Hello, my bucket list friends. Last month I received my official bankruptcy discharge. Meaning that’s it’s all behind me now. However I thought that it would be helpful for me to share my story with all of you. When you first read the title of this post you may be thinking,why would someone want the whole world to know that they went bankrupt? My answer is this. We all go through hard times in life that’s just the reality. While it is important to have a good attitude we can’t ignore the low points. Also I want to help to remove the stigma that bankruptcy can have. Going through bankruptcy does not say anything about you as a person. There is a reason bankruptcy laws exist. With that being said, let’s talk about what got me to this point in the first place. There are three main factors that caused me to file for bankruptcy. The first one being my poor budgeting skills and overspending. I know I mentioned in another blog post how I didn’t regret my debt because of the experiences it brought me. However when it was combined with the other things I’m going to mention it was very hard to manage. The second reason was medical bills. There were two visits to the ER that really added to my debt one of them got sent to collections. The third reason was I took a job where I thought I was going to be getting more hours then I actually ended up getting. I eventually got a 2nd job but the lack of income took it’s toll on my finances. It took me a long time for me to decide to file for bankruptcy. At first I was completely against it. When I decided that bankruptcy was the right choice, I knew I was going to need a lawyer to help me. Luckily I found a really great one and he helped make things go smoothly. It was stressful at times getting all the paperwork together but overall it was not that bad. I was nervous when the day of my bankruptcy hearing arrived. Because of Covid-19 bankruptcy hearings are now done over the phone. I was getting anxious listing to some of the people that went before me. When it was my turn I was very nervous but I felt better knowing that my lawyer was on the call with me . He had talked to me the day before to help me prepare for the hearing. After answering a few questions it was over. I was so happy that none of my creditors showed up. Bankruptcy is behind me now the main consequence of filing for bankruptcy was a low credit score. However that is already on its way back up. I’m happy to have a fresh start. Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments.
Rock On – Christina Epperly
