Many people think to declare their bankruptcy after they faced big financial problems in their life. They usually feel that they have no choice but to do it. However, you should think that bankruptcy is the last thing you want to do where there’s no way back.

If you’re in a dead end and you don’t know what to do, you need to take a deep breath first. Run the options to get out of your financial problems in your head. If you’re still lack of options, consider some of these: debt negotiation, debt settlement, debt consolidation, and refinancing.

1. Debt Negotiation

You could negotiate your debt with your creditor and ask them ether to lower the monthly payment or the interest rate. This will not erase all of your debts, but you could at least make it more affordable to pay. Creditors often have no problem with it as long as you pay their money back. You could tell your problem that you’re considering to filling for bankruptcy but decide to talk to them first. You could also ask them to waive the late fees or finance charging during your negotiation period.

2. Debt Settlement

This is the best way to settle down your debt out of the court. You need to find a good and reputable company to help you negotiate with your creditor. Your goal is to reduce the money that you owed. The creditor usually has no problem to lessen the amount of money that owed them, especially if they knew that you’re going to filling out for bankruptcy if they don’t accept your offer. Prepare some cash at hand to make the deal “sealed” between both of you and your creditor, and then tell them to close the account.

3. Debt Consolidation

If you have so many debts with various interests, you could take a debt consolidation. Debt consolidation will allow you to combine all of your debt into a single monthly payment. Usually you don’t need a good credit record for this debt consolidation loan, that’s why this is one of the good options for you before you declare the bankruptcy. Don’t forget to cut your credit cards until there’s only one or two credit cards left. The low monthly payment of debt consolidation could make you sink deeper if you’re not managing your money carefully.

4. Refinancing

You could get additional money from your house by refinancing it. Of course before you do that, you need to check out whether you have any equities in it or not. You could use this money to pay all of your debt if not minimize it. When you do this, you only have to pay a smaller and affordable monthly payment. However, there is one point that you need to remember. Don’t use the money to buy other things that you don’t need. Pay all of your debt first, and after that, use the leftover to pay for groceries or your kid’s school.

After you consider each options that you have in mind, but you’re still running out of numbers, that’s the point where you should declare for bankruptcy.