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Originally posted by bellejane

Went bankrupt on Wednesday 20th August. What a day. As I sat looking out the courtroom doors waiting for a judgement it rained heavily outside, matching my sombre mood. I couldn't find the courthouse at first but i think the walk around helped to settle my nerves a little.

I arrived at 9.15 as requested. There was a first-come, first-serve system so I was glad that i arrived slightly earlier. At 9.30, I was called into small private office with a counter. The man at the counter went through my form with me and helped in any areas i was unsure. He then told me to wait outside in the hall while he went through two other claims he had that day. It took 15 minutes to check the form for omissions and errors and everyone was asked to sit in the hall and wait for the judge to be free from his cases. We were warned that it could take a long time. It was deadly quiet in the waiting area. No magazines, no music. Just worry and for the lady next to me, dread. The man behind the counter told her she'd not filled in the form properly with CAB and it may not be approved. Another man turned up without any papers and was sent home. I was glad that the lady next to me was down to earth and going through the same thing.She had sensibly bought magazines which helped pass the time. The judge was finally free to sign our papers at 11.35 and we were able to leave at 12pm. I was exhausted. And hungry. But I must say, 2 days later, I'm finally beginning to feel the wait of the debt problems come off my shoulders. It is so freeing to be able to hand over your problems and the dead weight of debt to someone else. I felt free to actually play with my 2 year old this morning and laugh again. I saw the council this morning about re-housing and that went well too. People have been more supportive and less judgemental (including credit card companies) than I could ever imagine. They definitely take bankruptcy more seriously and it stops them in there tracks. No point bullying and harrassing you anymore. Thank God.

I have a telephone meeting with the official receiver on Thursday at 2pm. Hopefully my last hurdle but I'm still very nervous about it. I worry that he will ask me to pay more to cover the debt or take away essential things I need (ie sofa, car). With a 2 year old and one income I feel I can just about cope now that the debt has gone. And it would take a long time to save and replace any large items of expenditure they may take.

Feel like I'm treading on eggshells but I just try to take one step forward at a time knowing this has got to be better than where I was before I finally went bankrupt. I feel I've finally done something to change my life for the better at last. And the life of my child. He will be 8 when my credit records improve (6yrs). At least his formative years won't be about his mum and debt. It'll be about his mum, him and a life we can afford.

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