Pragmatically, indentured servitude would be a great way to repay debts without declaring bankruptcy, and maybe while still being able to keep your possessions. It could also serve as an alternative currency in some situations. Of course, this would be fixed term – the period of that servitude would correspond with the debt and such.

But of course there is the morality of personal freedom, and the question of whether that always transcends debt and whether it would be right to use such a thing as a currency or tool.

This was a subject in my Ethics class today, so I just want to see what other people (maybe not college liberal arts majors) think.

Technorati Tags: currency, debts, declaring bankruptcy, ethics, indentured servitude, liberal arts majors, morality, personal freedom, possessions

I was laid off in February of 2009 and have not been able to find a good job since. I have been without medical insurance for almost 3 years and have to pay out of pocket for a required medication costing roughly 0 per month. I have moved back into my mother’s house (I’m 26) and I am overdrawn on my bank accounts every week just from paying off my car, my storage (I moved home from another state since I could no longer afford rent,) my medicine, groceries, and then attempting to make payments on my debt. I have spoken with a credit counseling organization (MMI) and they have offered me a plan by which I would pay them about 0 per month. This plan would entail 0 per month for debt payment, 5 for car payment, 5 for my student loan, 0 for medicine and 5 for storage of all of my possessions. This is 95 per month. It does not include food. It does not include emergency preparation. And it is also 0 over my monthly income.

Issue #1: I need a new job. On average, I apply for 20-30 jobs PER DAY. I have been told that, since the economy went bust, EVERYONE checks the credit of a potential employee. Obviously my current poor credit is enough to render me unhireable. If I declare bankruptcy, how much worse can (will?) my job hunting situation be? I currently temp at a front desk for just 30 hrs a week, no benefits.

Issue #2: I need to be able to move out of my mother’s house. She is very kind to have opened her home to me when I am in such need, and I try very hard to stay out of her way, but she makes it very clear that it’s a huge burden on her to have me around (I know she is right, but it makes it no easier). She is also 100% against me declaring bankruptcy, not only for the impact it will have on my life but for the stigma it will bear on hers. I need to be able to have my own place again. But, my current credit is so poor AND declaring bankruptcy would remain for 10 years on my credit report, that no one would possibly rent to me. Which is less devastating to a potential landlord? Terrible credit and a ridiculous debt-to-income ratio, or a recent bankruptcy claim?

Issue #3: My car is currently worth about k less than what I still owe. I have tried to sell it back to the dealership, they charged me k and even when I left the car with them, they immediately called me back to pick it up because apparently something in the undercarriage was repaired wrong (oh and getting my k back was a real hoot, let me tell you.) It has already been repo-ed once and I had to pay money I didn’t have to get it back. I have tried selling in private forums, I have tried refinancing, I don’t know what else I can do. No one will buy a car worth almost ten grand less than they’re paying. I want very much to keep it, but I can’t afford it. And yes, simply letting it go would COST ME MONEY. Dave Ramsay says, "sell the car." What would Dave Ramsay suggest in this situation?

Issue #4: I have no savings. If I declare bankruptcy, I will be living off of my income alone (my savings deteriorated during my time when I was unemployed, after which my debt increased exponentially. HOWEVER. If I declare bankruptcy and can divide my piffle paycheck so that at least SOME of it can go towards savings, then at the end of ten years when the bankruptcy falls off my credit report I will have something, instead of nothing. Or just…more of the nothing I have right now.

Issue #5: I can’t pay these bills. (see the price outline in the first paragraph.) Won’t these companies just sue me anyway, if I don’t declare?

Look. I love and respect my mother (who is not a financier.) I do not want to make her sad because her daughter went bankrupt before the age of 30. But let’s be realistic here. How much worse could my situation POSSIBLY GET if I declare, file for Chapter 7 and get my debts forgiven so that I may begin to rebuild.

I would very much appreciate ANY input, on a REALISTIC, REASONABLE alternative to me filing for bankruptcy. I have listened to "Financial University" by Dave Ramsey about 1000x and I’ve read Suze Orman’s books and seen her show.

It would bring me so much comfort, and I would so appreciate it, if my peers on yahoo who have experience or knowledge with this kind of thing could reach out and give me their honest, informed opinions.

Technorati Tags: 3 years, bust, car payment, credit counseling, debt payment, declaring bankruptcy, emergency preparation, front desk, good job, groceries, issue 1, job hunting, landlord, medical insurance, mmi, new job, poor credit, possessions, stigma, student loan

Hi all,

My wife and I have been trying to have a child for over 3 years. While she has been pregnant twice, both experiences were quite traumatic for both of us. Her first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage at 5 months, and the second pregnancy was an ectopic pregnancy which landed her in the emergency room. We both really want a child, especially a child of our own, but I just don’t want to cause any more physical and emotional distress on my wife. We have decided to look at the alternative which is adoption. Primarily we’re only interested in the adoption of a new born. We began to do some research and the cost of an adoption seems staggering! We’re not interested in an international adoption either. I would like to get some feedback from other couples which have successfully adopted a new born. How much did it actually cost you (after the tax credit and any employer adoption benefits). Was it really around K!!

I can understand the attorney fees and medical costs for the birth mother, but k? It also seems that the adoption process is quite complicated (home study, back ground check, family history, etc), I do understand why those things are required, but I would assume those things should be required of ANY couple wanting to have a child, not just adoptive parents.

Anyway, I am really interested to see how much adopting a new born ended up costing you.

Thanks so much for your feedback! Our combined income is around 0K a year, we own two homes (fully paid), so we’re not poor, and though we really want a child, we don’t want to end up declaring bankruptcy to have one.

Thanks so much!

Jason & Mindy
@PIP – If you haven’t adopted or even intend to adopt, you’re not qualified to answer my question, nor am I interested in your opinion. Your "answer" had nothing to do with my question. In the future, I would recommend that you read an individual’s question carefully before answering.
@Toreejon – Much like the other person who "answered" my question. I am sorry that you had a bad experience as an adoptee, but no where in my question do I ask for an adoptee’s opinion. I have friends who are adopted and have no longing for their natural mother and father.
@Sunny – I did not ask for your opinion on adoption. I wanted answers from adoptive parents. The fact that we really want a child of our own, doesn’t take anything away from us completely loving an adopted child. This so called "bond" between child and natural parents is a myth. This bond is developed as the result of the relationship with the child’s parents (i.e. the parents who raised the child). There is absolutely no evidence that suggests there is a "natural" bond between a child and a natural parent if the child was not raised by those parents. As to your point of DNA, it is completely irrelevant. Unless you’re Einstein or Mozart, your DNA is nothing to write home about. I can’t believe you equate adopting a child with that of buying a car. You need some serious help. Adoption is a very unselfish act. We want to adopt not to make up for the "child we might have had" but to rather to share or love and blessings with a child in need. We don’t HAVE to adopt, we want to.

Technorati Tags: 3 years, 5 months, adoption benefits, adoptive parents, attorney fees, back ground check, birth mother, couples, declaring bankruptcy, ectopic pregnancy, emergency room, emotional distress, family history, home study, international adoption, medical costs, mindy, pip, second pregnancy, tax credit

I was laid off in February of 2009 and have not been able to find a good job since. I have been without medical insurance for almost 3 years and have to pay out of pocket for a required medication costing roughly 0 per month. I have moved back into my mother’s house (I’m 26) and I am overdrawn on my bank accounts every week just from paying off my car, my storage (I moved home from another state since I could no longer afford rent,) my medicine, groceries, and then attempting to make payments on my debt. I have spoken with a credit counseling organization (MMI) and they have offered me a plan by which I would pay them about 0 per month. This plan would entail 0 per month for debt payment, 5 for car payment, 5 for my student loan, 0 for medicine and 5 for storage of all of my possessions. This is 95 per month. It does not include food. It does not include emergency preparation. And it is also 0 over my monthly income.

Issue #1: I need a new job. On average, I apply for 20-30 jobs PER DAY. I have been told that, since the economy went bust, EVERYONE checks the credit of a potential employee. Obviously my current poor credit is enough to render me unhireable. If I declare bankruptcy, how much worse can (will?) my job hunting situation be? I currently temp at a front desk for just 30 hrs a week, no benefits.

Issue #2: I need to be able to move out of my mother’s house. She is very kind to have opened her home to me when I am in such need, and I try very hard to stay out of her way, but she makes it very clear that it’s a huge burden on her to have me around (I know she is right, but it makes it no easier). She is also 100% against me declaring bankruptcy, not only for the impact it will have on my life but for the stigma it will bear on hers. I need to be able to have my own place again. But, my current credit is so poor AND declaring bankruptcy would remain for 10 years on my credit report, that no one would possibly rent to me. Which is less devastating to a potential landlord? Terrible credit and a ridiculous debt-to-income ratio, or a recent bankruptcy claim?

Issue #3: My car is currently worth about k less on what I still owe. I have tried to sell it back to the dealership, they charged me k and even when I left the car with them, they immediately called me back to pick it up because apparently something in the undercarriage was repaired wrong (oh and getting my k back was a real hoot, let me tell you.) It has already been repo-ed once and I had to pay money I didn’t have to get it back. I have tried selling in private forums, I have tried refinancing, I don’t know what else I can do. No one will buy a car worth almost ten grand less than they’re paying. I want very much to keep it, but I can’t afford it. And yes, simply letting it go would COST ME MONEY. Dave Ramsay says, "sell the car." What would Dave Ramsay suggest in this situation?

Issue #4: I have no savings. If I declare bankruptcy, I will be living off of my income alone (my savings deteriorated during my time when I was unemployed, after which my debt increased exponentially. HOWEVER. If I declare bankruptcy and can divide my piffle paycheck so that at least SOME of it can go towards savings, then at the end of ten years when the bankruptcy falls off my credit report I will have something, instead of nothing. Or just…more of the nothing I have right now.

Issue #5: I can’t pay these bills. (see the price outline in the first paragraph.) Won’t these companies just sue me anyway, if I don’t declare?

Look. I love and respect my mother (who is not a financier.) I do not want to make her sad because her daughter went bankrupt before the age of 30. But let’s be realistic here. How much worse could my situation POSSIBLY GET if I declare, file for Chapter 7 and get my debts forgiven so that I may begin to rebuild.

I would very much appreciate ANY input, on a REALISTIC, REASONABLE alternative to me filing for bankruptcy. I have listened to "Financial University" by Dave Ramsey about 1000x and I’ve read Suze Orman’s books and seen her show.

It would bring me so much comfort, and I would so appreciate it, if my peers on yahoo who have experience or knowledge with this kind of thing could reach out and give me their honest, informed opinions.

Technorati Tags: 3 years, bust, car payment, credit counseling, debt payment, declaring bankruptcy, emergency preparation, front desk, good job, groceries, issue 1, job hunting, landlord, medical insurance, mmi, new job, poor credit, possessions, stigma, student loan

Wife and I are in the process of divorce. We have both moved out of our home and it is foreclosing. I want to declare bankruptcy. The house is our only joint debt. Can she stop the bankruptcy? How would she find out that I am declaring bankruptcy if I don’t tell her?
I don’t want to deceive anyone. I just don’t want any problems in terms of declaring bankruptcy.

Technorati Tags: declaring bankruptcy, divorce

My nephew is a young guy who has K in debt – student loans, credit cards. They’ve went to collections and he wants to file for bankruptcy. He has a stable job, makes decent money but is tired of the collector calls.

I told him declaring bankruptcy would only makes things worse for 7-10 years and beyond, but he wants to throw in the towel because of the collector phone calls. I told him that it IS possible to negotiate with them but he doesn’t believe me.

How can I talk him out of filing bankruptcy?

Technorati Tags: 10 years, collections, credit cards, decent money, declaring bankruptcy, filing bankruptcy, nephew, stable job, student loans