Real-Life Decision Making
The ability to change people's lives is what drew you to a career as a
credit counselor. Your belief is that everyone should pay their bills on time.
But for those who cannot, you understand the pressure of owing a huge debt.
People have come into your life crying and embarrassed over their financial
situations. You spend a lot of time telling clients that their money situation
is not a reflection of their person. It is a reflection of their ability to
handle money.
You teach your clients how to effectively handle their money. You teach
them about budgeting and credit cards. Then you make arrangements for them
to repay their bills in full and still have enough money left at the end of
the month to buy necessities.
Today, however, you are faced with a new situation. The gentleman sitting
in front of your desk has a huge amount of debt. He has run numerous credit
cards up to their limit. He has two car payments, a house payment and two
personal loan payments. In addition, there are other regular bills, such as
insurance, coming out of his paycheck.
When he made these purchases, he had the income to pay for them. However,
a recent downsizing at his company has left him with a much lower paying job,
and he has no savings to fall back on.
He is willing to get a second job, but even a second job will not make
up the difference between his current income and the amount of money he owes
each month.
The man has told you that he absolutely does not want to file for bankruptcy.
After looking closely at his bills, you find that there really is no way
to combine his bills to get them within the monthly payment that
he can afford. No matter how you figure it, his only choice is to file for
bankruptcy.
You know that there are things much worse than bankruptcy. And you can
show him how to re-establish his credit once the bankruptcy has been filed.
But you fear that he will be very upset with your recommendation.
Your only other option is to consolidate his bills and leave him with a
payment that he won't be able to make. And if he defaults on the debt consolidation
loan, there may be legal consequences.
What do you do?