The law allows you to call a ‘time out’ insofar as your financial obligations towards your creditors are concerned. Bankruptcy is a financial ‘time out’ where the bankruptcy court allows you an automatic stay on all your creditors’ collection efforts against you the moment your bankruptcy is confirmed. Think about it – once you file a successful bankruptcy petition, all your creditors cannot harass, hound or even contact you in any way. What a load off your mind! This ‘time out’ gives you the chance to sort out your finances and make repayment plans under the purview of the bankruptcy court.
But some people actually think they have to repay all of their debts because of some moral obligation. This is what I meant by a misplaced set of values – thinking that because you owe the money, you have to pay it back – even if doing so comes at a high price financially, mentally and emotionally. Such skewed thinking is actually a hindrance that denies you what is rightfully yours under the bankruptcy code. The law in the form of the bankruptcy code allows you the right to declare a ‘time out’ even though you have not been able to pay off all your debts. Declaring bankruptcy is not theft or fraud, as long as you did not purposely incur the debts without intention to repay. So do not allow such thinking to hinder you from discharging your debts through bankruptcy.
Then there is the hindrance of wishfully thinking you can repay all your debts by some stroke of luck or change in circumstances. If you are banking on a win at the lotteries or a substantial pay raise to pay off your debts, dream on. Such wishful thinking is often more fallacy than reality. At best, these things may take a long time to happen. But bankruptcy can solve your debt problems in a much shorter time than waiting for some fortuitous change of fortune or circumstances to come your way. Again, do not allow fallacious thinking to hinder you from claiming your right to a debt-free life through bankruptcy.
Another common hindrance to the benefits of bankruptcy is the advice of creditors. Most creditors do not want you to file for bankruptcy because it is not to their best interests. I already mentioned the automatic stay that comes with bankruptcy. This in itself is enough to make creditors discourage you from filing for bankruptcy. But you should not allow yourself to be taken on a guilt trip by creditors who tell you to pay your bills rather than file for bankruptcy.
