What was your situation like leading up to filing?

In Missouri. I have a tendency to downplay my problems, and I’m considering bankruptcy but worried that I’m overreacting or not in enough of a pickle for it. Curious what everyone else’s experiences were.

For me, I made a lot of stupid financial decisions when I was 20 and had a well-paying job. I racked up some credit card debt, a personal loan and bought a nice(ish) used car. Then I lost my job during the pandemic, couldn’t pay rent and moved into a house my family owned. I worked for them for a little while, making about $1,000 a month, and then waitresses for a while. Then I spent the better part of a year unemployed, totaled that car to a deer and couldn’t get insurance to cover it, and had to buy a new one from a family member for about $600 a month.

I have a decent state job now that pays just below average, but I’m still paying for my new car and other debts that I recked up while I was unemployed and I can’t make any payments on the old stuff. I’ve been fighting to get my old car repossessed for a couple years so I could apply for debt counseling, but because I live in such a rural area I can’t get the repo people to communicate with me about pick up. I’m being sued for one of the smaller debts, and I’m at risk of losing my state job because of the taxes I owe for the time I worked for my family.

I’m worried that I’ll come across as just not wanting to pay my debts and if I were more frugal I could get out of this hole. I live paycheck to paycheck with no savings, but I do still have a place to live and a car and food for me and my dogs.

Is this a situation where filing would be the best move?