Bankruptcy Alternatives: Dealing with Debt

I can't pay my Bills. What am I going to do?

At some point in their life, everyone is faced with financial problems and can't pay their bills. It doesn't matter how much you owe, or even who you owe - if you haven't got enough money, someone is not going to get paid when you can't pay all your bills. If it's a short-term problem, you can probably weather the storm, but if it goes on month after month, sooner or later you're going to face some hard choices.

What happens if I don't pay my bills?

Depending on your general payment history, your credit report, your creditors (the people to whom you owe money) may allow you to miss a single payment and their response will be a letter politely requesting payment. If you miss a second payment, the letter will be more insistent and it might be followed by a phone call. It's when you miss the third payment that trouble typically begins. In most cases, your account will be turned over to a collection agent for processing and you will be dealing with collection agencies from then on.

There are a number of options available to people trying to deal with their debts. It is important that you are well informed about each one of them, before you make the final decision.

For many people, bankruptcy is the right choice. For others, various bankruptcy alternatives would work better, and deal with your financial problems more effectively than personal bankruptcy. Bankruptcy alternatives to consider would be:

Start personal budget planning
Use your personal budget to determine if and how you can increase your income or reduce your expenses each month
Work on credit repair
Consider debt consolidation
Consider a debt management plan, through credit counselling
Make a consumer proposal to creditors and, as a last resort,
Consider filing for Ontario bankruptcy

What do I do now?

The purpose of this page was to make you aware of the alternatives that are available to people like you, who are experiencing financial difficulty and can't pay their bills - including bankruptcy and alternatives to bankruptcy.

If you are experiencing money and other financial problems and can't pay your bills, we recommend that you call one of our Ontario bankruptcy offices today to discuss your specific situation. All consultations are provided free of charge.