"My Struggle with Debt"

My struggle with debt began about five years ago, which included late mortgage payments and overdrawn credit cards. At the height of my debt struggles I had almost $15,000 worth of debt.

The main source of my problem was purchasing things that I could not afford. Although I was only making $35,000 a year as an administrative assistant, I would purchase things like a $400 handbag, a $300 Rolex watch and a $400 pair of jeans.

At that time I had over 7 credit cards and each one had a $3,000 plus credit limit. Once I maxed out these credit cards, I started applying for new ones. The sad part of all this is that I kept getting approved.

Had I not been approved for new cards, I might have been forced to something about my debt situation sooner. However, all I ended up doing was to get myself deeper into debt.

By the time all of my credit cards were maxed out, my total monthly credit card payments were over $1,000. This was far too much for someone only making $35,000 a year. For a few months I tried making these high monthly payments, and it caused me to get behind on my mortgage.

Once I had become five months delinquent on my mortgage payments, my mortgage company send me a letter threatening foreclosure. I became so upset that I started developing anxiety attacks.

It was then that a friend of mine recommended that I file for bankruptcy. Just hearing the word "bankruptcy" made me feel even more upset. However, I had no choice but to consider bankruptcy since there was no way I could pay off all my debt.

The hardest part for me was making the phone call to a bankruptcy attorney. I can remember feeling both scared and ashamed. The attorney could tell this in my voice and suggested that I take a few days to think it over.

During those few days debt collection agencies were calling me non-stop. Finally after the third day of non-stop phone calls I realized that I could not take this anymore. The next morning I called the attorney I had spoken to earlier to set up an appointment.

My first face-to-face meeting went much smoother than I had expected. Once I completed all the paperwork and provided all the necessary financial documents, my attorney filed the papers with the local bankruptcy court.

For my particular situation, the attorney suggested that I file Chapter 7. This would allow me to eliminate all of my debts.

On the day of my court case I was very nervous, but my lawyer kept me calm. The whole process lasted fifteen minutes.

Life for me after bankruptcy has been somewhat difficult since I am now not eligible for any credit or financing. However, I have to say that it feels good to not have a mound of debt and debt collectors calling me every day.

The lessons I have learned out of this experience is to have discipline when it comes to credit, and to also live within my means.

Contributed by Lynn from Georgia