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What causes other people's bankruptcies?

Bankruptcy has long been associated with overspending and irresponsible behavior. However, that's myth, not fact. While overspending sometimes plays a role in bankruptcy:

• Medical crisis is the number one cause of bankruptcies. More than half of all bankruptcies are caused by a medical crisis. Medical bills mount up and jobs are lost because of the crisis.

• Widespread job loss and underemployment in the current economic crisis are, of course, a factor.

• The shocking housing crisis left many families bankrupt when they couldn't keep up with payments or were forced to move because of a job change and couldn't sell their house to cover the debt owed.

• Immoral predatory lending* has also been a leading factor in American bankruptcies.

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