Although many people deep in debt look at bankruptcy as a viable option, it should be considered the last option after everything else fails.
If there is anything that can work in place of bankruptcy, it should be given due thought to and tried out.
Reviewing and analyzing ones own spending and earning patterns can help a great deal here.
Once the trouble begins, rectifying these habits can help one avoid bankruptcy.
If this is not done, the situation may reach a point of no return and the need for bankruptcy would be more pronounced.
Do it yourself bankruptcy is an option you can consider, and a host of tools are available online.
These tools cost nothing but can help you to achieve a lot in terms of financial discipline and making your money go longer.
With more and more bankruptcy attorneys and credit counseling agencies offering their services online, the tools are only increasing by the day.
It is very important that these tools are kept free of cost so that they can reach the needy.
One word of caution here is that you should be wary of many a credit counselors and bankruptcy attorneys who try to charge upfront for their services online.
This aspect does not really seem moral, since they are only trying to help themselves in your times of despair.
They are bound to charge some fee but then after they offer a little service to you and get you going on the road to retribution.
Before embarking on using these tools and giving the "do it yourself bankruptcy" a try, it is also good to get some advice from someone who is financially more knowledgeable like a credit counselor or a bankruptcy attorney.
The initial advice is usually provided free and so you can get yourself on the road to rebuilding your finances if you get some advice from them and act on it.
For a beginning, you can get some idea about what bankruptcy actually means and live a bankrupt life for a while without actually opting for it.
OF course this would take a lot of self discipline but the better self imposed than court imposed isn't it.
I am sure following this can get you going in the right direction without the 10 financial year exile and a bad credit rating that would be the result of a formal bankruptcy.