<prompt> Human: Im asking this on behalf of a friend, Im hoping you guys would have more insight than I could provide.My friend has 20k on credit cards with APRs nearing 20 and 10k from a personal loan which Im sure is at a comparatively high rate. She also has two kids and makes IIRC, about 30k annually. She cannot catch up with the payments. At first she considered borrowing against her 401k to pay off the credit card which I convinced her was a bad idea. Now she is considering filing for bankruptcy. My biggest concerns for her are that her credit will be shot for 10 years and it may be a red flag for a new employer or landlord doing a credit check.What do you guys think of her situation? File for bankruptcy and start anew? Or stick it out? Thanks.  <response>: Everyone seems to be missing the real problem. If she declares bankruptcy, will she stay out of debt? Is she spending more than shes earning now? Where did this debt come from? How did it get out of control?As far as bankruptcy, assuming she could pay down 3K a year, her 30K would take in excess of 10 years to pay back, with 0 interest. She gains nothing by doing this. She wont be saving, or contributing to her 401k or anything else. Shell be constantly dropping every penny into that endless pit.As long as she doesnt get evicted, shes fine. People will rent to her. Landlords dont care if you dont pay your credit cards, they are about whether you paid rent, was rent your highest priority? Did it stay there? Well, good. Then youre not a real risk. Some will say no way, most will just say no big deal.Get a lawyer, it will probably cost 1000 to 1500, start saving up for that. 