One of the main reasons why many Americans look to bankruptcy and other measures of debt reduction to clear their name from this debt is because statistically as a country we have a very high debt to income ratio; sometimes way over 50% per household. This ratio can prevent people from obtaining financing, establishing credit, and can also get you in a major bind with many of your own creditors. You can calculate this by taking the percentage of the debt you have versus how much income you bring home. Read more »