About a dozen years ago, my wife gave me a very special birthday present. She arranged for us to have a weekend at Pebble Beach and have me play a round of golf there.
This was a special present not just because I got to play Pebble Beach. The year prior I had spent my birthday doing my second of six rounds of chemotherapy. (Ed: It was acute non-Hodgkins lymphoma and I'm fine now, thanks.) So suffice it to say that this was a vastly better birthday than the year before. I still have the picture in my office of playing golf there.
I wanted to walk rather than take a cart so I hired a caddy. I'm going to change his name here to protect his privacy. We'll just call him Dave.
For all sorts of reasons, I really enjoyed my round that day. The weather was nice. The views were beautiful. The course was in good shape.
Most of all, though, I really enjoyed the company of my caddy.
Dave and his wife had moved to the area a few years earlier because they wanted to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle than they had before. Dave was working as a caddy and not making great money by any stretch. But his job involved walking Pebble Beach every day and meeting people. He clearly enjoyed his job.
We were a few holes into the round when Dave asked me, "So, Andy, what do you for a living?" After I told him, he got very excited: "We filed bankruptcy two years ago. Best thing we ever did." I explained that most people who file a bankruptcy are much better off for it. He couldn't have agreed more.
There were a couple things going on in Dave's life that precipitated the filing. First, his wife liked to shop and got them a little stretched with credit cards. Second, his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and that affected her ability to work.
Dave told me the story about how his wife initially was reluctant to file bankruptcy: "It'll be the end of us," she said. He joked that the shopping was going to take them down long before the bankruptcy would.
I asked how she came around. Dave explained that, once they met with their attorney and she laid out how bankruptcy worked, his wife got comfortable with what was involved. Obviously, the process of filing personal bankruptcy isn't all that pleasant. But the pain of filing a bankruptcy is usually less than the pain of trying to get out of debt that is beyond one's means.
Why am I telling this story?
It's not because I want you to call me to file your case. Obviously I am happy to help if you or someone you know can use my services. But there will be about 1.5 million personal bankruptcy cases this year. That will be more than enough to keep people like me busy.
I am telling this story because it is typical of what people in financial distress go through. At first, they have this terrible mix of emotions arising from debts they can't manage. Many eventually decide that they need to call someone like me. A lot of them dread that call like nothing else. Once they understand the process and come to accept it, the prospect of bankruptcy isn't so bad. After their case is done, they are relieved.
When people I meet learn what I do, lots of them start talking to me about their personal bankruptcy cases from years past. It's not necessarily something they're proud of. But they want to share their experiences and don't mind talking about it.
Some people think that they are immune from the financial pressures that afflict millions of other people in the United States. Some people think that only bad/dishonest/irresponsible people file bankruptcy. They think, "It can't happen to me." Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone.
Everybody goes through hard times. Sometimes it's illness. Sometimes it's family troubles. Sometimes it's financial troubles. Unfortunately some of those overlap quite often. We all try to avoid the hard times. But ultimately some bad things happen even to the best of people.
I talk on a daily basis with people from all walks of life. They are of all ages, income classes, education levels, and ethnic backgrounds. The reasons for their problems are similarly diverse. Bad things often happen to good people.
Financial restructuring is a lot like chemotherapy or any other treatment for a dangerous disease. It's not terribly pleasant. But it usually leaves you better off than you were before.
Fortunately, most folks are good, honest people. They will get through the process largely unscathed and be able to talk openly about it later. Dave certainly didn't mind talking about it. Ultimately it was just one of the things that happened to him in life and that he got through.
And he gave me a really good story. So small surprise that a few years later when I had the chance to play Pebble Beach again, I specifically requested him. He only vaguely remembered me then. But he asked again what I did.
Then he remembered all about me.
Read More...
Posts
