"Bankruptcy After Relocating"

Life After Bankruptcy Stories

My husband and I decided to leave New York and relocate in North Carolina since it seemed that his entire family had already moved there one by one and he was very close to them.




We were doing well in New York. I owned my own business and he had been at the same company for 20 years. We had more money than we knew what to do with. Or so it seemed.

Within the first month or relocating to North Carolina, we were both employed, although with a substantial reduction in income. After a year being there, all the savings we came with were gone.

The cost of living steadily rose to almost the same level as in New York. With less income and the same bills, we were going downhill fast. After much soul-searching, we finally contacted a lawyer and filed for chapter 13.

What a relief! We were given set weekly payments that were established by the amount of debt versus our earnings. Since the payments never changed and we gained more income through raises, we were debt free within 3 years.

At first I felt very ashamed to have to sink to the point of filing bankruptcy, but soon, as the debt started going down, shame turned into the feeling of being very fortunate. This gave us the chance to actually not lose face by totally walking away from our debts and responsibilities. It gave us the chance to show the creditors that we wanted to make things right.

I was proud at the end of the 3 years. I was able to start to re-establish my good name and restore my bad credit. No one should ever feel ashamed to reach for help when they need it. It shows you are indeed trying to be responsible.

Contributed by Mary from North Carolina