Delaying Greensboro Bankruptcy Can Be Disastrous

Are you living in a financial sweatbox?

Image by Abigail Keenan via Unsplash

Have you ever been in a car accident where you felt like time was moving in slow motion? There was the point that you realized you were about to crash, but you didn’t know how bad it would be once it happened. Financial disasters are like that. You usually see them coming but don’t know how bad things will get. Think of Greensboro bankruptcy as the ambulance you call in a financial wreck. It can save you, but the later you wait, the greater the chance for lasting injury.

Deciding to file bankruptcy isn’t an overnight decision

Most people don’t get into financial trouble then instantly gain clarity to realize that bankruptcy is their best solution. Instead, it’s a gradual deterioration of circumstances, struggling to pay bills, falling into debt collection, and then the realization they need an intervention. If you’re still in this spiral, you’re living in what’s called the financial sweatbox – the rough period when you’re in financial distress but have yet to file bankruptcy.

The financial sweatbox

A sweatbox is a small confined space where people are punished or tortured with heat and dehydration. This cruel means of tormenting prisoners dates back to the 1800s in the US and was common in other cultures as well. A financial sweatbox is metaphorical, rather than literal, and refers to a period of intense monetary stress where you’re subject to debt collector harassment, depletion of assets, and constantly running short on cash to meet your obligations.

When you choose Greensboro bankruptcy, you open the doors and let yourself out of this financial prison, so you can breathe fresh air once again and enjoy peace of mind. Unfortunately, people tend to linger in the financial sweatbox far longer than they should.

Sweatbox statistics

A recent report from the Notre Dame Law Review, titled Life in the Sweatbox, surveyed 2,300 recent bankruptcy filers and asked them about the months and years leading up to bankruptcy. Here’s what they found about how long they toughed it out in the sweatbox before filing bankruptcy:

• Around 7% of bankruptcy filers waited less than six months
• Another 9% said they struggled more than six months but less than a year
• About 18% lingered one to two years in this tough circumstance
• Roughly 30% lasted a stunning five or more years in the sweatbox
• About 36% of filers spent two to five years struggling before filing            

The longer you spend in the sweatbox, the worst your post-bankruptcy outcome. Why? You get the same amount of debt relief from bankruptcy, but it’s what you’re left with that is the make or break point. Bankruptcy offers the same relief, but it’s how low you let your assets deplete that affects your post-bankruptcy outcome.

The effects of lingering in the sweatbox

Continuing in the sweatbox brings consequences that can be devastating. When people linger in debt, they go to increasingly extreme lengths to deal with the financial crunch. You might sell off your belongings, take out loans from friends and family, take out a title loan on your vehicle, or borrow against your 401(k) savings.

When you tap your assets to buy yourself another day or week in debt you’ll never conquer, you’re setting yourself up for trouble later. The longer you wait, the less means you’ll have to re-establish your financial future after your bankruptcy discharge. Many assets can be protected in Greensboro bankruptcy using North Carolina bankruptcy exemptions.

If you’re in the financial sweatbox, it’s time to get out. Find out if bankruptcy is a fitting solution for your financial predicament.

Read reviews from our clients then contact the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt at +1-833-627-0115 to schedule a free Greensboro bankruptcy consultation at one of our locations in Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Wilson, Greensboro or Wilmington.

Resource:

Notre Dame Law Review