Bankruptcy

Pop-Financial-Guru: My Take on Dave Ramsey

By Bill McLeod, Esq.

I?ve often wondered why people wait so long before they file bankruptcy. Like, for example, wait until the morning that their house is scheduled to be auctioned. Wait until they know the tow-truck is coming to take their car away. Then, I wondered if Pop Culture?s Financial Gurus had anything to do with it. Dave Ramsey is one of those gurus who gets a lot of face time on the tube as well as voice time on the radio. He?s also got a book or two out. He hates bankruptcy. Do people listen to him? I bet they do and if you are thinking about bankruptcy, you might want to continue reading.

On bankruptcy, Dave Ramsey says this on his website:

Bankruptcy is not something I recommend any more than I would recommend divorce. Are there times when good people see no way out and file bankruptcy? Yes, but I will still talk you out of bankruptcy if given the opportunity.

It might shock my readers to hear that I tend to be opinionated. I would have no problem recommending divorce if I thought someone should dump their spouse. Of course, I would expect to be asked for that opinion ? I would not just approach some random couple on the street who were fighting and offer my unsolicited opinion. I also have the decency to talk someone out of bankruptcy if I thought it was an unwise decision. Yes, I know that means I will not earn a fee for filing a case. But since I know what it?s like to pay for the pain of what I only learned later was unnecessary dental and gum procedures, I do not believe that I should just file bankruptcy for people who I honestly believe do not need it. Thus, I also do not buy the reckless assumption that bankruptcy is bad all around. Drunk driving? That?s bad all around. Filing bankruptcy? Not so much.

Full post as published by McLeod Law Offices on October 22, 2008 (boomark / email).