[Detector]

True.

It has been due to our(wife and I) hard work and determination, but it wouldn't have been possible without help from a good friend. Thats the lucky part. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a good friend with the means, and the want, to help.

We had the will and determination, but that wasn't enough. Because of past bad choices, and a few misfortunes, I still had to pay twice what someone else might pay for my vehicle, and a house was out of the question. Not that I couldn't afford it, but now using better judgment, I couldn't bring myself to pay the 17% interest and still sleep at night.

For me I only saw one way out. No matter how much I despised the idea, bankruptcy seemed the only way to crawl out of that hole. I'm not proud of it by any means, but it was my ticket out, and it worked. Sometimes you've got to swallow your pride and do what needs to be done for the sake of the family. My good friend then helped us to avoid the mistakes we made before, and gave us the chance to prove our worth.

Another lucky break was on our house. We had been paying $625 a month rent just helping our rich landlord be richer. Money necessarily thrown away because we had to have a place to live. Once our credit started clearing up, so did our outlook. We qualified for a house which not only saved us $467 a month, but the money was going toward our own net worth.

Before we couldn't get credit to buy a television, today we receive "pre-approved" platinum cards almost daily, which go straight to the shredder.

Point is the breaks are there for those who don't need them, and out of reach of those who do.