Ideally, wait until you are at least 2 years into the Chapter 13 process before considering a car loan. This will give you a better chance of getting approved. Bankruptcy trustees and credit lenders need to know that you fully understand your financial situation and have made the necessary adjustments to your purchasing patterns before they will sign off on a car loan. While this is ideal, if a car is absolutely necessary in order for you to generate income, proceeding with the loan approval process is the wisest course of action. Bankruptcy law does allow you to take on new debt while in the midst of a Chapter 13 re-payment plan, but it requires your Chapter 13 trustee as well as the court to authorize the new debt..  To do this, you will need to demonstrate that taking on the debt is necessary to help you stay on your repayment plan. For example, if you have no other reasonable way to get to work other than driving, you would likely be authorized to borrow money for a car. This is because the loan is necessary for you to continue with your repayment plan. You will also need to confirm that the debt payments are so substantial that they would limit your ability to continue your usual Chapter 13 repayments. Your Chapter 13 debt repayments will drastically cut into the amount you will be able to put into car payments on a month-to-month basis, as you are required to dedicate to portion of your monthly earnings to repaying your existing debt. This will limit the price and quality of car that you can purchase. During the bankruptcy process, you should have taken a hard look at your income and expenses. You will need to limit yourself to cars that can be paid for within that budget. Be sure to include gas, insurance and maintenance costs in your budget.  You will need to look for a used car. Visit your local car dealerships, and read Consumer Reports and Online Dealer Ratings and Reviews. Try to find a car under $15,000 that is in good working condition with relatively low mileage. Always ask for the vehicle's full history report, which will allow you to examine the maintenance record. If you do not know about cars, ask a friend or family member who is knowledgeable to examine it. Try to save as much cash for the purchase as possible. Paying for some (or ideally, all) of the car in cash not only reduces your debt, but it also reduces your interest payments and could also possibly reduce your interest rate since a larger down-payment means less risk for your lender. For more information on calculating driving expenses, see how to calculate the cost of driving. As an alternative to a traditional car loan, consider asking for a loan from a family member or friend. Alternatively, someone you trust, such as a family member, friend or employer may be willing to put the car loan in their name, and collect monthly payments from you. This will help eliminate extra costs, as low or no interest loans from a friend or family will be easier to manage. However, be advised that this puts your family member or friend in a position where they will be forced to repay your loan in the event that you cannot make your payments. Any late or missed payments may also negatively affect their credit. Start with any credit unions, banks, or financial institutions for which you have a previous relationship. Indicate clearly your situation, and ask what options are available. It is important to look at many options and not just settle for the first one you receive, as this gives you greater odds of finding an affordable rate.  Note that sometimes, traditional lenders like banks or credit unions may be reluctant to lend to somebody in bankruptcy. In this case, look for lenders who specialize in financing bad credit or bankruptcy car loans. Internet searches, local television or print commercials should help you identify a lender who works with individuals who have bad credit, no credit or have filed for bankruptcy. Avoid "buy-here-pay here" lenders. These are independent used-car dealers where a buyer arranges financing and purchase at the dealership, and these lenders often offer extremely high rates and long loan terms on sometimes unreliable vehicles that sometimes break down during the repayment process.. To avoid these types of dealerships, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if many complaints have been made against a dealership beforehand. Your trustee will likely require specific loan terms to analyze. After you have located a potential loan, you can begin the process of approval by contacting your trustee. They will typically give you paperwork to fill out, and you will input details of the loan. They will then use this information to determine if your income can handle the new debt.  At this point, your trustee will file a motion with the court to ask for permission, assuming the trustee approves. Your creditors will likely also receive the motion. You may be required to attend a hearing in court. Note that your trustee is very unlikely to approve a car loan over $15,000. When meeting with your bankruptcy trustee, get a written authorization from him or her. This authorization should include the amount that has been approved for a monthly payment.. You can then keep this for you own records, and show your car loan lender to finalize the loan.

Summary: Demonstrate fiscal competency. Understand your limitations while in Chapter 13. Choose a car you can afford. Ask someone close to you to finance the car for you. Shop around for an auto loan. Gain approval for a loan from your trustee and the court. Obtain written documentation.


If you want to record your gameplay on PC, you'll need to use a screen capture program. One of the most popular free options is Open Broadcast Software (OBS). This program is completely free and open source, and can record as well as most commercial programs. You can download OBS Multiplatform for Windows, Mac, and Linux at obsproject.com. The installer is very basic, and you can leave all of the settings at their defaults. As long as you downloaded the program from obsproject.com, you shouldn't have to worry about adware. You can find this by clicking the "File" menu and selecting "Settings," or by clicking the "Settings" button in the main window. This will allow you to adjust your basic video settings for your recordings. There are a few options that you'll want to take a look at:  Video Bitrate - This is the quality of the video. A higher bitrate will lead to a higher-quality image but lead to a larger file. Recording Path - This is the location that recorded videos will be saved on your computer. Recording Format - By default, this will be set to "flv." You may want to select "mp4" for maximum compatibility. This will allow you to assign specific keys to starting and stopping your recording. This will allow you to start recording while in the middle of a game. You can use single keys or combinations. Try to use a key that you won't be using in the game, such as one of the Function keys or a combination of Ctrl and another key. There are several things you might want to change before starting to record:  Output (Scaled) Resolution - This is the resolution that your recorded video will be displayed in. A lower resolution will lead to a smaller file, but the quality will suffer. If you want the output to be the same as you see, set it to the same value as the Base (Canvas) Resolution. Common FPS Values - This will lock the framerate of the video to the number you set (as long as your game can perform at that framerate). YouTube now supports 60 FPS video, so you may want to change this setting. If you want to record your voice along with the gameplay, you can check and enable your microphone on this tab. You can also enable push-to-talk for your microphone so that you can record your voice when the key is held. Close the Settings menu after checking your audio settings. This will create a new Game Capture entry in the Sources list. Once you've got OBS configured, you can start playing your game. You can play any game on your computer from any source, including Steam, Origin, or games installed on their own. You won't receive any indication that recording has begun, but OBS will be recording in the background. Again, you won't receive a notification that recording has stopped. The video file will be created, and you'll be able to find it at the location you set earlier.
Summary: Download Open Broadcaster Software. Run the installer. Launch OBS and open the Settings menu. Click the "Output" tab in the Settings menu. Click the "Hotkeys" tab in the Settings menu. Create shortcuts for "Start Record" and "Stop Recording." Click the "Video" tab in the Settings menu to set your recording options. Click the "Audio" tab to set your microphone settings. Click the "+" in the "Sources" frame and select "Game Capture." Start your game. Press your recording hotkey to begin recording. Press the Stop hotkey to end your recording.