Calculate: Do you need to file for bankruptcy?

Some people make too much money to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Chapter 7 is the most popular type of filing for individuals needing relief. However, to be eligible, debtors must pass an income means test. At the most basic level, they must prove that their average monthly income over six months is below their state’s median. But there are exceptions.

Every year, nearly 500,000 bankruptcies are filed in the US

From personal hardships to major corporate collapses like Enron and Bed Bath & Beyond, filing for bankruptcy isn't a quick fix or a “get-out-of-jail-free” card—it’s a complex, structured process offering debt relief or repayment options.

Take a bankruptcy self-filing quiz

If a debtor is considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it may be tempting to take a do-it-yourself approach to avoid attorney or preparer fees. However, experts caution that this could come back to bite filers. A quiz can help would-be filers explore whether their cases are complex enough to necessitate a lawyer.

Bankruptcy is a legal way to manage overwhelming debt, whether for individuals, corporations, or even local governments

Chapter 7 is for liquidating personal assets to clear debts, Chapter 13 allows a repayment plan for individuals, and Chapter 11 lets businesses reorganize to stay afloat.

For some debtors without assets that can be sold or returned, filing for bankruptcy can provide a path toward a clean slate

However, the bankruptcy process does not apply to several types of common debt, including money owed toward child support or alimony payments. Most debtors also do not qualify for relief from student loan payments.

Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be complex

Debtors must know whether their liabilities are secured or unsecured and what type of assets they have. They also need to know what a filing can and can’t help them with.

The average US household carries $105,056 in total debt

This article breaks down the average household debt by category, including credit card debt ($6,523), personal loans ($11,274), and more.

See the growth of US consumer debt

Americans reached an all-time high debt burden in 2024. Data compiled from The Kaplan Group shows the evolution of auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt, and student loans from 2003 to 2023, and finds that after a brief decline after 2008, the total debt burden grew rapidly.

A 'debt trap' refers to the need for loans or credit to cover the expenses incurred from other debt

Debt traps can be caused by unforeseen expenses or inadequate savings and can be a brutal cycle to break. At the end of 2025, total household debt in the US reached $18.8T, according to data from the Federal Reserve of New York.

Should you pay off debt or invest?

Some experts say you should put aside 20% of each paycheck and use that money for future goals, such as saving, investing, and paying off debt. But which should you prioritize first? It all depends on where you are in your financial journey. This article outlines the steps you should take depending on what your finances look like right now. Read it here.

How to get out of debt

This article provides a few helpful tips for getting out of debt, such as learning more about the debt itself and asking for better interest rates. It also explains the popular "debt snowball" and "debt avalanche" methods for getting out of debt. Curious to learn more? Read the full article here.

Calculate whether or not you're in the American middle class

In 2022, roughly 52% of US adults lived in middle-income households. This income calculator can help you determine whether or not you're one of them. Specifically, the calculator lets you enter your household income, location, and more to see where you line up in Pew's government data.

Even high earners are living paycheck to paycheck

While roughly 14% of American households make $200K or more per year, many of them still don't feel rich. For instance, more than 60% of people with salaries over $300K per year still struggle with credit card debt.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

A third of Americans don't have the cash they need to cover a $500 emergency

That's according to a 2023 Federal Reserve survey. So what does the average American in this camp do when, say, their car breaks down? This video compares six of the most common ways Americans get money when they don't have it. As it turns out, some of them opt for payday loans, which this video argues are predatory.

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021. While default rates have declined since pandemic-era payment pauses, failing to pay off student debt can still have serious consequences, from a low credit score to the government withholding wages.

Near-universal banking masks a large underbanked shadow system

FDIC data indicates 128 million households have a checking account, the vast majority (96% in 2024). But more than 14% of households are underbanked, meaning they have accounts but also rely on nonbank services such as check cashing, payday loans, or prepaid cards.

Try to balance the budget

This interactive calculator challenges users to rebalance the federal budget by adjusting taxes and spending. Try your hand at weighing difficult trade-offs that shape long-term deficits, debt growth, and the sustainability of US public finances.

Calculate your student loan payments

As of summer 2024, interest rates on federal student loans ranged from 6.5% for undergraduates to above 9% for loans taken out by parents (private loans can exceed 17%). The interest rate determines how quickly the amount owed grows. Use this calculator to estimate your monthly payments.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Visualizing the financial troubles of FTX at the time of its bankruptcy

Just before Sam Bankman-Fried declared FTX bankrupt in November of 2022, he sought to raise funds quickly to try to save the cryptocurrency exchange. As part of that attempt, he sent around a glimpse of the exchange's current balance sheet, which showed the company had liabilities of $9 billion with only $900 million in liquid assets. Check out the visualization here.

Mortgage calculator: How much can you borrow?

How much you could pay per month for a mortgage heavily depends on your financial standing, the cost of your property, and how much time you want to spend paying it off. Get a better understanding of what you can afford—and what you might be offered from a lender—with a mortgage calculator.

How to prepare your finances for a layoff

Getting laid off is often unexpected—but that doesn't mean you can't plan for the worst, financially speaking. This article provides a few key tips on how and when to get your finances in order if you're worried about being laid off, such as looking into the cost of replacing employer-sponsored benefits like healthcare. Read more here.

The highest 2024 federal income tax bracket covered income upward of $731,201 for married couples filing jointly

To understand what you would owe on short-term capital gains and to visualize the favorability of long-term tax rates, you need to know how your traditional income is taxed at the federal level. A breakdown explores the different brackets for 2024, separated by filing status.

Managing too many credit cards can be costly if they have annual fees

However, canceling cards must be strategic if it becomes necessary, as it can negatively impact your credit score. Before canceling, experts suggest asking if it's possible to downgrade to a no-annual-fee version in order to keep the account open, thus preventing potential hits to your credit score.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Mental illness in the US costs roughly $282B annually nationwide

That figure, estimated as part of a 2024 Yale analysis that aimed to better understand the macroeconomic implications of mental illness, included the costs of mental health treatment, income loss, and overarching economic setbacks associated with mental illness.

The IRS already has much of the data it asks Americans to report when filing their taxes

Americans spend more than 7.9 billion hours per year doing their taxes: It's notoriously time-consuming, requiring forms, deductions, and often third-party help. But here's the twist: The IRS already has much of the data it asks you to report. Americans still have to do the work themselves partly due to big tax prep companies that lobby to keep the status quo.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.