It wasn't to long ago that someone who was deeply in debt would just say “thats ok I will just go bankrupt".
Many people looked on bankruptcy as part of life, and there are many people who have been bankrupt 3 or 4 times. Every time a person goes through bankruptcy they are leaving behind thousands of dollars of money that can never be collected by the companies they owe the money to.

Historically the usual cause of bankruptcy has been medical costs and after that Credit card debt has been the leading debt in the majority of bankruptcy cases.

Medical costs in the USA can become enormous, totally unmanageable and the stress of it all drives many people to throw their hands up and accept bankruptcy as the only way out of it.
This is one of the most acceptable reasons for bankruptcy.

Up until recently credit card debt was just as easy to escape from. Bought to many gadgets, spent to much on clothes run up 20 credit cards with thousands of dollars of debt on each credit card? Just go bankrupt wait two years and start all over again.

Bankruptcy is no longer as easy as it was, the bankruptcy laws changed dramatically in 2005. It is no longer as easy to walk away from your debt as it was previously, if the bankruptcy court feel that you can pay the debt back they will make you do just that.

Before you go and apply for another store card, or a new credit card to add to your collection, think about whether you can really afford it and remember that bankruptcy is not a easy option anymore.
The debt you accumulate now will be with you for a long long time, and the dollar you spend on that new pair of shoes now will cost you two dollars by the time you have finally cleared the debt from your credit cards.