What will happen if I just stop paying credit card bills?

I work as a waitress for last two years ($2.13 per hour). Tips are not reliable as most people in the place I work get less than 10%. The problem is, I have been having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul for the last 2 years because of this. So now I have emassed over $40,000 debt, which is all just basically living expenses. I had one lawyer tell me just to simply stop paying the bills. But I was always scared to do this. I own a house which is not worth more than $50,000. The house is currently for sale. I have a fairly decent car worth about $7,000, but very high mileage. I considered selling it but if I do i will have no way to get to work. I live in Southern Indiana in the middle of nowhere and have to drive 30 miles to get to the nearest place to work. So I thought to leave the area and go stay with a friend in Florida because I think my chances of finding a better paying waitress job will be better there. What will happen if I do just stop paying the bills?

Answers:
Ouch. Did the lawyer say anything about filing personal bankruptcy? Get help now to put an end to it legally. It will haunt you for another 10 years if you don't. The sooner you get this dealt with, the sooner you can move forward without looking over your shoulder. Find a bankruptcy lawyer in your area today and have a conversation. Good luck.
Sometimes they just hound the hell out of you and never sue you, and other times they go all out and come after you. It just depends on your factors, and if they think they can get the money from you. I had a friend quit paying on a 5000 dollar credit card and almost got sued and another who had over 15000 and never even got taken to court. It is a big gamble and will ruin your credit for sure.
you will have to change your name because you will no longer be anything to do with common sense j/k

i would NOT stop paying my credit cards.. they are going to send it to collections and start calling you all the time and sending letters.. they will also submit the information about you not paying to the credit bureaus, thus ruining your credit and it will take you years to fix it.. try the florida thing before you stop paying the credit cards..
Nothing will happen. Stop paying those bastards. When they start calling you send them a certified letter telling them not to call you and they are required to stop.

Depending on which state you live in they could get a judgement against you. They could potentially garnish your wages but with your income that is unlikely. Check at www.creditboards.com in the forum section for the rules in your state. You'll also want to check the statute of limitations for your state to see how long the creditor has to collect the debt.
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You'll go to jail where some big ugly woman is gonna call you Lollipop.
i would definitely NOT stop paying your credit cards, if you're worried about your credit now or are having problems with it now, stopping paying will just make things worse. I totally understand about debt kind of consuming you and there seems to be just no way out. I would seek out some of those consumer credit repair places, also put in writing and keep copies of letters you could write to those you are in debt to (even if it is your credit card companies) and just tell them you are in a very bad situation and see if they can lower your minimum payment, that way you are still paying them something.

Sometimes the gas and electric companies offer financial assistance for those who cannot afford to pay (at least i've heard of that here on the east coast).

Don't sell your car, its an asset and seemingly required for you to be able to work. If you are selling your house, hopefully you can get a little bit of money to help pay down your debt.

Is there anyone at work who would needs a place to rent, even if you could rent a room out for a couple of hundred dollars that might help.

But please don't stop paying your bills, they'll go to collections and if you end up in a new state, your credit history will travel with you and your "new start" will be stressful because you'll have credit problems.

I hope it works out for you.

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