"Bankruptcy and No Health Insurance"

My husband and I filed bankruptcy back in the mid 1990s. What led to our bankruptcy was my getting pregnant and not having health insurance. Lord knows we tried.

My husband made just over the threshold and we didn't qualify. Suggestions were plentiful but not helpful, including 'separate' so that I could qualify.

We lost everything - our townhouse, van, you name it. It was hard getting back on our feet but we did it. Life will throw things at you that will always try to knock you down, but through it all we perservered and grew.

For about 4 to 6 years we worked on rebuilding our credit. It wasn't all peaches and cream, but it was doable, and by 2001 we had bought another house, just before the housing boom.

Fortunately there are places you can get credit, and even low interest credit cards. If you choose these, choose wisely. Find one that doesn't automatically increase your limits, and doesn't charge, what seems, an arm and a leg, in financing.

Avoiding credit cards may seem like the best thing coming off a bankruptcy. But you also need to rebuild your credit after filing bankruptcy. If you ever want to get another mortgage, they may tell you to get a couple credit cards so that you have things reported on your credit.

Just pay them off or only charge minimally.

We were fortunate, my bankruptcy really didn't affect my husband's family or my family, as we live in a different state, but at the time they were still there for us to give us support.

While bankruptcy might sound like a bad thing, sometimes it's something that cannot be avoided, and while it may hurt you short term, in the long run you can really benefit from it.

The best thing to do if you are facing bankruptcy is to talk to a lawyer, and discuss your options, if your debt is small they may advise you to go a different route, but if you have mounting debt, and no realistic hope, they might advise you that filing bankruptcy is an option and will discuss the different types of bankruptcy.

In the end it gave me and my husband a fresh start, and helped us out where we could not even begin to pay our mounting medical bills.

Contributed by Mari in Maryland