Indeed. Financial author Dave Ramsey hates bankruptcy and he hates it for a good reason. Twenty six years ago, he and his wife declared bankruptcy and they still feel the effects to this day.
https://www.daveramsey.com/article/the-truth-about-bankruptcy
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which operates as a complete forgiveness of all unsecured debt, stays on your credit report for ten years. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is a repayment plan for all your debt, stays on your credit report for seven years. Chapter 13 bankruptcy also inserts a court-appointed trustee into your life, whose job is to identify as many assets as they can to repay your creditors. That trustee is also paid a commission on all of your assets they can find and liquidate. Typically a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a five-year process.
While bankruptcy may be the only option for some consumers, others are far better off to pursue a debt settlement workout outside of bankruptcy. Debt settlement performed by a qualified debt settlement attorney will achieve dramatic reductions in the principal balance of the debt. Therefore the consumer ends up paying back much less than they originally owed. Furthermore, debt settlement has much less of a negative impact on your credit report as compared to bankruptcy, which haunts you for 7 or 10 years. Contact a qualified debt settlement law firm and learn more about options outside of bankruptcy. I am sure that Dave Ramsay will agree that bankruptcy is to be last resort for consumers plagued by too much debt.