Post-Discharge Update

I have been so horrible at making regular updates that I can't remember when I wrote last, or, for that matter, what I wrote about. I could go back and check, but I just feel like writing as it comes to me...

I have a confession. This Bankruptcy thing hasn't been as emotional as I thought it was going to be. I imagined a drag-me-through-the-mud process where I felt like a complete loser and a worthless human being. Maybe it's because there has been so much other stuff going on - in our life, in the world, in politics, with the environment - that Bankruptcy is really nickels and dimes in the grand scheme of things.

So, our case was finally discharged about two or so months ago - a process that took about 15 months, maybe a smidgen longer. We have had a few events happen since the discharge that makes it feel as if we never declared Bankruptcy and are back to paying all of those debts. Every. Single. Month. It's almost like a nightmare, really. Even though the Bankruptcy is final and discharged, we are still a few paychecks away from being the next foreclosure victim. Each month the decision is not when to make the mortgage payment, but if we should, since that money would do well applied toward the many escalating costs we've had. Yes, it's almost that bad. Still!

On the amusing front of being discharged, we have begun getting mailings from local car dealerships that apparently 'specialize' in helping people just like us get into the car of their dreams! Some of the letters are even hand-written for a more sympathetic feel, even though the letter was photocopied and mass-mailed. I'm taking a wild guess here, but it would seem they are the 'ambulance chasers' of the Bankruptcy world. I used to work at personal injury law firm that made quite a living off of ambulance chasing, so I'd imagine there's money to be made from public Bankruptcy records as well. Scary. Our information is out there for anyone to see. I wonder just how much of our Bankruptcy case is public, or if it's just a list of recently discharged cases, complete with address information.