Done

It's done.  We are officially the 44,936th bankruptcy case in our district.

This is going to sound really bad...but I'm SO glad.  Don't get me wrong...I'm sad that things got to this point.  I'm upset that we weren't in a better position to pay back our debts.  We tried.  We were on a consolidation plan for the last 12 months.  We cut back everywhere we could.  We just weren't able to make ends meet anymore.  Our savings is gone and we have to do what's best for our family.  Unfortunately, this was our best option.  We don't have any equity in our house, so our home is exempt.  Our cars are all old (1997 & 2005), so they are exempt.  We own nothing of value that our attorney believes the trustees would make us sell.   It was sad to see the state of our finances all on paper.  Our "means" test gave us $11 a month in disposable income.  But I'm happy that we will be able to start with a clean slate.  It's a huge stressor that's been lifted.  Obviously, we still need to meet with the trustee and wait for the discharge, but the phone calls will stop.  The letters will stop.  Maybe I can sleep at night again.