MasConcepts Incorporated

It took an entire extra month as my 60 days was supposed to be August 3rd, but my chapter 7 was finally discharged!

Thanks to this chat, I have already applied for a couple of credit cards a few months ago. Without this thread I wouldn’t have known I can do that before discharge. Available is $5000 and I have $1000 on one and $0 on another and keeping it that way. I kept one of my two vehicles as the other was under water by 50% so it wasn’t worth paying on. I keep paying the other vehicle and keeping a good relationship with that credit union to help keep building back up my credit.

My wife and I created budgets using excel, notes, and the Dollarwise app and so far so good.

Despite my chapter 7, I was offered a job in law enforcement last week for my dream job after articulating well why I did it (divorce) and expressing it is a legal way to get out of a tough situation and showing how I’m fixing the situation. It wasn’t a bad habit but a tough situation.

I’m also in the military and have a top secret clearance and was not reprimanded or anything. I just had to report the bankruptcy, provide documentation to my security office, provide explanations for why it happened and how I will avoid getting into the same situation in the future, and meet with a couple of people.

Before I start my position at my new job, I work in finance and am a certified financial counselor. This situation can happen to anyone. It wasn’t completely my fault, but I accepted full responsibility look forward to a great future.

I post this to say that I was very anxious and apprehensive about the situation and almost pulled back on my bankruptcy, but my attorney had already submitted the skeleton filing. At the end of the day it ended up being the best decision I made. As soon as the creditors stopped calling and my accounts were closed out and I was locked out of them, I felt a wave of calm. I started building the habits from that day and budgeting better to live within my means. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is nothing to be ashamed of. If you have any questions or just need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out.