How will bankruptcy change your life?
By Rachel Lynn Foley, Kansas City, MO, Bankruptcy Attorney on Mar 7, 2007 in General Bankruptcy Information, Missouri
Quick answer, it depends. It depends on why your are filing bankruptcy and what you plan on changing. Is the bankruptcy a quick fix or are you looking to make a real change? If you are filing to get the creditors off your back but your spending habits have not changed then you will be back in debt again and you will become a renewable resource for bankruptcy attorneys. Meaning you will be in debt again and need to file once again in the future. It is like the big lottery winners. Statistically they end up in worse financial shape than before they won the money. Why, because their mind set has not changed. Victoria Wright of Hummingbird Credit Counseling explains wants vs. needs. Starbucks is a want and not a need. Many would argue but in reality coffee is a want and Starbucks is a huge luxury cost.
Which camp do you fall into? If you view Starbucks as a need than the bankruptcy may only be a quick fix for you. Others look at the bankruptcy as it was designed to do, a fresh start and truly want a fresh start and therefore view Starbucks as a want. This camp will completely change their spending, saving and financial throught process. They analyze their wants vs. needs.
Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He was a real estate mogul in the late 1980’s whose spending habits ran away with his checkbook to the point where he filed for bankruptcy. He used the bankruptcy as his true fresh start and changed the entire way he lived his life. As a result he runs a multi million dollar business teaching people how to best utilize their fresh start.
It has been said that making the same financial choices and expecting different results is down right silly. So how will bankruptcy change your life? Your question should be what are you willing to do to change your financial life? If the answer is nothing then bankruptcy is only a short term fix. However, if you are willing to make a change then the sky is your financial limit. The first step is always the hardest but think of what our childhood would have been if Walt Disney did not take that first step to change after his bankruptcy in 1923.
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