This happens all too often.
A potential client of Steidl & Steinberg came to talk with us about their financial situation. They were bringing home $1,600.00 per month. Somehow, the client was paying $600.00 per month on credit cards. That left $1,000.00 per month to pay the other bills.
The mortgage payment was $550. 00. All of the other expenses, like utilities, phone, a car payment, food , prescriptions, a dog, and gas for the vehicle, left $6.00 per month. Sorry, but that doesn’t cut it.
Stop paying your bills
I advised the client to stop paying these credit cards, simply because they didn’t have enough money. “
What’s going to happen to me?” the client exclaimed.
Nothing, at least nothing right away.
Since the client was relatively current on the payments, there was no way the credit card companies are going to sue her for quite a while, often a year or more down the road. I did expect that they would call, but they would probably wait at least two minutes to do that.
Game plan
Good thing they decided to meet with us at Steidl & Steinberg. We developed a game plan to file the bankruptcy in a month. They would use the money they were no longer using for credit cards to pay for the bankruptcy, and we were able to get the creditors to stop the phone calls even before she filed the papers.
So if I tell you to stop paying the bills, it is because we have a better plan. But you will never find out your real options unless you contact us. Is it so important for you to pay money you don’t have to pay for bills you incurred a long time ago that you have already paid for at least twice, including the interest charges? Or is it more important for you to consult with someone who might be able to give you a recommendation based on his or her experience with these situations? Your choice.