Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

I have only known one person to declare bankruptcy and she is a person that will work the system any chance she gets. At the same time she is one of the hardest working people that I have ever met. It's really odd. But she grew up in really horrible circumstances with a sexually abusive parent and so I think that she just does whatever it takes to get by in life.

I think that the most common cause of bankruptcy in this country though is medical bills, and I think that that is just such a sad, sad thing. To have an illness that drains you physically, emotionally and then drains all of your assets to boot must be the worst thing to ever have to live thru.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Initial reaction is shock.....previous to the whole financial fiasco I would always think it was because of their materialism and poor spending habits.

Now adays, Im not so quick to judge. I tend to feel sad as a lot of people are being affected by financial crisis and its not necessarily their own faults.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

I think it sucks and then I think of how difficult the decision was.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

I've known only 2 people to declare bankruptcy - my mother and my godmother - and since I know both of their stories I'm not inclined to pass judgment on anyone for it.

I know my godmother was scammed by a guy she was dating - it got pretty bad and she eventually sold her home and moved 4 states away to get away from him.

My mom also got in over her head and couldn't even afford to pay the bankruptcy attorney - my grandmother had to do it for her. There were a bunch of reasons involved, and I'm not going to pretend that my mother knows anything about managing her money because she certainly does not, but she wasn't out "living the high life" either. I was 12 at the time and it definitely left a mark on me.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

My initial reaction is "I hope they don't lose their home".
For some reason I always assume that they had to declare because of out-of-control medical bills.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Honestly, so many people are doing this now. It seems like the norm lately.. It's nothing to be ashamed of I don't think. It's a sign of the times... unfortunately.. I know someone whos' son was laid off and he was making over 150Kper year... he and his wife are going through some real hard times right now. He can't find a job anywhere.. the economy still sucks and he may lose his house.. The bankruptcy courts are so backed up right now it's crazy!

Message edited 1/8/2010 7:51:37 PM.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

To be honest, I think I was probably more judgmental a couple of years ago. Now, after being paying legal bills for 2 years for a divorce/custody case that's still not over, I have much more understanding.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

I know at least 4 people that have gone bankrupt for all different reasons. I never judge them. It doesn't matter how or why they got into that situation whether it be because of a death or because of overspending, etc. It sucks regardless. And I feel bad for each and every person that has to go through that.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

I would not judge, it must be awful to loose everything and be in a position to file for bankruptcy regardless of how you got there.

Message edited 1/10/2010 10:04:44 AM.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

It depends on the person who filed bankruptcy....

I know people who were just stupid and thought they were "untouchable" by the cc companies and banks. Well guess what, they werent. When I found out they filed bankruptcy, my reaction was, "well thats not a surprise!"

For others I hear about who are friends of friends who had to because of medical reasons or loosing a job, I genuinely feel bad for them.

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

I definitely don't judge people in that kind of tough situation because you just don't know!! They could have been doing everything they could!

I have very close family friends who worked their butts off their entire life. The husband owned his own business which used to be fruitful, but slowly began to dry out no matter how hard he tried to save it. The wife worked 2 sometimes 3 jobs at a time. Since they had children, it was hard to just say "Ok, pack up and let's move to a 1 bedroom apartment that we can afford". Instead they did the best they could to keep up with the bills for their house. Finally they reached a point of just having no other choice than to file for bankruptcy. Since then they've gotten rid of ALL credit cards and are turning their life around (financially speaking of course).

So, I would never just assume people who declare bankruptcy are just irresponsible. Sh!t happens. That's life. My initial thoughts are always "Oh no! I hope everything's Ok"

Re: What is your initial reaction when you hear someone declared bankruptcy?

Without knowing ANYTHING else, before the economy went sour, I would assume that it was the result of irresponsibility. Nowadays because of the job situation, I initially think that they probably lost their job or their mortgage went up or something like that.

If i have a little more info and know it's someone who is single and on the younger side (35 and below), I would assume the irresponsible and if the person is older and/or married, assume the economy.