with 2% cash back, but I don’t think it’s worth the privacy loss of giving a for-profit corporation all of my spending data. Where I live now, almost no one accepts credit cards in person & if they do, there’s a high minimum payment & you will be paying the transaction fee. After getting used to carrying cash again, I can confidently say I prefer the anonymity. What weirder in hindsight is many other places either not accepting cash or baking the credit fees into the prices so it’s cash payers getting screwed—meanwhile the credit companies get to skim fixed costs while providing minimal value.
- In France after high school you pay 170€ the first 3 years the 243€ the next two, 100€ more each year if you don't have aides from the government. Some engineering schools (~600€) or private schools are more expensive.
  That's a total of 1496€ for a 5y curriculum at most, if you don't have any aides. (810€ for a shorter 3y one)
  For reference the monthly minimum wage is 1398.69€ (without tax).
  So if you work two months at McDonald's you can literally pay your entire education with enough room to spare if you didn't pass some years.
  (Engineering schools is more but it isn't crazy either)
  That's without any help, but we have some cheap apartment specifically for students, help to pay the rent. And in addition to this you can get a sizable amount depending on the income of the parents, sometimes enough to live on.
  So why in the hell would you pay 50k. That's 33 times as much, guys just come to France, or the EU and your set lol
  
  Everything you've said only stands for public university (which is better than private schools however). In the private world, you're looking at ~10000€ a year.
  So why in the hell would you pay 50k. That's 33 times as much, guys just come to France
  I believe it's more expensive for foreigners to study in France now. You're looking at ~3000€ per year IIRC.
  
  Around 3-5% is spent on textbooks alone
  
  The real cost is in living expenses though. A lot of kids still end up with 20-40k of loans after 3-5 years in school living on their own.
- How has bankruptcy affected you when you've gone to apply for things? Has there been any real long term effects when you apply for like a house or car loan?
  
  After 7 years the bankruptcy disappears from your credit report. After that it's like it didn't happen.
  
  I was able to get a car loan a few years after the bankruptcy. It was dumb, I hadn't fully figured out my money situation yet. Bankruptcy didn't fix that spending habit. But that was the tipping point. When my minimum expenses between the car, student loans, and living expenses exactly equaled my salary, I started trying to beat my way out of the mess. The car I currently own, I paid for up front. By the time I bought a house, the bankruptcy had disappeared off my report. Now the plan is pay off the mortgage and never have a credit score again.
  
  Bankruptcies fall off your credit report after 7 years. I think the only thing you are blacklisted from after that 7 year period is the bank that credited you and lost money.

Nice Try Rudy. Pay your debts.
- Nice try, but Rudy isn't filing for cc debt.

"I declare BANKRUPTCY!!!!"

filling for bankruptcy
inside a month
Go back to school

If only. Most people who need bankruptcy can't afford the lawyer required to do it.

I see bender (over drake) i hit up like

Useless endeavor if the individual in question doesn’t change their spending habits. Be right back fucked again in a few years.
- Can you declare bankruptcy again?
  
  Pretty sure Trump has done it 4 or 5 times. Those were company bankruptcies by a nepo baby, though, so probably not the same rules as regular people 🤷
  
  Given the effect it has on credit score, it will perhaps be more difficult to accumulate debt --- it will be harder to take out large credit card, mortgage, or other loans. Probably not applicable to medical and whatnot.
  In theory I think it makes sense: loans should be a privilege not a right, or something like that. But in reality, loans are essentially required for modern life, at least in the US. So the people who can least afford it end up with loans with ridiculous interest rates (even if the total loan amount is smaller than it would be pre-bankruptcy).
  I am fortunate enough to be able to pay off my credit card every month, so the interest rate doesn't really matter. It's a great, but dystopian, example of positive feedback: those who can afford pay less (no interest), and those who can't afford pay more (interest).
  
  7 year cool down, and unless you are Trump and can afford extremely expensive legal representation, your odds of actually getting a full discharge of debt go down.
  
  Yes, there is NO limit on the number of bankruptcies you can file for. However, there are time limits between filling dates. Here's what a Forbes article mentions about it:
  Just as there are different types of bankruptcy, there are different rules for how often you can file bankruptcy. The waiting period to file another bankruptcy case generally ranges from two to eight years, depending on the type of bankruptcy. In some situations, there may be no waiting period.
  However, good luck getting creditors for years after filing for a bankruptcy. I imagine very few will trust you / loan you money, except for the most predatory (i.e. loan sharks). And if you did go with a predatory source, a future bankruptcy may not help you discharge the debt given predatory sources commonly operate outside of the law.

Why don't you just not buy a credit card? Or do you need it to have a credit score?
- well at this point he's 50 years old and he's paying off a bunch of credit cards. I think you're supposed to be giving that advice to 18-year-old him. Not 50-year-old him.
- The idiotic catch-22 of credit, you need to use credit you don't need in order to prove that you can pay back credit you do need.
  Eg good luck getting a car loan or a mortgage at a reasonable rate if you don't have credit history.
  Ironically OP could probably absolutely qualify for a loan despite barely being able to pay off debts, because lenders want to make money off of you more than they want you to pay back their loans on time. Late fees and interest 🤑

Filing for bankruptcy is offloading your responsibility to others who then have to pay with their money for your faults.
It's a cheap way out for people that do not act responsibly.
Bankruptcy? Okay, but then lose all saying in your money spending because you just proved you can't handle it yourself.
- you do realize that bankruptcy does have consequences, right? for one, it's nearly impossible to find a new place to live if you've ever declared bankruptcy. If you work in certain sectors, you can lose your job. if you're a government worker, you'd lose your security clearance or probably even a public trust. If you lose your job, new companies that might hire you would likely do a credit check for some reason and find you unqualified because of that bankruptcy.
  
  So it's double-triple bad to have debt? Then manage the finances, assess the risks, cut unrealistic expectations that will toss you into the debt spiral, because it's triple-bad. Who is to blame?
- Poor banks :( The irresponsible poors need to do things the right way, and lobby congress to bail them out.
- Can you please explain briefly plz bro. I know pretty much nothing about bankruptcy.
- The average credit card interest rate is 25%. Yes people shouldn't borrow money they can't pay back. However that doesn't change the fact that interest rates on credit cards are wildly high and entrap people in a loop of only paying the interest off. Bankruptcy is their only hope of escape from that debt cycle.
- People "spend irresponsibly" for a ton of reasons like medical expenses, paying for a funeral, having mental illnesses that they don't even know about, etc. Life happens.
  They received money from a rich guy or corporation who knows of the risk of their money going "poof." Creditors aren't mom-and-pop shops, and they will survive if an investment doesn't go well. The same cannot be said for the person in deep credit card debt. Oftentimes, the lenders are the ones who have predatory practices and purposefully make it easier for peoples' debt to spiral out of control, and you shouldn't feel bad for those lenders.
  
  About these unexpected costs:
  medical insurance is a must, otherwise you are gambling and the chances to lose this bet are quite high.
  funerals happen unexpected - when they actually absolutely do not. Everybody can be sure to die, so plan accordingly.
  being "in deep credit card debt" is too late. One should never have swam out this far. Being "a tiny little bit in debt" should have the alarm bells blasting as financing is not self sustaining, "a tiny litte bit" is already much too late already because you've entered the spiral
  student debts - well, not everybody has to study. If you can't afford it reflect on it, if you really must. And if yes, seek alternatives like leaving the country tht is hell-bent to enslave you in debt if you want to study, find sponsors, arrange it with your expectations about a longer time horizon, etc. You are not able to pay for it? Do not do it! Seek solutions.
- It's irresponsible for banks to loan money, they pay many people salaries for risk assessment before loaning it. Also their loan is insured so even if you don't pay it back they write the loss off.
  
  Indeed. But they want to make money, so they rise the interest rate to make even more money and cut losses on failed debt repayments.
  They solely exist to make money by extorting the people in debt. Who would have guessed?
  So? Never have debts.
  "Consumer" debts should ethically not exist as consumers just consume the money and are therefore not able to pay it back as it is not an "investment" debt, which has the chance to succeed.