I Went From a 50k Inheritance to Over 45k in Debt

My name is Nester and if you're looking for an alternative to bankruptcy so you can avoid the embarrassment and feeling of failure then hear me out because what I'm about to share might shock you... Before I do, let me tell you something a lot of people don't know about me.

I inherited $50,000 from grandmother and 3 years later I'm in $450,00 in debt.  I'd racked up a bunch of debt and the more I got in debt, the easier it was to get further into debt..

I was in so much debt that my debts well over exceeded my earnings. Crazy I know right?
You see, I secretly knew what I was getting into but all the credit banks and lenders practically threw at me was too good to pass up.

Soon enough I was $45,128 in debt and I virtually had just a certificate in Paralegal studies to show for it.

I had gotten a decent job at a bankruptcy attorney's office and things seemed to be going okay...

Then, on a Friday afternoon 2 days before my 33rd birthday I was called into the office at work..

"Nester, we're going to have to let you go.."

It was like someone came up to me from behind and punched a knife right through my back into my heart..I was devastated!!

Maybe I'm not alone...

If you're reading this then maybe your not in the best financial times right now. That's okay you're certainly not alone.

The Washington Post reported last year that 6.3 million Americans are behind 90 days or more on their car payments and millions more are delinquent on their credit cards.

Bankruptcy wouldn't be an option for me

Here's what you may face if you file for bankruptcy

You probably won't quality

The bankruptcy laws changed in the early 2000’s making it significantly more difficult for most people to file for bankruptcy than it used to be.

The new bankruptcy law created an ‘assumption of abuse’ for bankruptcy filers. In other words the courts default position is to be that you are trying to commit fraud by filing for bankruptcy.
Most Americans don't even qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy!

Chapter 13 bankruptcy will take 3-5 years of your life

That means you’ll have those creditors hanging over your head for that period of time. Debt settlement, on the other hand, only takes 12-48 months on average.

During those 3-5 years you’ll be financially under the control of a judge or magistrate. All significant financial decisions will have to be approved by him or her.

A family member filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy and needed a car; badly. However since he was under chapter 13 bankruptcy he had to get the purchase approved by a judge.

It took him over a month to get thumbs up all the while he was without good transportation.

Bankruptcy isn't cheap

The average bankruptcy attorney can charge anywhere from $1500 to over $5000 depending upon the complexity of your case.

Ouch!

Oh, and most of them want their money upfront or a significant deposit first.

You may lose your home if you file for bankruptcy

Contrary to popular belief you can lose your house if you file for chapter 7.

…it’s likely that a debtor will lose the home in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if there’s significant equity that the trustee can use to pay creditors.
-Nolo Law Firm[1]

By law the bankruptcy court is obligated to take whatever non-exempt assets you have in order repay your debts.

Bankruptcy will make you a financial leper

Having a bankruptcy on your credit report automatically shuts the door to most lenders. 

For the next 7-10 years you will be considered a subprime borrower which means you’ll pay extortion level interest rates on all borrowed money and that’s if you can get anyone to lend you money at all.

Here's what I'm doing instead

Because I had gotten half my student loans forgiven I decided to try my luck with debt settlement once again. 

I called national debt relief back and they said they could help me. They said I had to deposit money into a savings account in my name and once the balance was sufficient they would make a settlement offer. 

Easy enough...

I've been putting in $450 a month into the account for a year and now I have 5,400 in the account.  So far so good. 

I'll keep you guys updated on my progress