You may have worked hard your whole life to deal with your finances the right way, to avoid a low credit score and debt you couldn’t afford. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever face bankruptcy.
One young woman found out the hard way. She had graduated from college and landed what she thought of as her dream job. She bought a car, rented out an apartment, and was smart with her money. She could have had less debt, but she was by no means over her head. Her job provided enough money to support her lifestyle, she was only 24 years old, and she felt great.
Then she got sick. She thought it was nothing, but it got worse and worse. Eventually, she had to deal with constant pain, and she could not work. Without income, she couldn’t pay her rent or her credit card debt. Her parents were able to help her keep her car, and they gave her a free place to live, but her whole life unraveled.
In the end, she had to deal with bankruptcy. It was the only way she could see to get through the situation intact. It did take some time for her to get her head around it—she started bawling in her lawyer’s office when she saw just how bad the financial situation was, now with the added medical debt—but she was able to do it. She was able to escape her debt and get a fresh start.
As you can see, bankruptcy can strike suddenly, despite years of playing the financial game very well, and you must know what legal options you have in Tennessee.
Source: LifeHacker, “What You Should Know About Bankruptcy (from Someone Who’s Been There),” Katherine McDonald, accessed Aug. 05, 2015
