My credit has been trashed by me making some dumb decisions, and I'm working with a debt settlement company. A few of the debtors are unwilling to negotiate with the debt settlers and are threatening me with judgments. I'm at the point where I have done all I can do and it doesn't seem to be making much of a difference if I pay or not. It also looks like most of the settlements that have been finalized are still going to be reporting negatively on my credit for 7 years, which is apparently the same amount of time a bankruptcy lasts. I want to play fair and continue with payments, but when people start to get greedy like this I am ready to just stop caring.
With this in mind, it makes me wonder if bankruptcy is a better option, but I have no idea what the pros and cons are of either. I would prefer the option that will give me the most peace of mind and allow me to start saving money as soon as possible. I don't plan on ever using credit again.
edit* Some specific info about my situation, although an answer of pros and cons in general for bankruptcy are all I am really looking for: 25 years old, single, 8k revolving debt, 18k car debt, 15k student debt, and I own a home with a 1280 mortgage payment. I got into this situation because it took me a long time to find a job and things stacked up simultaneously, but now I make 62k annual.