Nonsense. For every person who filed due to circumstances (largely) beyond their control, there is at least one person (or more) in the situation due to nothing other than poor choices. Why do you believe it would be a good thing to tell them that their misbehavior is OK?
evidently you have never had anything bad to happen to you. Thats fine keep judging. When you lose your job and cant afford a place to live come back here and talk to us. Not all of us was handed a silver spoon.
I thought that the senate was trying to pass a law not allowing companies to use credit checks. Who knows they make their own rules. Only thing bankruptcy did to me was help me out. Had 60k in medical bills and credit card bills which were completely my fault. I tried to deal with it best I could but after finding out how many people has done it i wasnt embarassed anymore.
I have lost my job and not been able to afford have a place to live.
I was 23, got laid off in the last "recession" after 9/11, and had a wife and a kid. I had to move in with my parents and couldn't find a job for nearly 1.5 years. I refused unemployment, I worked part time jobs and went back to school to get my masters.
I couldn't afford anything, all my CCs went in arrears, I owed the condo place I lived at when I was working a few thousand to get out of the lease. I couldn't pay on my wife's car anymore (mine was paid off), I couldn't even afford my car insurance.
I owed a good $50k, not including student loans which would have put it over $100k. I went from making "middle class" type income to making about $1000-1400/month (at the previous job I made that in a week).
I made just enough to keep the essentials, my car insurance, my wife's car "only" 3-6 months behind so they wouldn't reposess it, gasoline, and food. We lived with my parents so we helped with some utilities.
I lived with my parents for about a year, then found an apartment when I finally landed a job.
My credit was shot to hell, literally less than 380. I still, at that time that I started working, owed well over $50k in non-student loan debt.
Everyone told me to file bankrupcy and get to the point where I owed nothing, live in the apartment for the 4-7 years and then buy a house.
I refused, I owed the money I was going to pay it off. Did I use the threat of bankrupcy while talking to the creditors? Absolutely, in the end I was able to get over 50% of the debt put on 0% interest. I paid it all off (or caught up to date) in 2-3 years, and once I got it all paid off THEN I went and bought a house.
FYI, when I bought the house, just 3 years after my credit report was 380 and I started repaying the debt, my credit report was just over 600. Now, 2 years later its over 750.
It isn't that difficult to repair your credit if you do it the "right" way and don't claim bankrupcy.
FYI, my total debt from that $50k that I owe now is about $7k. I have added a house and 2 cars on top since then so my "total" debt is higher, but my "old/unpaid debt" is nearly gone.