How is it that credit card co's don't catch on to this ....

[Gunnar419]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I also wanted to add that I feel a lot of people want to gloat because they haven't had to file bankruptcy.  I did and I didn't lose any sleep over it.  We all deserve a second chance.  Our economy thrives because we believe in giving people second chances.  Could you imagine if you screwed up in life and were never given a second chance?  People should not be judged merely because they have filed for bankrupty protection/relief from the courts. They too at one time had perfect credit.  Maybe they felt they were secure in their job and then the economy sank.  Most of those people weren't to proud to deliver pizzas or go work at McDonalds.  My point?  They had the ambition to move forwad and keep on going because they knew it was only a temporary set back.  Me personally, i was young and dumb.  I learned from my mistakes and have applied them movng forward.  I have more credit than I've ever had.  I'm in a little bit different situaton since I received an inheritance, but still, I have worked hard not to let the same mistakes happen now.  My bankruptcy has not kept me from getting anything at all.  So please don't Judge.  Bankruptcy happens and I repeat, its not the end of the world, it is simply a new fresh start and that is what it was intended to be.  

---

I've never had to declare bankruptcy, but I can't judge those who do. I've messed up in my own ways and I agree everybody deserves a second chance.

I applaud people who come out of bankruptcy determined to do better and think it's great that so many are able to reestablish themselves in a couple of years (sometimes using some very good advice found here). I don't at all think that people are gaming the system when they do that.

The one thing that does alarm me over and over again is seeing people who've just emerged from BK asking how they can finance expensive new luxury vehicles or other high end optional purchases like boats when they're clearly not back on solid ground yet. I've seen half a dozen posts of that type here in the last year. What disturbs me about those posts isn't the thought that anybody's gaming the system, but the thought that these people have been given the blessed opportunity to start over and often don't seem to have learned any lessons from their experience.

[Anonymous]

One could say the same thing about Convicted Felons, Similar to BK you pay your penance in time..

Except in the other case you never truly pay your debt to society.

If you go BK, After 7-10 years you have a fresh start.

[barbaralee]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
One could say the same thing about Convicted Felons, Similar to BK you pay your penance in time..

Except in the other case you never truly pay your debt to society.

If you go BK, After 7-10 years you have a fresh start.

---

A friend of mine had to file BK after her baby was diagnosed with a tumor around his spine, of which he subsequently died from at 1 year old. Obviously her case is extreme, but a lot of bankruptcies have less to do with living lavishly and more to do with medical debt, a business venture that failed, a divorce, etc. So are you lumping in that person's who health has suddenly spun out of control, a failed business, or a broken marriage in with convicted felons? 

This is a serious case of being judgmental. There are people with all facets of financial outlooks that not everyone agrees with. I don't agree with putting your taxes on your credit cards, having no emergency funding, using a credit card then having to utilize your entire paycheck to pay off said credit card before interest hits. But who am I to judge someone else's financial decisions? 

[Anonymous]

Certain cases could certainly be considered comparable.

Should someone who for example wrote a bad check and was pigeonholed into pleading guilty to a low level felony not deserve a a fresh start eventually as someone with a BK would?

Every case is different on both ends of the rope.

[chwebb1]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I also wanted to add that I feel a lot of people want to gloat because they haven't had to file bankruptcy.  I did and I didn't lose any sleep over it.  We all deserve a second chance.  Our economy thrives because we believe in giving people second chances.  Could you imagine if you screwed up in life and were never given a second chance?  People should not be judged merely because they have filed for bankrupty protection/relief from the courts. They too at one time had perfect credit.  Maybe they felt they were secure in their job and then the economy sank.  Most of those people weren't to proud to deliver pizzas or go work at McDonalds.  My point?  They had the ambition to move forwad and keep on going because they knew it was only a temporary set back.  Me personally, i was young and dumb.  I learned from my mistakes and have applied them movng forward.  I have more credit than I've ever had.  I'm in a little bit different situaton since I received an inheritance, but still, I have worked hard not to let the same mistakes happen now.  My bankruptcy has not kept me from getting anything at all.  So please don't Judge.  Bankruptcy happens and I repeat, its not the end of the world, it is simply a new fresh start and that is what it was intended to be.  

---

I'm not judging you or anyone else in this thread. Back in 2012, I could have written a book on the bad financial decisions I made, and I'm sure a lot of people have their own financial self-inflicted wounds. For me, I got my first "real" credit card (with a $2500 credit limit), and several months later, I woke up to a balance of nearly $2300 on that card (I know that at least some people gasped because of the util on this forum!). I made peanuts back then, so it took me months to pay off, but I finally did get it paid off (before the 0% intro period expired even).  But I learned from those bad decisions, and am now a lot better off and wiser for them. For example, I learned to not charge things to the card that I can't pay in full or don't have a plan to pay for in a reasonable amount of time. I also have a low APR card in case the need arises to carry a balance. When I start judging is when I see the same people make the same mistakes over and over again and never have a "Eureka! This is a really bad idea!" moment. But I think most people on this forum probably have already had their "Eureka!" moment, or are working towards their "Eureka" moment.

[longtimelurker]

---

@mikelo22 wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

people applying for a ton of credit cards buying a lot of stuff sometimes very expensive stuff like rolex's and boats and then BK everything ., would the creditors be able to take away the boat and Rolex , cause I've seen people leave BK pretty good , keeps 2 cars , house , everything , from far away you would have never know the person just BK ! I think all cards should be (NPSL) and then be at the creditors discretion to approve or not approve the purchases , like amex charge , visa sig. 

---

Citi Double Cash 1k, CSP 5k , Chase United 5k , BOFA Cash 4.5k , Discover it 1k , Chase Slate 2k , Chase Freedom 1k , Hilton Amex 3k , U.S. Airways 7.5k , Amazon Store $500
Gardening from now on last app 2/10/2015

---

The assets you listed like a boat, rolex, etc would very likely be liquidated to the creditors. 

Yes, there are ways to hide assets, like if such an item was a "gift" from a friend/family member, etc. But even this is difficult as there will be holds on all your bank accounts and creditors' attorneys and the Trustee will be poring over every single credit transaction/bank withdrawal that you make. I work at a firm that deals with creditors' rights in bankruptcy and you wouldn't believe the kinds of things people try to pull during proceedings. But rest assured, the BK Trustee is going to be very thorough and there are very serious repercussions if you're caught trying to hide away something. 

There was one case several years back where a person tried to hide over $400K in merchandise behind a "fake" wall in a warehouse he owned. Rest assured, it was discovered and he is now behind bars for that and many other criminal things he attempted.

So what you describe is, shall I say, a popular archetype, but it's really nothing more than a straw man. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in BK.

---

Right, but we have no idea of just how often people DO get away with things, we only know those that get caught.