Debt is nothing new for most of us, and chances are that we'll have to deal with it at some point or another in our lives, but that doesn't mean it's something to fear.
Nowadays there are lots of options for people who find themselves in this situation, so there really is no need to run and file bankruptcy at the first sign of distress in your budget.
There are a lot of risks involved with filing bankruptcy, the biggest one being not being able to get loans because of the low credit score involved with bankruptcy.
Not only will it affect your score, but it will make it very hard to get it back up and it may also give you a lot of legal trouble because of the fact that it will go on your record and stay there for quite a while.
As an alternative, you could consider debt settlement, cutting your debt in half in the process and getting a much lower interest rate so that you can be able to pay off the remainder in a much shorter amount of time.
You have to negotiate with the creditor, and there is a chance that they will refuse, but if you can prove that you are no longer able to pay the monthly minimum then they are usually open to suggestions.
This method eliminates your debt in about two or three years and it also lets you start working on your credit score so that you can continue to get loans.
If your debt is not that large, you can seek some form of debt consolidation.
This way, you get a loan at a much lower interest rate in order to pay off all of your debt and are then left with lower payments that you can pay off in considerably less time.
You also save on your debt because you don't have to pay all the interest that you normally would with monthly minimum payments.
Bankruptcy should be the last thing to consider, as it is in the long run, the least advantageous solution you could take, with effects that may span decades and that will prevent you from making a full recovery.