How Do You Go Bankrupt?

21 Nov How Do You Go Bankrupt?

In The Sun Also Rises, one of the characters is asked, “How did you go bankrupt?” His response is “Gradually . . . then suddenly.”

In my bankruptcy practice I find that most clients echo those sentiments. It seems as if you go from being on top of the world to rock bottom overnight, doesn’t it?

Not so.

In fact, people who file for bankruptcy often find that it is a culmination of events that leads them to the door of the bankruptcy court. Overwhelming medical bills, credit card debt that spirals out of control, job loss and marital strife all take their toll.

And one day, you realize your best option to jump start your life is to file for bankruptcy.

How do you avoid it? By paying attention to the little things. That $4 latte, the extra trip to the store when you forget to buy milk – and the gas it costs for that trip.

Those little things add up slowly, but surely.

So stop, pay attention when you can and you may find that you can stop the collision course you’re on.

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Jay Fleischman, Esq.

Jay S. Fleischman is a bankruptcy lawyer with offices in Los Angeles and New York. He can often be found on Google+ and Twitter, where he shares information about consumer protection issues and personal finance.

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