how can i file bankruptcy when i dont have alot of money down

Are you talking about paying the filing fee, or the attorney's fees?   For the filing fee, which is presently $306 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, you can apply to the court to pay that in installments. As far as attorney's fees, in a Chapter 7 the attorney must be paid in full prior to filing your case since they are not allowed to seek payment after the case is filed.   However, unless there is something urgent going on, you can usually make payments to the attorney until you are ready to file your case. If you truly can't afford an attorney, you can file by yourself, but you will be at a big disadvantage.  See my recent article on a study done by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California on the success rate in filing bankruptcy cases without an attorney. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.