Recently I’ve been trying to find out how to declare yourself bankrupt, as my debts are starting to bear a heavy weight on me. I have been unemployed now for some time, while my (wonderful) girlfriend has been supporting me. On the mental side it has been quite a strain - waking up in the night with palpitations, getting anxious during the day (every few minutes as I remember the trouble I’m in). It seems that I’m not the only one, as some of my friends are even fighting foreclosure the rest of the world, with America leading the way as usual. I’m stuck with student loan debt, credit card debt, and an overdraft that makes my bank manager’s eyes water. I fell into the trap of thinking that going to university and getting a degree would practically guarantee a successful career or a decent job at least!

Anyway, I’ve managed to keep transferring my debt around and get the best interest rates in order to try and keep it under control, but since I’ve been out of work my debt has gradually increased to the point where it’s keeping me up at night. Technically I am bankrupt as I don’t have the income required to meet my debt repayments every month, but what’s stopped me going the whole way and having myself declared bankrupt is because I’m optimistic enough to keep on believing that I’ll secure employment soon. This is just as the world economy goes down the pan. So I’m starting to feel more and more anxious.

A few of my friends have been made redundant, while one of them who is loaded has managed to take advantage of the downturn in the property market and buy a luxury flat at nearly a third of the price it was a year ago. The people with money going into a recession are the ones who can potentially get even richer by the time things start to improve.

I met another friend who I used to deliver pizzas with about 10 years ago, before I started college, who took great delight in telling me he owns a number of properties that he rents out. He wasn’t gloating and I genuinely was happy for him, but it once again left me regretting going to university.