From this year’s Olympics, you may remember Gabby Douglas. She is on the US team in gymnastics and won two gold medals. It turns out her mother filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy earlier this year.

A single mother of four, she filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to discharge unsecured debts and to cure the arrearage on her mortgage. Now that Gabby has her endorsement contracts and awards for medaling in the Olympics, she will likely pay off her Chapter 13 plan early and get an early exit from her bankruptcy.

I think she made a good choice. Her filing bankruptcy allowed her to maintain a household for her kids and gave Gabby the chance to excel at her chosen sport.

Some would say that Gabby’s mother should have sold the house, stopped Gabby’s training and done anything else but file bankruptcy. That would have benefited no one but the large banks and kept Gabby from achieving her dreams. So if you are faced with choosing between achieving your dreams or paying creditors, I am always going to advise the former.