acrosstheuniverse Posted January 6, 2015 Posted January 6, 2015 And you yourself have no understanding at all what "responsible" means if you think that declaring bankruptcy ever amounts to same. That's worse than the woman in the original story - at least she didn't run away from her debt and let the system pay for it. I'm not sure I agree with that first part. I was in enough debt that there was no way I was going to claw my way out of it, I was only going to sink further and further in. I was already working 70 hours to put myself through a MA. It's possible I guess that in a decade or so I could have paid it off if I spent every spare penny on it, but I think the more sensible thing was to be insolvent, and start afresh with a renewed understanding of finances... and make sure that in those ten years, I had savings to fall back on so I could prevent it from ever happening again. Once you are IN DEBT, ignoring the past, ignoring why, you have to address it, you have to manage it, you can't bury your head in the sand. I think declaring bankruptcy can be the responsible thing to do when you know you can't solve it any other way. And especially if others are affected as well as yourself, say you're living with dependents who are suffering because all of your income is servicing debts. You can argue all you like that accruing debt is irresponsible (sometimes it is, sometimes it's inevitable if you fall on hard times), but once you are in that position, addressing it is the only sensible thing you can do. If addressing it means bankruptcy, rather than paying it off so slowly you chip nothing off it due to growing interest, you gotta do it. People make mistakes, people F up. You can't change the past, only learn from it for the future.
Gaeta Posted January 6, 2015 Posted January 6, 2015 OP I would like to know why she did not make any payment on that debt? How old is this debt? How much was the original amount? I am Canadian, there is no way the government would let a tax debt run for years. Within a year they send you in collection, if that doesn't work they go through your payroll and take it all. We have an employee that owes taxes and I have to send half her paycheck to the government.
GemmaUK Posted January 6, 2015 Posted January 6, 2015 I can imagine how you would feel if the next man dating her says she's a bad, irresponsible person for not managing her finances. I went into debt helping my mother-in-law pay for cancer treatments at $3000+ per session. We had no money to spare, but try telling that to your wife as she watches her 42 y/o mother turn into a walking skeleton. Then we got divorced after I lost my job in the 2008 recession. Declaring bankruptcy was the only responsible decision I could make. I would have more respect for someone choosing to declare bankruptcy than someone ignoring a debt. And certainly in your situ Pogo. Bankruptcy is by no means an easy option. Sometimes it's the only option. I used to know someone who had had to declare herself bankrupt in the UK. Her parents funded it for her - it was not cheap and she had a tough time for years with any kind of bank accounts and any type of credit. By now she should be well clear and it should be off her record but in the UK it doesn't always clear your record when it should. It didn't while I knew her and she was back in contact with the company who helped her as she was stuck at every turn, Back to the topic, that amount of debt would scare the life outta me. It would put me off - unless it is just a mortgage that is consistently being paid. The worst thing to ever do with debt is ignore it. 1
GemmaUK Posted January 6, 2015 Posted January 6, 2015 OP I would like to know why she did not make any payment on that debt? How old is this debt? How much was the original amount? I am Canadian, there is no way the government would let a tax debt run for years. Within a year they send you in collection, if that doesn't work they go through your payroll and take it all. We have an employee that owes taxes and I have to send half her paycheck to the government. This is how the HMRC (same as IRS) sort it in the UK. It is not normal for them to not self claim on it.
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