Freshstart — project home

A debt triage app that helps people in financial trouble understand every option before bankruptcy. Four debt categories, step-by-step intake, plain-English results.

Debt breakdown — who this is for

Credit card 42%

Student 26%

Medical 20%

Tax 12%

Credit card & personal loans — $1.13T US total

Student loans — $1.77T US total

Medical debt — ~100M Americans affected

Tax debt added Sep 2026

Most of these people do not need bankruptcy. They need to know what to try first.

How it works

Enter your debts Pick one or more debt categories — credit card, medical, student, tax, housing, or other. Enter amounts and your monthly income. Nothing is saved; it runs in your browser.

Get your plan Receive a plain-English report: options ranked from least disruptive to most — hardship programs, negotiation, credit counselling, then bankruptcy only if nothing else fits.

Pay smarter Download or email your report. Find a local attorney or nonprofit credit counsellor from the directory if you want professional guidance.

What it does

Someone in financial distress opens the app and picks their debt situation. The app walks them through a short intake — how much they owe, income vs. outgoings, assets. At the end they get a ranked list of alternatives. The idea is that most people do not need bankruptcy; they need to know what to try first.

Phase 1 is live: category picker, intake, results/report, disclaimer gate. LLM-powered analysis and a live attorney marketplace are Phase 2 (blocked on API key and attorney disclaimer sign-off).

Intake No account needed — private, runs in browser

Plain-English results Options ranked least to most disruptive

Attorney directory Local attorneys and nonprofit counsellors

Who it's for

Adults with unmanageable debt People who just lost their job Medical debt from a single event Anyone considering bankruptcy Households facing foreclosure Student loan borrowers in distress

Debt categories

Credit card & personal loans Revolving debt, collections, high-interest balances

Medical debt Hospital bills, ongoing treatment, collections

Student loans Federal and private, income-driven repayment paths

Tax debt IRS balances, installment plans, hardship programs — added Sep 2026

Housing & mortgage Missed payments, foreclosure risk, rent arrears

Job loss & income disruption Sudden gap between income and outgoings

Project pages

Technical notes

Repo: bazdev0001/freshstart-app under software/projects/freshstart-app. LOCK: cos@minipc. Webapp is an Expo web export (React Native Web). No backend — all logic runs client-side. Attorney directory is mocked for Phase 1.