I tune to the radio. A perky adwoman crows over her company’s super-friendly lending practices. She promises they require no collateral.

“Because we trust you,”

she says.

Back breaking, flesh pecking interest the hard money, pay day and online lenders claim tells a different story. They’ll trust you all right…  

When pigs fly.

But it turns out soaring boars aren’t the sole symbol of unlikelihood. See, other languages have their own animal idioms to express disbelief. If you heard a personal loan commercial like that in Kerala, India, you might believe that lender… 

When the crow flies upside down.

And in Manila, Philippines, you might trust in the lender’s trust…

When the crow turns white & the egret turns black. 

Finally, in St. Petersburg, Russia, you’d buy what she’s selling…

When the crawfish whistles on the mountain.

Wait, what? Crawfish? I was trying really hard to maintain a theme there. Now the Russians have interfered with the integrity of my bankruptcy blog!

Oh, well. The point is usury is alive and it thrives. Loans with low principal balances easily balloon into insurmountable, debilitating debt. It doesn’t necessarily take major job loss, divorce, or a devastating event to weigh you down with unrepayable liabilities. Often consumers are driven to bankruptcy over borrowing what were initially modest sums. It might just be that perky, pretty salesperson that popped up on your browser, baited you with 6% APR and switched to triple digit interest.

Whether it stems from ordinary credit cards with merely high interest or pay day loans with… stoned out of their mind levels of interest, if your state is untenable, you’re treading water, not putting a dent in the principal debt, it’s time to consider a proactive solution. Debt forgiveness from the filing of a voluntary bankruptcy petition in federal court can be a cost-effective, comprehensive and swift solution.

You do not have to be a feast for creditors.

Photo credit: Alexas_Foto