If you are going to file bankruptsy, do not be paying any of your bills, except for those required to live on: rent, utilities, etc. Then save your money and hire a bankruptsy lawyer. Creditors will not begin to seek court action until at least 90 days on very large debts and years on smaller ones. This will buy you time to save money for an attorney. When the creditors call, ask them to not call you anymore and correspond via "snail mail". They will have to follow your request or you can report them for harrassment and file suit against them. Remember collection agencies can only contact you only Mon - Fri up until 9 p.m. If they contact you after 9 p.m. or on a Sunday, you can file a harrassment lawsuit. Creditors and collection agencies have rules they have to follow. I would advise you to obtain a credit report from all three reporting agencies before filing bankruptsy so that you will know exactly what you want to file on.