Filing Bankruptcy

Even though GA does not reccomend filing bankruptcy I am. I tried through a debt consolidation company to pay my debts off for a year and a half at a monthly rate that was equal to my rent. They were ripping me off in that they were letting my cards just charge off versus making payment to them. I ended up having to pay taxes on those cards. They paid off a few. I am in so much debt now I refuse to carry that burden anymore. I went to the courthouse today and filed. I went to court twice. The bank twice. Finding out on top of the debtors course I took as mandatory to file bankruptcy I now have to take another one too. I was all prepared with 70 pages of filled out paperwork. I had to go to court twice as bankruptcy court moved to another location and the old location is still in Google maps. Then the money that is listed due on filing has changed to a higher rate so off to the bank twice.First before court than after.I was all prepared and yet everything was to be repeated. Park; pay parking meter; turn around find new court ; pay parking meter again. Take a 50$ course to be told I now have to take another one too at 50$. Then yatah yatah. I am really angry today. I hate it when I am all prepared and then the world and forces that be are at their greedy best and disorganized. Why does GA suggest not filing bankruptcy?

I think it's because our problem is not money . It's not about the debt .

I've had bail-outs in the past from friends and family and as soon as my financial crisis was fixed , my addiction went " Problem solved ! The debt wasn't that big of a deal - there's always a way out of it if you look hard enough . You shouldn't have been so concerned . You can still gamble , just don't let it get out of control like before . The gambling wasn't the issue - losing control / betting too much / playing too often was . But you have a fresh start now and if you play smart , you can make up for all those losses . You won't get into the same jam this time but even if you do , you have resources to get out of it . "

Of course , that thinking didn't happen immediately . It crept in over the course of a few weeks , after the relief of having my debt effectively erased subsided .

There's no shame in filing for bankrupcy . You know what's best for you in your personal situation and you're not the first nor will you be the last person here to do it . But please be on guard . The addiction is still very much alive and you are giving it a " Get out of jail free " card . It's going to try to use that to it advantage .

What NSR said is true. Many of us believe that if we solved the money issue, our gambling problem would not exist anymore. That is perhaps because many of us have been chasing for so long that once we think that we have reached our 'goal' of breaking even and getting our money back, we think we will stop, but sadly that is not true.
I have encountered two people to have filled for bankruptcy due to gambling problems. They wanted a clean slate and thought that it was the best recourse. It halted their gambling for a while, but a few weeks down the road, they were right back into gambling. One of those individuals filled for bankruptcy a second time a couple years down the road. I am not sure what the rules in your country are, but in Canada, the first bankruptcy stays on your credit file for 7 years and I think the second one is permanent.
GA is against bailout and I can see why, but honestly, if what I make was less than the interest on my debt and there was no way I could ever pay it, I would declare bankruptcy also.

oh. I don't feel that way. I don't have a desire to gamble. At all. Quite the contrary. Thank goodness for bankruptcy versus being a slave to debt for years and years. Huge debt but I made more than the interest on my debt.

I guess you have thought this through and it must have been a very hard decision for you. Out of curiosity, did you also look at a Consumer Proposal as an option? (lots of pro versus bankruptcy, but it does have limitations)

The debt refi company I paid 700$ a month for for 2 years tried with a few of the big ones and the cc companies were not willing to budge. Now that I fired that refi company one cc company is making offers. I am not interested in making offers because for two years the refi company tried to make a deal. I had to pay taxes on a few of my cards. I paid huge money for almost two years. I am not interested in their offers and I am making no offers.