| Good people are good because they've come to | | | | All of them have come to a single conclusion - I cannot |
| wisdom through failure. William Saroyan (1908 - 1981). | | | | live with this debt anymore. |
| Upon the conclusion of the winter Olympics this year, | | | | For some, this can take weeks. For others, years. |
| what really caught my attention were the stories of | | | | Those who have more resources can delay longer, |
| the athletes. My favorite stories are those athletes that | | | | but the truth is, if you are going to file anyway, save |
| failed before but came back to win. Everyone loves | | | | your money and file sooner rather than later. Don't |
| the underdog that comes back to win. | | | | cash out your 401(K), don't borrow from your family |
| If there was one message I wish I can convey to | | | | and friends. The decision is the hard part. Execution is |
| every person contemplating bankruptcy, it is this: You | | | | much easier. Just like those athletes that overcame |
| are NOT a failure simply because you filed for | | | | great obstacles to win the gold, so can you. Ask |
| bankruptcy. Just like the athlete that bounced back to | | | | yourself, can I be a better member of society, better |
| win the gold after a severe injury, illness, drug addiction | | | | father, mother, sister, brother, daughter, son, better |
| or scandal so can you. We meet on average 16 - 20 | | | | employee, better business owner if I didn't have this |
| clients per week. Assuming 50 weeks, that's over 800 | | | | debt? Of course. |
| people per year. This doesn't count the phone calls and | | | | - Everyone has their story. |
| emails we get from people in financial distress. So I | | | | - Everyone struggles with the decision. |
| know a little something about people who are filing for | | | | - It's painful. |
| bankruptcy. The only common denominator among all | | | | - Many feel a sense of remorse and guilt. |
| these people is that 1) they are in financial distress and | | | | - The hardest part is making the decision. |
| 2) they are struggling with the decision to file or not to | | | | - Do people regret the decisions that led them this |
| file. That's where the commonality ends and the | | | | point? Yes. |
| uniqueness begins. | | | | - Has anyone told me they regret filing? No. |
| Who are these people filing for bankruptcy? | | | | You are not in this alone. You are certainly not the only |
| Doctors, lawyers, actors, teachers, waitresses, | | | | one with overwhelming debt. Look around. There are |
| entrepreneurs, business owners, construction workers, | | | | cities, counties contemplating or filing for bankruptcy. I |
| financial advisors, accountants, athletes, students, | | | | certainly don't need to list the companies that have |
| parents, married, divorced, widowed, elderly, young, | | | | filed for bankruptcy in recent years. I'm stating the |
| home owners, realtors, mortgage brokers, investors, | | | | obvious by saying we're in very tough times. |
| government employees, nurses, restaurant owners, | | | | Many people delay coming to meet with me - a |
| researchers, single parents, unemployed, employed, | | | | bankruptcy lawyer - in the same way they delay going |
| under-employed, receptionists, stock brokers, | | | | to see a doctor. It's easy to ignore the problem and |
| photographers, artists, designers, home owners... The | | | | hope that it goes away. You cannot afford to ignore |
| lists goes on and on... All of them hit a bump on the | | | | your finances and hope that it will magically get better. |
| road. Ok, maybe a very big bump. | | | | |