If you are an experienced Manhattan bankruptcy attorney then chances are that you have seen it all with regard to the variation in individuals who ultimately decide to seek personal bankruptcy protection. A seasoned Manhattan bankruptcy attorney can most likely identify some of the major reasons that their clients cite as the root causes of bankruptcy. Things like going through a divorce, being laid off or having one's home foreclosed on are among popular causes of bankruptcy for today's time period. This is in addition to the normal reason that one files for personal bankruptcy because they have severely mismanaged their finances. Any Manhattan bankruptcy attorney has probably seen their fair share of these kinds of cases. This may have something to do with the fact that once you have demolished or tarnished your credit so bad, it is virtually impossible to recover without starting all over from scratch with a clean slate. For people in these types of situations, bankruptcy becomes an extremely attractive option. It is a way to release themselves from the financial obligations of the debt that they managed to accumulate. This is not necessarily a bad thing especially if a concrete, valuable financial lesson is learned. There are a number of ways that bankruptcy filers can learn from their past financial failures. They may be able to communicate one on one with a financial expert. They can usually be found at debt management companies or financial recovery agencies. They may recommend adopting a strict financial budget or diet. This includes keeping a written record of all of your spending. This allows you to identify or establish habits in spending. Then you can focus or concentrate on those spending habits that are particularly detrimental to your post bankruptcy progress. Once you recognize those things that are problematic then you can develop an effective course of action to reduce or eliminate those habits.