• Home
  • Bankruptcy in Brief
  • ABC’s of Bankruptcy
  • Considering Bankruptcy
  • True Stories
  • Chapter 13
  • Blog
  • About
  • TOC

Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer

On The Bankruptcy Soapbox

The Soap Box
  • How bankruptcy works
  • Mortgage Matters
  • Consumer Rights
  • You & Your Lawyer
  • Small Business
  • Family Law

10 Reasons Why Bankruptcy May Be Your Best Investment

By Cathy Moran

filing bankruptcySpend money to go broke?

Seems counter-intuitive, but it could be the best money you spend.

People in serious debt resist using bankruptcy to get their financial life in order for many reasons, including

  • fear,
  • pride,
  • uncertainty,
  • stubbornness,
  • distraction, and
  • cash flow.

Yet, as a means of regaining control of your life and your pocketbook,  bankruptcy may be the best move you can make.

Inaction, however unpleasant the current situation,  may seem easy. It’s familiar and tolerable. It feels like a safe choice.

You can’t get more hurt by doing nothing, right?

It’s the devil you know, as opposed to the devil you don’t.

But what if the alternative is getting out from under your bill problems and jump starting your financial life?  That’s clearly far more attractive than remaining stuck in debt.

Reasons to choose bankruptcy

These ten reasons that filing bankruptcy now may help you make your decision.

  1. The stress of bills you can’t pay, collection calls, and worry about garnishment can ruin your health.
  2. Stress leads to fuzzy thinking and bad decisions about money and other issues.
  3. Living without reserves courts further financial crises.
  4. No tax is generated by discharging debts in bankruptcy; not so, if you settle debts outside of bankruptcy.
  5. Debt settlement seldom resolves all debts;  if it fails, the money used to settle some debts is wasted.
  6. Your credit report doesn’t start healing until the debts are paid off or discharged in bankruptcy.
  7. Minimum payments on credit cards take 20-35 YEARS to pay off.
  8. Relationships suffer in times of financial distress. Save your marriage, ditch your debts.
  9. Wait to file until your income improves and the means test may require that you file a repayment plan.
  10. You aren’t getting any younger: chances are you are poorly prepared for retirement. Every dollar spent making minimum payments is a dollar you’re not saving for retirement.

For most of those buried in debt, neither inaction nor incremental solutions will solve the problem.

Many of the “reasons” that hold people back from the bankruptcy solution are based in myth and misunderstanding.

Think through my list, follow the links to read more, and imagine a life free of dischargeable debts.

See a bankruptcy lawyer and explore how these principals apply to your situation. The financial return on a bankruptcy filing is eye popping.

More

What should bankruptcy cost?

Should you pay creditors, regardless of cost?

How to interview a bankruptcy lawyer

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

More from the Soapbox

  • When Can I File Bankruptcy AgainWhen Can I File Bankruptcy Again
  • At Risk of Repossession?  How To Keep The Car & Pay LessAt Risk of Repossession? How To Keep The Car & Pay Less
  • Has Your Social Security Number Been Suspended?Has Your Social Security Number Been Suspended?
  • Bankruptcy Drives Credit Score SurpriseBankruptcy Drives Credit Score Surprise
  • 7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2019

About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

How Bankruptcy Works

What Happens To Your Bank Account in Chapter 13

Those considering filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy worry about "what happens to my bank account?" Will the trustee take all the money? How do I pay my living expenses after I file? The short answer is: nothing changes. The account remains yours and available for all the expenses of day to day living. Because, … Read more

More Posts from this Category

643 Bair Island Road
Suite 403
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 694-4700
Phone: (650) 368-4700

Categories

All content copyright © Moran Law Group. All rights reserved.