An unusual question
October 31st, 2007 by Questions
I filed for bankruptcy last year and was discharged this year. I am having a hard time dealing with the guilt I`ve felt about doing it, even though it was definitely the only option I had left.
This may be an unusual question, but are you aware of any kind of `bankruptcy support groups`? Support groups seem to exist for everything under the sun, so I wonder if they exist for people dealing with financial problems, including bankruptcy. I`m sure I would feel better talking to others in the same position, starting over financially, but it`s hard to find people (I don`t want to tell a lot of people about the bankruptcy).
One Response to “An unusual question”
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November 01, 2007 at 9:39 am, Barton Goth GCO Bankruptcy Trustees said:
Unfortunately I have never heard of an after bankruptcy support group of any kind. However I can offer this. Bankruptcy is a vital component of our monetary system in North America. You see our entire society is based on the premise of risk and reward. Unfortunately if you don’t take a risk and simply leave things status quo then there are very few people who are willing to try new things and the economy stagnages. If a program like bankruptcy didn’t exist, no one would take the risk required for progress and we would be years behind where we are right now.
Furthermore, the only people who have been put out at all are your creditors. So one important thing to keep in mind is how your creditors react / feel. An in our impersonal world of lending and banking everything comes down to the same principle of risk and reward. The bank knows it has to take a risk in order to make a profit, the risk they are taking is that the loans and credit extended may or may not be able to be paid back. Knowing this the ensure the reward is worth the risk. As a result the set the interst rate at a high enough rate that anyone who defaults is more than off-set by the profits made from everyone else.
So to summarize, bankruptcy is a necessary part of the system and the system is designed to absorb those necessary defaults (funny enough the banks look at their default rate and if it isn’t high enough the will often interpret it as not granting enough credit). The unfortunate thing is the big banks and everyone forget about the human side of things. I understand the guilt you feel and where it is coming from, but all I can say is it is part of the system and truly there is no need to feel guilt for something that the banks have already adjusted for.
The key to the whole process is just don’t let it happen again. Best of luck to you in th future!