When people find themselves at Halcomb Singler for a free initial bankruptcy consultation they are often asking themselves how they ended up in this situation. As I have said many times before...needing to file for bankruptcy does not make you the worst person on earth. It does not make you immoral or a social outcast. However, how one arrived in a situation where bankruptcy was necessary should be examined. If nothing else it can help make sure that you never have to go through bankruptcy again.
For some bankruptcy is a product of mountains of medical bills or a job loss that has lasted 2 years or more. However, for many Hoosiers bankruptcy is the product of many years of overspending. I am not saying that people are living large buying fancy jewelry, art, antiques and eating out every day of the week. In my experience most people have lived just a little bit outside of their means over the course of many years. This means going out to eat a few times a week, buying a new outfit once a month, having a $200.00 per month cell phone contract or getting their nails or hair done once every two weeks. Often when these little extras began there was no problem in affording that extra trip to the nail salon, etc. However, times have changed in Indiana and the Indianapolis area since 2008. Many people have not received a raise, have had their pay cut, or have lost jobs.
One of the problems that I see again and again is that families fail to change their standard of living when their income decreases or stays stagnant over a period of years. Even if you haven't had a job loss or pay decrease, you have noticed that gas has gone way up and that prices at the grocery store have increased. To avoid overspending after an income loss, decrease or long period without an increase in income it is extremely important to budget. It never fails to amaze me how people get used to making a certain cell phone, cable or internet payment and don't change their plan when their income decreases. At the very least a quick call to the internet or cable company telling them you need a better deal or you will cancel your service (and meaning it) will knock off a few dollars from your bill each month. It is just simple math that if your pay goes down your expenses must go down too. If that means that your 12 year old can't have a cell phone any more than have the darn thing turned off. If that means that you don't go on a vacation (even over a weekend) until the finances improve then do it. You have to think of your change in finances as if you are on a diet. You have less money to spend so you have to do some belt tightening. It is not fun.....but you can either cut back on expenses, get a second or third job, or start yourself on the road to long-term overspending. I have met with hundreds of people who wish they had chosen option one or two.
Another reason I believe many Hoosiers start long-term overspending (especially in Hamilton County, Indiana where my office is located) is because they are trying to keep up with the Joneses. The cold hard truth of the situation is that you need to ignore the Joneses. This is best done by being happy with the things that you have, realizing that things are not what really what make you happy and just plain telling yourself that the Joneses are probably mortgaged to the hilt and have to use a credit card cash advance to pay their mortgage each month. Most people Hamilton County Indiana (including myself) would agree that they have just about everything that they need and want. It only takes picking up a newspaper to read about the way people in other countries are unable to access clean water, etc., before you realize that you really do have enough stuff. Similarly, I also think most people would agree that it is friends and family that really make you happy...not your brand new water softener. Whenever I watch television shows about people who narrowly escape death they are not talking about how the new couch they bought helped them come up with the mental toughness necessary to find their way out of the situation. They are talking about the fact that they had a wife/husband or children to get back to and that they wanted to see their son's graduation, walk their daughter down the isle at her wedding, etc. The last reason is probably the only way you haven't already thought about as a method for ignoring the Joneses. Just remember that the Joneses are probably full of it. They probably have about $10.00 in the bank each month in order to make the payments on the fancy cars that you drool over every day when you pull out of the driveway. The Joneses might have 2 loans on their 401k savings and no emergency fund. The Joneses probably haven't saved one penny for their little genius that they claim is going to be a Harvard grad some day. The Joneses are probably up at night stressing over how to make the mortgage payment next month. And maybe you are right and the Joneses are sitting on a mint, their house is paid off, they bathe in their money every day before going to bed and sit on a couch made out of money each night when they are watching television. But if you are trying to ignore the Joneses just do yourself a favor and tell yourself that they are broke. If you think to yourself that the Joneses are broke you won't feel the need to keep up with them. You will be better able to concentrate on the great things in your own life and resist the need to overspend just to keep up with them and you won't overspend.
If you are in Hamilton County Indiana or the Indianapolis are and have questions about bankruptcy CALL TO SET UP A FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION 317-575-8222. I am happy to review your situation and make a recommendation in favor of or against bankruptcy for no fee.
Halcomb Singler, LLP, is a debt relief agency. It helps people file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. No attorney-client relationship with the firm of Halcomb Singler, LLP, is created through this blog. Also, please note that Erika Singler is an attorney licensed in Indiana and does not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and should not be relied upon for the circumstances of any individual(s) or businesses.
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