My husband and I have Been married for 25 years,and over the years,we have 42,000 in charge card debt.?

We have outstanding, credit, but are sick and tired of robbing peter to pay paul (saying) not being able to go on any vacations, because we pay about 1,000 dollars a month just in charge cards. Should we file for bankruptcy??? thanks :)
Additional Details
The 2 of us are both working, We own a house but not much equity, we have outstanding credit. Some of my friends have got it and now they can get a house in just a couple of years. we are considering chapter 7 or 13. help?

you have to discuss all of it with a bankruptcy attorney. ask for references. or call your local bar association. this is really important, because your question doesn't give enough information. for example, you don't say whether you have an existing mortgage on your house, which could come into play, or may not. it depends on the type of BK you file for, and only a good bankruptcy attorney is going to be able to look at your situation and give you proper guidance.

i hate bankruptcy. chapter 7 is when you want to eliminate all credit card debts and chapter 13 is for a reorganization of them. if anything, only if i had to go BK, i'd personally choose chapter 13. that should put your creditors all into one "bill," that you pay each month.

this damned country, all of us including uncle sam, are living on credit. it creeps up on you. i know many people that went BK and then a year later capital one offers you a limited credit card with astronomical interest (APR). you take it, you begin to use it to buy those things you think you cannot live without, and there you start the same vicious circle over again. but remember: you can only go BK once each 7 years. so, where will you end up? in the same bind?

you may have to forgo vacations until you are caught up, or you may just have to tent it for a few years.

why don't you ask yourselves a question each and every time you want to buy something. ask: MUST we have this? well, do you? there are highly few occasions that you might find something you are absolutely in love with that is totally unique (art, for example) that you are certain you would never see again and it's just perfect for you. in that case you should buy it, but hopefully with cash. maybe not. but generally, the things that we buy are things that we do not really need. like, why buy the newest iPod? isn't the one you have already good enough? tell your kids that it's time that the belt in the household is buckled tightly and they won't get all the newest, latest and greatest things they want anymore, only necessities. i think kids are awfully spoiled these days, based on what i see my grandchildren get, but they are not getting the one thing that they need most, which is TIME with the folks, and that's because they are working so many hours a week to keep up with the joneses that they are literally and entirely exhausted when they do get home.

think this way: what if one of you loses your job? how will you make your mortgage payments, put food on the table, get shoes for all, buy gasoline? think basic survival these days. go to thrift stores. go to yahoo groups under your screen name, look up "recycling," then join the freecycle program for your community. give away (oh, it feels soooooo good to unload) all the "things" in the attic and basement. look every day for things you NEED. don't make it a full time job, but this is the way many people are getting by these days while saving land from being filled with items that have some use left in them: giving them away.

ask yourself if this idea for bankruptcy is a whim or an absolute necessity. if the latter, see an attorney specializing for at least 2 years in only BK.

i'd try to avoid it.

EDIT: if you choose financial counseling, watch out for the ones on TV: who cares if they are not for profit? they will mess your accounts up so badly you won't know which way to look. a state run financial counseling group is always better if you have one.

else, for instance, lately i looked into the interest rates that i pay, how much i pay each month on each bill, and i did a spreadsheet to see how i could pay some creditors off faster than others and its ramifications in the long run. i also called a couple of my credit card companies and negotiated both a merger of two cards into one, at a way lower interest rate with no membership fees and no frills either. i also used some really cheap (5%) balance transfer offers to take the high interest bills and pay them off in full. you can talk to your creditors very effectively if you are patient with them and realize that they are just as human as are you and i. give them friendliness and respect. you gain more with a little honey than with vinegar. THIS WORLD!!!

wow! i thought I had financial problems. That's definatley a seirous issue. I think you need to take a step back and analyze yourself. Look at all your assets. Do you own a home, property, etc. How much do you have in savings? If you have assets get rid of them and get rid of your credit debt. If that's not possible then bankruptcy is really ur only option. I'm not a pro so I def suggest you get some real advice

Get a loan and use it to pay off your debt. Then tear up all but one credit card.

Maybe.

But first I would suggest seeing if there's a way you could consolidate that credit card debt into one loan with lower interest and just make a payment on that monthly (and stop using charge cards). Maybe there are a few other things you could cut out of your budget if you think about it (cell phones? cable TV? A car you could live without?) so that you could have a little more spare cash and/or pay the debt off faster.

Manage it out. Small payments at a time and soon it will be payed off.=)

Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 to 13 years.
If you are willing to go without any other cards, do not plan on getting a mortgage or refinancing a mortgage or applying for student loans than YES it will help you greatly
There are some things they my even be forgiven
Managing it out like someone suggested will not help because of the interest that accrues on your debits,
If you send the minimum you will NEVER pay it off

You may or may not have a reasonable bankruptcy case Depending on other circumstances such as what your assets are that you want to protect and what your income is. However as another answered noted that this stays on your credit record for 10+ yrs. If you are now able to make payments of $1000 a mo then a visit to consumer credit counseling would be the first step. First bec credit counseling is required under before fling under current bankruptcy laws and because there may be a way to get this mess paid off and start saving some for retirement

CCC will ask you to look at what you are spending now and what can be cut back. They will also tell you to stop charging and get rid of your credit cards. In some cases they may recommend keeping open 1 or 2 for real emergencies.

You will find that bankruptcy laws have changed significantly in the last 2-3 yrs and you may well have to do a wage earner plan which means full or partial repayment of all secured debts and some unsecured ones as well as high fees to you.

A better alternative may be to talk with a lawyer or look into a legal services plan. We and some other folks we know have Prepaid Legal and they have been able to get some things settled, rates lowered, late payments put on the end of a loan etc. It costs me less than $1 a day and so far has saved me well over $5000 in the last yr some of which was debt related problems. You can check out the plan we have at http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/caringhand0

Another option that may be viable is increasing income. That could mean a short term second job but there may be a better way. Many people find that a low investment home based business is a way to help with massive debt. This works for them because of the extra income of course but also because of the additional deductions they can take on income tax. Even an extra $200-500 a month could help you pay down bills not just make minimum payments and one or 2 months that money could go for a vacation or other treat. Or you could turn out to be one who works hard and smart on a home business and makes more doing that part time than your job pays full time. This may be a better alternative than bankruptcy but be sure the business is one that you can and will work at and one where you either have a skill or have a strong parent company behind you. Beware of start ups and no money down no work required scams.

Well here is the thing unless you find a money expert on yahoo to give you the right advice you need is like finding a needle in a hay stack.

You have major debt and depends on how old you are you might not want to file bankruptcy because even after the 10 years is up it will still effect you,

Is the credit card 1,000 min monthly payment?

If this is the case you might want to do some research on a financial adviser to help you guide your way..

in the mean time some books has helped me a great deal and i know many people don't like her but she gives to you point blank is Susie Orman..I have one of her books and I can not begin to tell you the things I never knew..

Good Luck to you just don't jump on the whole bankruptcy thing just yet..trust me i have been there before

1st I would check your APR on your monthly statements to see what it is.
If it's Over 17.99%, I would call the CC & ask them to reduce your APR. If you've kept on top of making the monthly payments to them & your credit rating isnt too bad, they'll usually drop your APR.
If they wont drop it, then you may want to consider consolidation.
Bankruptcy is a last resort. Just because you file for it, doesnt mean that it can get you out of paying that debt to each Credit Card company. They can still show up at court & tell the Judge that they want their money & if it's a big enough $$$ amount, the judge will usually let them carry over the bad debt after the bankruptcy has gone thru.
So I'd really sit down & try for getting the APRs lowered or consolidating everything into 1 monthly bill. It's usually cheaper to do this. & should save you a few bucks.

I would say at this stage it's too late for credit rescue so yes, I would go with bankruptcy. It's not the perfect solution it used to be, but it will lighten your load.

Only one thing. Get some financial counseling of some kind to find out how you got in this mess. So many people survive bankruptcy and 6 months later they're back in the same mess. Don't let that happen to you. Find out why you let yourselves get so deep in debt. You sound like intelligent people, don't let this happen to you again.

Good luck and good wishes!

Do not file for bancuptcy because you can't use your credit for 10 years!!!....Try paying off a cedit cad one by one....since you have good credit try applying for agentcies that help you to be dept free or get a loan..... Also since you have "outstanding credit" filing for bankruptcies would be usless because it restore credit and helps.....

if it was me I would say NO!

GoOd LuCk :)

Going bankrupt can be done but you need to know that if you own a home and are paying a mortgage or own a car you will lose them. You will also lose your credit for 10 years. Believe it or not a credit card company will offer you credit right after you go bankrupt. Cut up the cards and stop using them. Go to a financial planner and see if they can help you. They can help you make a budget to get yourself on track. Bankruptcy laws have changed a lot and it isn't as easy to go bankrupt as having high debt. Stay away from anyone offering you a loan to pay off your debt they will only increase your burden.

what you should do is pay them off slowly take one that is paying lots of interest and try to pay off with new card and no interest for one year. if you have others with high insterest do that also. then start trying to pay one off with more then paymet has to be alot more then when its done start on anotehr one you can do it and then never do it again.

No, try to get the lowest interest and make a plan to pay it off. There are two of you and hopefully, you two are working (and not so sick that you cannot work). If you are unable to work bankruptcy is something you may have to consider.

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