Having gone through a bankruptcy 7 years ago, I'm still feeling
shockwaves of that fateful event in form of higher interests rates when I apply for loans, and living with whole stigma that bankruptcy places on you.It was 1990. I was a freshman in college. Walking through campus, I'd be bombarded with credit card offers on a daily basis. One day I though, "why not?" I got my first credit card.
$500 to do what I want, who can beat that? The problem was, that it was so easy to apply for credit cards I ended up applying for all of them, or so it seemed. Actually, I had at least 5, and soon enough, they were all maxed out.
And then I bought a car, which only added to my mounting debt.
Fast-forward 7 years. I had amassed a serious debt, and I didn’t even have a decent paying job to keep up. It was an overwhelming experience, to say least, and in end I decided that bankruptcy was only option.
They make it so easy to declare bankruptcy these days. The lawyers and their commercials tell you how low cost it is, and how simple. Just go into their office, fill out some paperwork, pay them their check, show up to court, and you’re done.
It’s aftermath they don’t tell you about—the shame, guilt, disgrace that it places on you, inability to get decent rates on credit cards and loans, or even rent an apartment.
