My experience with bankruptcy came at a time when I thought I could handle it. I was paying the minimum every month, thinking I would be okay. Being a single mom and dealing with a disability that had taken me off work, I needed to know I had that credit card in case. What ended up happening was that the credit card was needed more than for “ in case.” I even surrendered my car thinking the monthly payments could go towards getting my credit card debt down.

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We were surviving, we had a roof over our heads, food on our table, and my kids were healthy; I recall when a neighbor brought over groceries because my youngest son had mentioned something to her daughter because they were friends. I was embarrassed, I didn’t want to take the help.

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My first time going to a Bankruptcy office, I sat in the chair opposite the lady, right away I felt I couldn’t do this. I felt like a loser, she asked for my credit card I thought, “What? I can’t give you that. What if I need it?!” I had no idea what the process was, and her getting right to the point of asking for my credit card scared me so much that I walked out. 

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The next time I decided to try, I called D. Thode & Associates Inc. Doug sat me down at this big table, not his desk, where he sat sort of beside me, which I thought was nice. He asked me questions; I explained through tears what was going on; I recall a specific question that changed my thinking: he asked me, “If your kid came up and asked to go to the movie with a friend, would you have $10/20 bucks to give them?” my answer was no. Doug asked it in such a way that wasn’t condescending and not to make feel guilty but to try to make me understand what was really important...my family.

This stuff happens to lots of people. He was here to help me. I remember feeling such a weight being lifted the moment I signed the papers.