Bankruptcy is a Time of Celebration, Not Despair

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This post comes from Steve Rhode of GetOutofDebt.org

Here is something you don’t expect to hear people say: “If you file bankruptcy your life will get better.”

Well, I did file bankruptcy and my life did get better. Within three years after our bankruptcy we had purchased a house and before that had rebuilt great credit using secured credit cards.

For me, financial failure and bankruptcy became my greatest strength in helping people. Without my personal bankruptcy I wouldn’t be here helping you.

Want to know the one thing I would change about the process? Without a doubt I’d have eliminated the fear, shame, and stress that came with filing bankruptcy. All of it was created by my silly unfounded assumptions about life after bankruptcy. I would come to find out that none of it was based in reality. My attorney simply did a lousy job helping me overcome my incorrect assumptions about bankruptcy.

Famous people who filed bankruptcy

When you file bankruptcy you join a whole host of others who have lived through tough financial times and survived. Not only will you have joined me in the bankruptcy club, but some others you might recognize: Larry King, Mike Tyson, MC Hammer, Willie Nelson, Walt Disney, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Dave Ramsey, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln (essentially), Henry Ford, President William McKinley, Milton Hershey, Rush Limbaugh, Burt Reynolds, H.J. Heinz, P.T. Barnum, Charles Goodyear, and on and on and on.

Bankruptcy isn’t the end of your life. It’s the beginning of the next chapter

I’ve been helping people with debt problems since 1994. In all those years I can count on one hand the number of people who played the system. All the other thousands and thousands of people I heard from who filed bankruptcy did it to restart their lives.

Nobody runs out and says, “I’m going to make mistakes and be the subject of an accident, illness, job loss, or natural disaster,” so they can wind up in bankruptcy. Stuff just happens.

There are lots of worse things that can happen

Let’s look at what filing bankruptcy actually means. It means you’re seeking the legal protection afforded you under the law so you can get a second chance and a fresh start. It’s a road from an impossible financial past to a better financial future so you can better protect your family financially and move forward with your life.

Filing bankruptcy means you accept responsibility for your financial mess and are taking action allowed by the U.S. Constitution. You’ve decided that doing better is the best revenge against failure.

So ask yourself this question: “Do you want to spend the next five years struggling to fix your financial past, or spend it building a stronger financial future and creating a safety net for you and your kids?”

Popular bankruptcy myths

So often I hear people say things about bankruptcy out of total ignorance. They make these statements from assumptions, not reality. If you want to read the growing list of the most common bankruptcy myths, click here.

Steve the Get Out of Debt GuyTwitter, G+, Facebook

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