How do I know if I should file for bankruptcy?
Deciding to file for bankruptcy involves weighing overwhelming unsecured debt and stagnant or underemployed income against the inability to save or pay off balances. People face this choice when routine monthly payments leave them with barely enough money for groceries and no way to build long-term savings for goals like buying a home.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Hiring the cheapest bankruptcy attorney availableDid this help you?
- 2Saving money to prepare for the processDid this help you?
- 3continuing to make minimum or monthly payments on debts while struggling to saveDid this help you?
- 4asking debt collectors to pause interestDid this help you?
- 5selling valuablesDid this help you?
- 6seeking higher-paying jobsDid this help you?
- 7working part time substitute teaching to make monthly paymentsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I'm thinking that my best option is to file for bankruptcy and go on to rebuild my life from there. Any thoughts or advice on this idea?”source ↗
“I cannot afford the credit card I don’t even use anymore.”source ↗
“If I do this, what should I expect to be prepared for?”source ↗
“Not sure where to even start. I have about 25k in debt. my husband has 10k in debt which is not as much as I’ve heard of others but somehow we cant pay it off completel.”source ↗
“weve been paying all of our monthly payments, never missed any but also barely have enough money to pay for groceries and anything extra we may need for our 4 children. with that being said, we obviously do not have enough money to save.”source ↗
“We thought filing for bankruptcy so we can get a new start. being able to put whatever money we are putting onto our bills & loans now, into saving so we can buy a home in 2-4 years.”source ↗
“I fell ashamed and don't know if I should file, especially over such a small amount of money.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to get approved for housing with a bankruptcy
- 5Should I file a homeowner's insurance claim or pay out of pocket?
- 19Should I keep going with my stagnating business or quit?
- 13How do I know if I should sell my business?
- 16Should I register a business before making any money?
- 2SBA loan collections after closing a business