I can't pay my bills. Should I declare bankruptcy? Answer: Women still make only $.76 for every dollar of a mans income but women dont get a 25 percent discount on groceries, mortgages and health insurance. Single mothers are particularly vulnerable to financial hardship. Even with an adequate income, poor money stewardship may leave you in unmanageable debt. Whatever your reality, a too-hasty choice to declare bankruptcy could worsen your troubles. If you are unable to meet your financial obligations, you should investigate a number of options before considering bankruptcy. If your income has been temporarily reduced because of illness or unemployment, you need to consider cutting down on expenditures, taking advantage of unemployment and public assistance, or liquidating assets. Another option is to restructure your debts. Debt restructuring involves manipulating your loan balances, interest rates, and repayment terms so you can meet your monthly expenses and still pay off your creditors in a reasonable amount of time. You can also hire a professional credit counselor to assist you in restructuring your debts. Credit counselors will contact your creditors and attempt to negotiate affordable repayment terms for you. If you can't afford to hire a credit counselor, you may find help at your local Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) office or other nonprofit credit counseling service. These nonprofit companies provide basically the same services as a professional credit counselor, but at little or no cost to you. The CCCS is paid for by the credit card companies and will notify them that you are planning to restructure your debt. If your debts are mounting and you foresee little or no improvement in your finances in the near future, you may need to consider taking a more drastic measure--declaring bankruptcy. It's possible for both people and businesses to restructure their debts through bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy removes your obligation to repay most of your outstanding debts but requires that you surrender any assets that are not exempt from the bankruptcy process. Your assets are then sold and the proceeds are distributed among your creditors. If you are a wage earner, Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to seek court approval of a repayment plan that pays creditors over 36 to 60 months. Any portion of your debt that isn't paid off through the Chapter 13 plan is discharged. Chapter 12 bankruptcy (expires 1/1/04) provides the same basic relief as Chapter 13 bankruptcy, with some modifications, for family farmers. Under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a business (or in rare cases, an individual) can propose a plan of reorganization to its creditors. If creditors approve of the Chapter 11 reorganization plan, the business can continue to operate and pay its creditors according to the plan.