Financial Wellness As A Tool To Facilitate Bankruptcys Fresh Start

Doctors diagnose conditions using results from tests, questionnaires patients fill out, and the information they learn from conversations with patients. All of this information is used to prescribe the best course of action to make the patient well. This qualitative research study uses a similar approach to address the primary research question: How can the financial wellness conceptual model be used to provide insight about the financial condition of married couples filing Chapter 13? The financial wellness conceptual framework is used to determine each couple's financial status as well as assess financial satisfaction, perception, and behavior. Case studies were prepared for three married couples filing Chapter 13 who completed surveys and consented to be interviewed as they waited for their creditor meetings at bankruptcy court in Memphis, Tennessee. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data were coded and classified based on the focal points of the study, which include objective status, financial behavior, satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and perception constructs. Categories were used to inductively evaluate the financial condition of the couple, based on guidelines for each construct. Data from surveys, bankruptcy records, and interviews, conducted separately with husband and wife, were used to prepare case studies that examine financial condition from the perspective of consumers, using the financial wellness conceptual model. Within the scope of the financial wellness framework, findings indicated that couples in bankruptcy have insolvent households, suffer from low satisfaction, exhibit a perceived internal or external locus of control, and engage in behavior that reflects strong cultural influences. These findings are particularly relevant in the current recessionary economy as many Americans face imminent financial failure. The financial wellness conceptual model has great potential as a tool to facilitate bankruptcy's fresh start because of its comprehensive nature since it includes both subjective and objective constructs. The purpose of bankruptcy is to give consumers a financial fresh start. However, financial relief without a tool to facilitate the fresh start in a way that makes it sustainable over time is insufficient. The financial wellness conceptual framework has great potential as a tool that can be used to help consumers achieve long-term financial wellness.