The Road Out of Debt: Bankruptcy and Other Solutions to Your Financial Problems

Chapter 1. Getting Started

Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.

——Miguel de Cervantes

There's an old expression that says, "When you're in a hole and trying to get out, stop digging." This means stop doing the things you've been doing that caused you to get in a hole in the first place. If you keep digging, you're only going deeper. Deciding to stop is a turning point where you put down the shovel and decide what to do next.

You have reached a turning point. You have decided to do something about your financial situation. That is why you are reading this book. This is the point where you fight back, the time in your life when you start over. You've had turning points before, even if you didn't recognize them at the time.

Think back to the times in your life when you reached turning points. What about the time you were involved in a personal relationship that didn't work out? Did you stop living your life? No, you left the relationship or it left you. You got over it, moved on, and probably became stronger because of it.

Or think about a time when you decided to move. You reached a turning point. You did something about it. You moved to another place. Maybe it was moving out of the family home or back into the family home, but it was a turning point. You made that decision and went on with your life. The same thing happened when you decided to change jobs, go back to school, or leave school.

You might feel like things haven't gone along exactly as you planned (they ...