Hello all,

I'm so glad I found this forum. I don't feel so alone now and it helps to know that others have survived tough financial situations like these.

My story is simple. I used to have a great job, owned my home and car, and had an excellent credit rating. I have always worked hard and have never taken one penny from the government. I was definitely a contributing member of society and did not live beyond my means. In other words, money management was never an issue.

Well, life can take some crazy twists and turns sometimes. After a back injury in 2002 and my own foolish pride in not wanting to go on any type of disability (or perhaps just not wanting to face that I was unable to work), I sold my house and rented an apartment. For years, I lived off my savings, hoping to return to work one day.

A number of years went by, but I still was unable to commute to an office, so I decided to start a home-based business. It's finally starting to show signs of success, but it's much too little too late.

For the past couple of years, I've been living mostly on credit. I currently owe about $52K (lines of credit/credit cards) and my income, while growing, is not enough to meet the monthly payments ($700) and keep a roof over my head.

As fate would have it, I met the love of my life and moved in with him less than a year ago. Together, we were able to start making progress on repaying my debt and his debt, and my business was really growing.

He died last week and his estate has no assets and he had no life insurance. His house will be sold and divided amongst his children. I now need a place to live. I need funds to run my business. I will likely also need to apply for social assistance at least temporarily.

Most of all, with the grief of losing him, I can barely think straight about what will become of my future. There doesn't even seem to be a chance to mourn his loss because I have the very urgent need to relocate and make a decent living.

I know there is no shame in bankruptcy because sometimes there just are circumstances that even the most financially secure person can have a difficult time overcoming. My biggest fear, though, is that I won't be able to continue growing my business after bankruptcy.

Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this and was able to successfully start over? Any words of encouragement or advice would be so very much appreciated.

Thanks!
 

Hi Wendy,

Thanks so much for your comforting words. Yes, I have submitted a contact request on this site, so hopefully someone will be able get back to me next week. It's difficult to know which direction one should take unless they receive expert advice first.

I will definitely keep you posted!

Thanks again.

Thank you so much for your kind words, Victor!

Well, I never did get a contact back from this site (I sent my request online), so perhaps I'll try again.

I did manage to find a full-time telecommuting job working from home, so at least now I won't have to worry about investing more money into my business. In this economy, I just couldn't find enough clients. The new job doesn't pay a whole lot, but it is steady and it will cover my expenses if I am careful. I am also hoping that once I find a place to live (perhaps sharing a place with my older son), I will have enough left to repay my debts over time.

It's funny because it seems as if my lost partner has been acting as sort of a guardian angel in all of this! Each time I become frightened or worried about the next step, I just pray for his guidance and somehow I make it. I know it's thanks to his presence in my heart and my faith that he's still here helping me overcome.

So now that I have a full-time job starting next week, I am going to talk to my creditors again and see what we can do. Perhaps for a little while, they'll be okay with whatever I can give them until I can get on a more regular schedule. I have applied for temporary social assistance to help me with moving costs, etc., so I hope that will come through soon.

Unfortunately, staying here is not an option, as one of the family members has decided to purchase the house, and he already has someone to live in the basement.

In any case, I wll keep you all posted on my journey. Coming here was my first attempt at reaching out, and I am so glad that I did!

Thanks again!

Marietta

Hi Victor,

Yes, faith is what keeps us all going, I think!

I was a virtual assistant specializing in transcription and proofreading. It's great when there's a lot of work, but some months are pretty lean and I need something steadier and more reliable.

At the same time, to supplement my new full-time income, I have decided to take on transcription work from time to time, as long as I can do it on the weekend or in the evenings. Hopefully, that will pay of my debts quicker!

Again, thanks so much for listening. It can get pretty lonely here in financial hell, but folks like you make it so much easier. I am definitely determined to come out a winner ... or at least not go down without a fight!

M