I am currently buried in personal student loans( around 45k with fees accumulating) and approaching default at 150 days late. I realize In Florida they can garnish my wages. I also have several credit cards that are not feasible for me to pay. Collectors are calling from each end. I had to file chapter 7 in 2005 after a fall off my roof after our hurricanes trying to tarp the holes, where I missed around 5 months of work, and I have had trouble working steadily as a full-time waiter at a popular Orlando destination ever since. It is a profitable server job(50k), but I just can't work the full week because of my pain, and my job call off days are protected by the family medical leave act, which those are dwindling.. I may face surgery before too long, but am trying to work and put it off as back surgery percentages are not real high on the successs list, and my only skill I serving that is profitable.. I also cannot continue school as it is more painful to sit as a court reporter all day( what I was going to school for/ than it is too wait tables), I will also have federal student loans come due this march, which I intend to pay on time. I just cannot afford the larger personal ones, which I have made about 6 payments trying to keep them from defaulting. I feel as if it is a waste of time, because eventually I will have a bad week where I miss a week or two in a row, and I would fall into default at that time! There are 4 or 5 personal student loans coming after me, not inculding the cc's which are all closed for non-payment with escalated fees, and percentage rates.
I am just curious if each loan can take the 25% of my net check or is it a lump sum scenario of what I owe all the loans to?My pay fluctutaes each week as a waiter. Also, should I enter into a credit card debt program to help me(ccc)? Please help in Orlando...

No the 25 max is for all, normally the first one to file will get that.

Also normally the student loans will not be allowed to be discharged in a bankrutpcy, so even if you file, most likely you will still owe the student loan debts.

Also have you looked for some accomidations for your disability for a court reporter, perhaps a automatic seat that shifts your weight, and one that also lifts, so you will be at a partical stand and then latter sitting.

Thanks for your answer. My lawyer referred me to a reputable company called debt settlements of america. It is based in dallas, and it has a good standing with the bbb. I spoke with a highly trained person who knew all about this situation. I knew I could not discharge any of the debts in th bankruptcy two years ago. Only if you are considered disabled and cannot work at all. Which I am not, and pray to never be.

Anyway, The debt conselor said I was lucky to live in Florida.They are not allowed to garnish by law on the personal loans, since they are unsecured debts.It is one of like five states she said that the personal loans cannot be garnished on.She said they would threaten me on doing it though, but told me the article number(think that is what it is called, in the Florida laws), to tell them about and they would back off. They can on the federally backed student loans though. I will be ready to assume those payments, which are under 200/month, and start this march/ April, I believe. She is working out a plan I can afford so I can pay off the credit cards and personal loans though, something I can probably do myself, but I tried already on one credit card, and they wanted around 600 more bucks on that card, then what she got them down to, so it might be best to use this company. Still, the payment is about 200 bucks more than I can afford that she has come up with for all my unsecured debts, and that includes all my personal student loans and credit cards. She is working on getting lower at this time... OR since my credit is trashed from the bankruptcy, would it just be better to let these loans go, and pay what I can when I can? I realize this debt company is in the business on lowering the payments, still stands to proabaly make some profit, so she didn't think that was a wise idea to let them go..!. Maybe I should just use them for the credit cards, and handle the pesonal, unsecured student loans myself, the way I stated above? What do you think on this? Thanks again...