Answer: The first thing you need to do is opt out of your bank’s bounced-check protection program. You may think you need to borrow money this way to make ends meet, but as you’ve discovered, it’s driving you further into the hole.

Next, rethink your participation in the debt management program. It was honorable of you to try to avoid bankruptcy, but it’s pretty clear you can’t afford to continue with this program if doing so leaves you in default on your student loan obligations. Credit card debts can be erased in Bankruptcy Court; student loan debt can almost never be wiped out that way.

If you have federal student loans, you may be able to qualify for the income-based repayment program, which caps your payment at a reasonable amount and erases any remaining balance after 10 years in a public service job (such as teaching in the public school system). Otherwise, the balance is erased after 25 years of payments. If you have private loans, you have far fewer options for repayment, but wiping out the credit card debt would free up more money to pay these loans back. Talk to your lenders to see what options you may have.

Another factor to consider is how much you’re spending on housing. If you own a home, the mortgage and related home-owning costs may simply be too much for you on your current income. Getting rid of the house in a short sale, or even letting it go into foreclosure, may be a far better option than continuing to cling to a home you can’t afford.

Bankruptcy, short sales and foreclosures are all drastic options. But some financial problems are so great that a drastic solution is the only reasonable choice if you ever want to get back on your financial feet.

Answer: It can take five years after a bankruptcy for your FICO credit scores to return to the 680 range, which is about where auto loan interest rates start to get more reasonable. People with FICOs in the 660 to 690 range got interest rates averaging about 7.5%, according to the MyFico.com site, compared with 11% and up for those with lower scores. It can take seven or more years to boost your scores above 720, which is where the truly low rates (4% and below) can be had.

To rehabilitate your scores as quickly as possible, first review your credit reports at http://www.annualcreditreport.com to make sure all the debts that were included in bankruptcy are listed that way. If you have any open credit card accounts, use them lightly but regularly and pay them off in full every month. “Lightly” means using less than 30% of your credit limits. If you don’t have a card, consider applying for a secured card, which gives you a credit limit equal to an amount you deposit with the issuing bank, typically $200 to $1,000. You can find secured card offers at several websites, including LowCards.com, CreditCards.com, CardRatings.com and NerdWallet.com.

After a year or so, consider adding an installment loan such as a personal loan or an auto loan to your credit mix. A credit union may give you a more reasonable rate than a traditional bank. Paying off that loan should help boost your scores.

Don’t close accounts or apply for a bunch of new accounts. Pay all your bills on time and don’t let disputes or medical bills wind up in collections.

There aren’t any quick fixes, so don’t waste your money on credit repair firms or other pitches that promise instant results. What will repair your score is using credit responsibly over time.

Answer: There is. Bankruptcies have to be removed from your credit reports after 10 years.

Individual lenders, though, are allowed to have much longer memories. And some have opted not to forget. If you ever file a bankruptcy that wipes out debt on one of the accounts they issue, they may never again approve you for credit. That’s perfectly legal.

Not all lenders are so unforgiving, of course, and those who don’t know about your bankruptcy likely will be perfectly willing to extend you credit as long as your credit scores are good. But you’re probably wasting your time trying to induce this once-spurned lender to change its mind.

Answer: Bankruptcy could wipe out your credit card debt but probably won’t erase your student loans. Student loan debt usually can’t be discharged in bankruptcy unless you’re totally and permanently disabled. Since you’ve been looking for work, that doesn’t seem to be your situation.

Besides, filing for bankruptcy costs money that you probably don’t have. A Chapter 7 filing can easily cost $1,500.

What you might want to do instead is discuss your situation with a bankruptcy attorney to find out if you might be “judgment proof.” If you are, your creditors can still sue you, but they’ll be unable to collect — at least until your circumstances improve.

Many bankruptcy attorneys offer free or discounted initial sessions. You can get a referral from the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, or find an attorney through its website at http://www.nacba.org.

In the meantime, you can visit DebtCollectionAnswers.com for strategies on how to deal with collection agencies when you can’t pay.

Answer: Bankruptcy is frequently mentioned in this column as a possible solution for overwhelming debt. Having a lot of debt isn’t the same as being overwhelmed by it, however. What matters is whether you’re able to make sufficient progress on paying down that debt.

The gentleman in question might discover that getting rid of a too-expensive house frees up money to pay down the family’s debt. Otherwise, it would be smart to talk to both a legitimate credit counselor (the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, at http://www.nfcc.org, has referrals) and an experienced bankruptcy attorney (referrals from the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys are at http://www.nacba.orghttp://www.nacba.org).

Answer: Your teller gave you your answer. Goodwill doesn’t count for much when banks are trying to maximize revenue.

And there’s certainly no law requiring the new owner to honor the old bank’s promises. The new owners can charge new fees, alter policies and change interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

Checking account fees are making a big comeback lately. Banks are claiming these new fees are necessary because regulators restricted one of their big sources of income: bounce fees. Starting last summer, banks were required to get customers’ permission before signing them up for “courtesy overdraft” services that allowed the banks to charge $35 or so each for over-limit transactions. When finally given the choice, many of those customers declined to opt in to the expensive programs and bounce fee income plummeted.

So banks are experimenting with other fees, but you still have options. Often the fees are waived if you maintain a minimum account balance, for example. In your case, that might be tough, so you might want to consider moving your accounts to another bank or a credit union. Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions, and many still offer free checking or have lower fees for low-balance accounts. To see which credit unions you might join, visit http://www.findacreditunion.com.

Answer: If you’ve been paying your bills on time since the bankruptcy and have reestablished credit, much of the effect of your filing should have been erased by now. Where you might be in trouble is if you didn’t reestablish credit and instead have paid in cash all these years. Then there would be little new, positive information to offset your mistake.

Before you apply for any major loan, you should see where you stand with lenders, and that requires a peek at your FICO credit scores. You can buy two of your three FICOs at MyFico.com for $19.95 each. (Your third FICO score is not available because one of the credit bureaus, Experian, no longer sells FICOs to consumers although it continues to sell them to lenders.)

Checking your own scores does not hurt your credit rating, and it’s an essential step so you know what you’re likely to face when you start shopping for a loan. Although the picture you’ll get is somewhat incomplete, since you can’t see your Experian FICO, you’ll have at least some idea of whether you’ll pay a higher interest rate. Charts at MyFico.com can let you know what interest rate to expect on a mortgage given your scores. A loan professional can give you an idea of how big a down payment you’re likely to need.

Answer: People can sometimes avoid bankruptcy if they seek help early enough. If they’re able to pay more than the minimums on their credit cards, for example, they may be able to use a legitimate credit counselor’s debt management plan to pay off their debt.

But debt management plans require that you have at least some disposable income. If you can’t keep up with your bills or find employment, that doesn’t describe your situation.

You still can contact a creditor counselor via the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at http://www.nfcc.org, but you also should contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney (you can get referrals from the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys at http://www.nacba.org). You may not want to file, but you may not have much choice, particularly if you want the collection calls to stop.

What’s especially sad is that you apparently drained your retirement to pay your bills. Your retirement money would have been protected from creditors, but you essentially threw good money after bad. Retirement money should be left alone for retirement, so you can support yourself in your old age. Anyone who’s considering draining a retirement account or home equity to pay credit card debt or medical bills should first consult a bankruptcy attorney to understand the ramifications of this often-foolish act.

Answer: Not everyone can qualify for a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy, which typically erases credit card debt. If your income is above the median for your area, or you’re trying to protect assets that would be taken in a Chapter 7 case, you could wind up in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which requires a repayment plan.

The best way out of your situation may be to buckle down and pay off the debt as quickly as you can, even if it means your daughter’s taking a sabbatical from school for a while. You also could sell or cash in some non-retirement assets, if you have them, to pay off your debt.

If you really can’t afford these bills, you could contact a legitimate credit counselor such as one affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at http://www.nfcc.org to see if you could swing a debt management plan that would allow you to pay off these bills at a lower interest rate.

If that won’t work, another option is to try to negotiate a settlement with your creditors. Settlements trash your credit scores, and your creditors could sue you if you stop paying your bills, so this solution isn’t for the faint of heart. You may want to return to that attorney and ask for guidance before you take such a drastic step.

Answer: Creditors other than the federal government are not allowed to garnish your Social Security benefits. Many pensions are exempt as well.

Your equity in your home, however, may be fair game. States have “homestead exemptions” that protect a certain amount of equity in a primary residence, with the amount varying by the state. But creditors may be able to go after equity above those amounts, or any equity in a property that’s not your primary residence.

You need to find an experienced bankruptcy attorney familiar with the laws of both states to give you advice. You can get referrals from the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys at http://www.nacba.org.