First, they stop the bleeding when they can. They don’t continue doing the same things that are loosing them money. You can do the same. Many people continue to struggle even when their financial situation has no hope of improving.  Sometimes your budget just needs minor tweaking, but when that’s not enough, bankruptcy is the best option to stop the bleeding and getting real relief.

Second, the “Top 400”, as a general rule, gather good information and weigh their options carefully before they make a decision.  In contrast, many consumers do every self-help remedy before they seek professional help through bankruptcy.  Many self-help remedies may seem like the right thing to do, but can actually cause more damage when you have to file for bankruptcy later.  One pre-filing mistake by many people is paying back debts that seem the most important to them or their situation.  For example, you owe your father-in-law $10,000.00.  You also owe Uncle Sam and your bank for the Harley you purchased when you had money and were going through the mid-life crisis.  You have just enough in savings to pay one of them off, so who do you pay?  Paying your father-in-law first might give you short term relief in that you won’t feel bad in still owing money to a relative.  However, if the bankruptcy court deems the repayment a fraudulent transfer, it could complicate your bankruptcy petition and result in your creditors now suing your father-in-law for their piece of the $10,000 pie.  In the end, he will be much more dissatisfied that he was brought into the lawsuit, instead of having to wait just a bit longer to get his due.  Before you jump into to a bunch of self-help remedies, talk to a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area.  You may not want to file for bankruptcy immediately, but they can advise you how the choices you have made and are planning to make will impact an eventual bankruptcy petition.

Just about every company owned by the “Top 400” have pithy motivational sayings like:  a vision without a plan is just a hallucination. Take some of these lessons to heart in your personal finances.  Don’t just imagine what it would be like to have your debt under control.  Get with someone who understands how to get you where you want to be, and make a plan for own financial recovery.