Bankruptcy: The Gateway to Happiness

Guess what?

After years of juggling bills and robbing Peter to pay Paul, I'm finally breaking down and filing for bankruptcy, chapter 7.

Wanna know what else?

I couldn't be happier.

For a long time now, my expenses have outweighed my income and the big elephant taking up most of the room on the expense side of the scales is my credit card payments.

I called my credit card company this week to try and negotiate a lower interest rate in hopes of reducing my monthly payments. Despite having an impeccable payment history with this company for 23 years and paying them over 3 times my credit card limit in actual dollars, they said no and recommended I call a credit counseling agency. I was directed to the National Foundation of Credit Counseling website, where I found a credit counseling agency in my area. I filled out an application and made an appointment for this past Friday.

On Wednesday, at the urging of my roommate, I met with a bankruptcy attorney. I was sold on a lot of things during that meeting. I was sold on the fact that my budget was woefully inadequate and failed to take into consideration my most basic needs. I was also sold on the idea of paying cash for cars and using the money I would have paid in interest and putting it in an IRA. What I wasn't quite sold on was the attorney's belief that I'm a perfect candidate for Chapter 7. I mean, I wanted to believe him, but I worried that he was telling me to do what would be easiest and most profitable for him.

I had even less faith in the ability of the credit counselor to give me impartial advice. Credit counselors are in business to make money and the way they make money is by charging a fee each month you make a payment in one of their debt management plans. So it would be in their best interests to see to it that you enroll in their debt management plan regardless of whether you can afford it or not. At least that was my impression when I made my appointment with the credit counseling agency.

When I walked into the credit counselor's office, I tried to make sure my cynicism didn't show too much in my facial expressions. I listened intently as he explained how their program works. I tried not to roll my eyes when he showed me what my monthly payment would be, which was not all that different from what I was currently paying. He acknowledged this and said, "For this reason, I recommend you for a 'Fresh Start'".

At this point, I'm thinking, What the hell is this "Fresh Start" program he's talking about? I don't remember reading about that on the website.

After spending several minutes preaching to me about the wonders of a "Fresh Start", the counselor wrapped up his sermon with this tidbit of information: "And by 'Fresh Start', I mean Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Have you ever thought about filing for Chapter 7?"

I could have kissed him, planting wet, sloppy smooches all over his face. Why? Because he made the decision-making process SO much easier than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting to have to wade through a bunch of b.s. from all parties (the bankruptcy attorney and the credit counselor) to try to determine the best course of action but wading was unnecessary. Everybody was in agreement that I have fucked up my finances so royally that bankruptcy is now the most prudent option for me. I found that strangely comforting.

I have been receiving some minor pushback for my decision though. There's still a stigma associated with bankruptcy that some people find hard to shake. For instance, The Fiance announced that filing bankruptcy was fine for me but he was going to "take responsibility" for his mistakes and stick with his debt management plan. As if paying 3 times what you owe amounts to not taking responsibility.

In spite of negative perceptions, I'm keeping my head held high. Don't get me wrong. I know that bankruptcy is a serious issue with serious consequences to your credit rating. But after weighing the cons of a trashed credit score against the pros of increased peace of mind and happiness, I've decided bankruptcy is still the way to go.