If you were alive in the 1950s, you may have heard of a little known radio interviewer known as Larry King. Since then, his popularity has steadily grown, and his television show is a consistently highly ranked program with millions of regular viewers. However, life is very rarely a smooth, easy ride to the top for the people who really make it, and Larry was no exception. See, early in his career he was only a “little guy,” and his popularity only grew lightly in the 1960s. However, this steady growth did allow his income to expand. And as so many people say, “When you earn more, you spend more.”

Larry King’s popularity grew dramatically over the course of the 1970s. By the time 1978 rolled around, Larry was extremely famous for his interviews (which, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, stands at over 30,000 individuals and growing). Unfortunately, he had spent a massive amount of money above and beyond what he made, and had dug himself into a pit of debt roughly $352,000 deep.  Fortunately he stopped digging at that point and got wise to the benefits of filing for bankruptcy. Once this little celebrity bankruptcy was out of the way, he got back in the saddle with more sanity in his life.

Granted, he still enjoys spending his money a bit. But at least now Larry is keeping his spending habits in line with what he actually earns. That is the great thing about being able to file bankruptcy and then move on with your life: You can learn the lessons that you need to without having them hang over you for the rest of your days. When you can look back at it and laugh, you’ve learned your lesson. If Larry king can go through this kind of trial, anybody can.