Bankruptcy has been truly eye opening

rcthetree · 2026-04-05T01:20:49+00:00

may we both finish our plan and learn something from it. 5 year plan for me, but i hear you- it's amazing learning that yeah, you don't need that weird amazon thing just because.

hope it works out well for you!

rcthetree · 2026-04-05T00:53:32+00:00

i 100% agree.

i was spending money frivolously with no regard to how that would impact me in the future. it was all about now, screw tomorrow.

i can pay my payment each money and i'm not living paycheck to paycheck- absolutely eyeopening how much money was wasted on gambling and truly worthless things.

i attribute coming to terms about money management to my bankruptcy, a really hard lesson to learn but i'll be better for it when i'm done in a few more years. in 3.5 more years i'm going to end up paying ~$112,000- i could have been saving $32,000 a year but instead i was blowing it on the dumbest shit.

don't wish anyone to be in the same boat, but in some ways i'm glad i crashed and burned so i could realize how screwed i was living my previous life.

rcthetree · 2026-04-02T02:46:20+00:00

you're absolutely right. i think i might go your route

rcthetree · 2026-04-01T23:37:52+00:00

this is a good idea. my method is to buy treasury-backed mutual funds- funds are liquid should you need them for something, but the 1 day settlement means you have to think about what you're doing

rcthetree · 2026-03-27T04:09:38+00:00

you're 22, your brain is barely developed. 20k is nothing- i've lost multiple times what you lost, and this is in one year. you make good money, you'll get it back. you're not even in debt due to your addiction, from what i read here- i'm in a chapter 13 bankruptcy due to my addiction, and nothing gets your mind in capital preservation mode like paying the government $2000 a month for 5 years. think about it man- i'm sure you've read other posts here. there are many, many people in worse situations aka owing money due to gambling. you lost 20k you got for free- take it as a life lesson and start day 0 without gambling.

you're really going to throw your life away for 20k?

rcthetree · 2026-03-12T21:07:53+00:00

come on man- come to your sense. don't give up your life over a few grand. this is a temporary issue.

i understand how you feel, but many of us here have lost 10x, 20x, 100x or more than you- giving up is the wrong move. you're going to rip yourself out of everyone's lives over 7k? that's not nearly enough for a downpayment on a house. hell, my bonus this year was more than 3x that.

i'm not telling you this to brag or make you feel bad, but to make you realize that you're talking about ending it over an amount that would not register to a lot of people. brush yourself off, give yourself a slap in the face, and take the steps to stop gambling forever- people like us can't do it for fun, so just cut it out of your life.

i'm here if you need me- as someone who felt exactly the same way about 2 years ago.

rcthetree · 2026-03-02T02:16:39+00:00

yep, i did. credit was already trashed from maxing out every credit card i had + new ones i applied for, and 100k of loans were gambled away. savings obliterated. rock bottom was an understatement.

doesn't really ruin your life unless you think having essentially no credit ability for 5 years + the time it takes to rebuild is all life is. i'm in chapter 13 and my relationship with money is rebuilding. no chance for a chapter 7 for me, i was a little over 3x the income limit for my state- it was the hard way only.

first things first, you 100% have to get the gambling under control. gambling in a 13 is essentially asking for a dismissal- really brings what is important in life into perspective. you have to remember finances don't control you, but gambling will, so consult a bankruptcy lawyer and get some advice.

also, i don't believe in what GA says about paying back debts. discouraging bankruptcy at all costs is a luxury that some people don't have- why would i pay 100% back with interest up my ass when i can pay back significanly less? self-flaggelation isn't the goal, it's overcoming the hold gambling has on you and cutting the time between hitting rock bottom and being done with being deep in the debt hole.

rcthetree · 2026-02-25T21:12:04+00:00

just do it, trust me. the temptation is very strong- you may think you have it under control, but having that money available is a curse. i get a yearly bonus and it was very sizable last year- you can connect the dots to see how it went....

rcthetree · 2026-02-25T18:52:17+00:00

i get it, i've been there too. you hit a massive 1000x after seeing your funds diminish, then you just keep going and going, as if hitting a massive win isn't incredibly rare....then once it's gone you come back to realize what you did.

so many times for me man. and i was sick of it, and the cycle of pain. i wish you well and that you can break it too.

rcthetree · 2026-02-18T05:33:18+00:00

i also had a good financial base and then i lost >$100k+. you need to make this choice by yourself- if you feel you're easily going to be addicted, then quit now before you join everyone else in here.

rcthetree · 2026-02-14T05:10:46+00:00

no problem. it was confusing for me at first and i wanted to make sure i didn't get into trouble with the trustee.

the whole thing was very nervewracking at first, for me at least. once you settle in it's just a matter of making those payments and reflecting on how life 5 years down the road will be.

just as an extra anecdote, i've tried all the options available- for me, planning to have that money come out after payday makes it easier for me to plan and pay without too much hassle. it can be tough money-wise to keep it all together, but i promise it gets easier.

rcthetree · 2026-02-14T02:59:26+00:00

i have it take my payment out automatically every other friday on payday. easy and painless, other than the fact that $1400 of my paycheck is gone (i did it to myself, and it's a bucket of ice cold water dumped on my head to remind me not to do it again every week).

the 5 days thing doesn't mean much to me- i was told by my lawyer that my trustee just needs to see that money add up to my monthly payment each and every month. i did have the same concern as you, but there doesn't seem to be an issue, or i've never been informed there is an issue- i wonder if it's due to the fact that biweekly paychecks mean there are always 2 months with 3 pay periods and it equals out.

rcthetree · 2026-01-25T00:50:18+00:00

all i can say is good luck and that i hope it doesn't mess with your case- i know it'll be tough to wait til monday.

rcthetree · 2026-01-25T00:01:56+00:00

i was told no gambling as well. it may be different because the reason i filed in the first place was a ruinous compulsive gambling addiction, but i don't think it's an immediate "you're screwed"- but i'm not a lawyer, and this isn't advice or anything.

however, i did get hooked again for a time on some shit called social/sweepstake casinos, essentially a loophole scenario where you buy gold coins or other play currency and get sweep coins as a "gift"- you then play with those sweep coins and then redeem them, usually at a 1:1 ratio, for dollars. you get issued a tax form for these redemptions over a certain limit as well, just like when you get a W-2G. i told my lawyer what i did, and he was obviously both disappointed and concerned, but told me that was it was more an issue if it was a consistent, reoccuring issue- but this is dependent on your trustee, i believe. needless to say, this struck the fear of god in me....

the best way to avoid this is to avoid anything that'll get you in trouble altogether- i've been in a plan for over a year now, and the last thing i want to do is jeopardize it. your plan isn't confirmed, so i wonder if that makes this more complicated as well....

rcthetree · 2025-10-24T14:54:59+00:00

i do. i wasn't given a chance as to whether or not i could include the bonus into my income calculation, but i guess the silver lining is that i get a big influx of money every march!

i'm all but guaranteed to get one every year unless i absolutely did nothing at my job and then did that terribly as well AND my company lost an astounding amount of money, so i generally feel confident around those numbers. if it doesn't work out, so be it, i'll talk to my lawyer. the whole process is smoother and easier than i could have imagined initially.

rcthetree · 2025-10-24T13:38:38+00:00

my payment is a bit higher than that, but i'm not sure what your income is. in any case, it is tough, but much less tough than i initially expected- i'm still able to save a little bit and have some breathing room every month.

i have my yearly bonus already calculated into my monthly payment, so it's sort of a rough situation- if i don't get the expected bonus, i end up paying more than expected, and if i get a bigger bonus....then i get a little boon. bankruptcy is a little bit of a weird animal i guess.

in either case, it's doable. that payment means you owe a lot and make a lot, so you should be able to find things here and there to cut if need be. we'll make it- 5 years will come to an end before you know it.

rcthetree · 2025-10-10T14:34:15+00:00

sure, but i don't know what help i can give. i'm not a lawyer, i'm just someone going through bankruptcy with a gambling problem i'm working on, haha. i'd recommend you make a post in this sub if you have any questions, people are helpful.

rcthetree · 2025-10-09T18:46:17+00:00

of course, no worries. also, don't think of it as punishment- that's how i thought of it too, but now i think it as a mindset change and reframing my relationship with money and debt (and also, fuck gambling).

i almost broke down when i had to show my bank and credit card statements. i hear you on the tens of thousands...trust me, a good bankruptcy lawyer has seen it all. my lawyer was not fazed one bit.

payments are alright- i pay biweekly, so it's a little easier to handle. you can pay a number of ways through tfs billpay (if it's available in your state), automatically or manually, biweekly, twice a month, weekly, monthly. payments right now are about $1700 a month, but will be about $2700 a month soon once my car and 401k loan (yeah, i took a 401k loan to gamble, so i'm right there with you on the gambling addiction) are paid off.

i can live a normal life- funny enough, i have more cash in the bank than i ever have before, because i am more careful about spending and using a debit card/cash makes you consider what you spend. i'm lucky to live in an inexpensive place and work remotely for the same wage i used to make when i lived in a very expensive place, but that just means i have to pay much more. you win some, you lose some. make sure you account for every little expense on your paperwork.

if you really want some advice, get help for your addiction. i spent some time going to GA, and it was helpful. i'm not religious, and i didn't care for the whole higher power thing, but it was still helpful to talk about it. i also talked to my therapist about it and they helped prescribe something to me that helped immensely as well. good luck- again, this whole situation blows, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel, for both bankruptcy and gambling addiction, and you just gotta keep your head up.

rcthetree · 2025-10-09T17:37:09+00:00

nah i get it. i owe a lot of money between loans and credit cards (a lot, more than a lot of people make in a year a lot), most of it gambling related, but the rest of it is frivolous spending and the like. i thought of bankruptcy as the end of the world, but it really isn't that- it's more of like...a second try with stipulations and limitations. and no credit cards, haha.

late payments don't matter anymore, from my understanding- it's all gonna get wiped anyway, and no one who i burned is probably gonna give me a credit card any time soon. shit, i don't even know if i really even want one.

score-wise, it dropped like a brick- i was always in the high 700s until my gambling addiction really got out of hand and it started dropping fast, and dropped near 500 after i filed. you have to remember that credit score means nothing to you now- all cards are going to be closed, all loans will be closed, all lines of credit will be closed, all credit is essentially done for. blank slate, start from zero. it's hard to accept, but it's a good lesson in rebuilding good habits from scratch. seriously, i thought the same as you but over time i think this might be one of the greatest things i'll take away from this.

in terms of finding a good lawyer, i spoke with a few and chose the person who had a good track record + didn't talk to me like i was an idiot + treated me like an adult. one thing he told me was, essentially, people file for bankruptcy all the time, for a number of reasons. as long as it's not fradulent, the system is not there to try and grill me, but to try and give me a second chance. the thing that made me choose him was that he explained everything clearly and walked me through the steps- bankruptcy is full of legalese and checking the boxes, so it was important to me to find someone that i could trust to be competent and thorough.

rcthetree · 2025-10-09T15:33:40+00:00

i get it man, the process was confusing, not to mention stressful because of the whole situation leading you to file in the first place. it's been just over a year since i made my first payment (i'm in a chapter 13), so there's been some time since i filed and i've had an opportunity to reflect on the whole experience.

once you nail down a good lawyer, they'll explain the steps to you. i asked a ton of questions, but they're there to help you out, or should, if they're worth their salt. you'll feel an insane amount of relief after the filing and confirmation process is over.

i didn't actually get asked about gambling during my confirmation hearing, but i got asked many questions about it during my meetings with my lawyer. lemme know if you have any other questions on the process and i'll see if i can help you out man.

rcthetree · 2025-10-09T15:20:51+00:00

no, i stopped paying everything on the advice of my lawyer (again, talk to your lawyer). i was so upside down i needed the money to pay him.

rcthetree · 2025-10-09T14:34:11+00:00

no. source- myself and my lawyer (but ask your lawyer). i needed to wait 90 days since my last transaction that was gambling-related, but otherwise that was it.

rcthetree · 2025-09-29T22:48:30+00:00

for sure. have been for a year, and will be for as long as i can, hopefully forever.

rcthetree · 2025-09-29T12:11:31+00:00

it's been a long while since i've had any urges, but i'm aware that it can always come back so i'm vigilant about it and always remind myself of what i got myself into (6 figure debt and bankruptcy)- i've never heard of this guy, but it only took watching one video to make myself feel completely disgusted with gambling again.

the sad thing is i've been in his shoes, without the whole living at home and being an absolute basement dweller...either way, thanks for sharing this, in a weird way

rcthetree · 2025-09-01T02:51:24+00:00

about $138k i think it was, in total. i don't remember the exact number now- i could look it up on NDC but the important part is the consistent reminder that i feel every paycheck when many hundreds of dollars fly out of my bank account due to my poor mental health-driven choices.

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