Q. My fiancee declared bankruptcy last year, and I have $140K in student loans and $20K in debt. I'm about to go bankrupt, too, and give up on my dream of home ownership because lenders won't give me a loan.

A. You don't have to give up your dream of owning a home. But you'll almost certainly have to defer that purchase until you resolve your financial problems.

We recommend you start by speaking with a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, the nation's biggest and oldest credit-counseling organization. Its 120 agencies abide by a set of professional and ethical standards that have served many individuals and families very well over the past 50 years.

To find a credit counselor, go to the NFCC Web site and use the "ZIP Code Search" to find one in your area. Click on the individual agencies to find everything from costs to office hours. The fees will be modest and NFCC's experienced credit counselors, who negotiate debt reduction and repayment plans every day, will know whether they can help or whether bankruptcy is a better option.

You may not be a good candidate for bankruptcy because of your student loans. Bankruptcy judges aren't allowed to write off that debt unless you can prove "undue hardship" to you and your dependents. Such a claim often requires the borrower to be disabled because of injury or illness. But you'd need a bankruptcy attorney to review your finances and determine whether filing for such relief makes sense.

If you do file for bankruptcy, you won't be able to obtain an FHA loan for at least two years after your case is closed. You'd probably have to wait four years before a lender will consider you for a conventional mortgage not guaranteed by the federal government. Because your fiancee has already declared bankruptcy, she won't be able to make a joint application for a loan until her case is resolved and the required time has passed.

But don't give up. Use that time to rebuild your credit score. Our 6 smart moves to improve your credit score will tell you how. It isn't easy to dig your way out of debt and credit problems. But it is possible. Take that first step today by contacting an NFCC counselor.