There’s no doubt you’ve heard the phrase, “Bankruptcy should be a last resort.”
For people who are in relatively good financial shape, that’s probably a good mantra to keep. The whole idea of bankruptcy is not to make it easy for people to avoid debts they can easily pay off.
However, Colorado Springs Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorneys know that for people who are struggling with mountains of debt, waiting to file until you’re out of all other options can be dangerous, and the reasons are numerous.
Often, we see clients who have dragged their financial burdens on far longer than was necessary – because they were seeing bankruptcy as the last option.
But the fact is, you save yourself an enormous amount of stress and further financial trouble by exploring it as an option sooner.
By not doing so, first of all, your health is likely to suffer. We have worked with countless clients who had become physically ill as a result of their financial woes. Not only is their stress high, but they don’t sleep. Some drink alcohol or overeat or chain smoke. Others suffer from depression. The bottom line is it’s not a healthy way to live your life.
Secondly, it’s highly possible that you’ll end up making some costly, and maybe even irreversible, financial mistakes. This is easy enough to do. For example, some people cash out their retirement in order to pay off their credit cards, only to later realize they’ll have to file for bankruptcy anyway. They’ll never get that retirement money back, and the credit card debt would have been forgiven.
Thirdly, you may think you don’t need to file because you’re treading water with your finances. But the fact is, that’s all you’re doing, and without the relief that bankruptcy provides, you won’t get any farther. That means you won’t ever be able to save up enough for retirement or pay off your student loans or have any savings cushion. Again, it’s not a healthy way to live your life – and you have options.
