What are my debts?
What is my income and what are my expenses?

1. Make a list of all your creditors, list their names and the amounts you owe. Determine  whether the creditor is secured and the interest rate you pay.
   
   
2. List all of your monthly household income, if your income is from wages and salary consider your net pay on average. (Remember that there are actually 4.3 weeks in every month.)
   
   
3. List your regular expenses, but do not include minimum payments for credit card bills. Be thorough. You do not want to cheat yourself, write down every expense that you actually have. 

Compare your
income and expenses.

Does the comparison show money left over at the end of the month? Is this true? (Most people understate their actual expenses, try to be as accurate as you can.)

If your expenses, not including credit cards, are more than your income,  then bankruptcy will only provide temporary relief at best. Bankruptcy will absolve you of some or perhaps all of your debts, but it cannot absolve you of future debts. Filing for bankruptcy will also make it much harder to obtain credit in the future, so if you cannot make ends meet on your income, it may make sense to post-pone a bankruptcy until you are at least able to pay your necessary expenses with your income.

If you have money left over at the end of the month, then there is a way to resolve or improve your financial difficulties. Bankruptcy is one of these ways, but there are also others.

Is there anything I can do to reduce my expenses and/or increase my income?

Go over your income and expenses again. Remember this exercise is only for your personal benefit. Typical ways to cut expenses include: Eating out less often, make fewer trips in the car and do more with each trip. Increasing your income can be more difficult, but give some thought to ways to increase your income.