Question: William is facing bankruptcy and wonders if he should empty his 401k to pay on his debt. He went from making $23 an hour to $11 an hour, his father died and his wife left him. He was having suicidal thoughts. After hearing how much he owes, Dave tells him why he's not even close to bankrupt, but also why William thinks he is.

Dave Ramsey's advice: You are almost current on your other bills and have $12,000 in debt. You're talking about filing bankruptcy on $12,000. Your income is not going to change as a result of bankruptcy. I think what's happening to you more than anything is your emotional state. What happens with depression and suicidal thoughts is that is you losing your hope. If you had hope and were fired up, $12,000 wouldn't be a big deal. You're more bankrupt emotionally than financially.

I would change the way I'm thinking about this stuff. Talk to your counselor or pastor. You can choose to not pay on the debt until you get your fight back. When that happens, you can go back and clean this up. That may be by Christmas. But anyway, you could get a job making $1,000 a month and have this mess cleaned up in 12 months. You're nowhere near bankrupt, you're just scared and beat up. You've been kicked in multiple areas of life all at once, and it's only human to be scared and beat up. You're not bankrupt; there's a lot you can do when you get your fight back.

Take the credit card bills and throw them in the trash. Then this time next month, wake up and pray that God gives you what you need to attack this. If He doesn't, then throw them away for another month. Keep current on the living expenses and get after the credit cards when you have the energy to do it.

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