The Agent of Wealth

Financial Crisis, Bankruptcy and Starting Over With Barry Levine

Barry Levine · October 9, 2026

Author · Financein

Interview with Barry Levine

Financial Crisis, Bankruptcy and Starting Over With Barry Levine

Podcast: The Agent of Wealth

October 9, 2026 · 21 min

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Financial Crisis, Bankruptcy and Starting Over With Barry Levine

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Key topicsThe Day Life Changes the Business Plan: What Personal Loss Teaches Us About Money, Work and ResilienceEvery financial plan quietly assumes that tomorrow will look something like today. Life doesn't always cooperate. Barry has spent a career seeing how events outside someone's control — illness, family disruption, economic changes, business setbacks and personal loss — can rapidly change an otherwise stable financial picture. Barry can use his perspective carefully to explore a larger question: What happens when the person who has always been in control suddenly isn't? This creates conversations about resilience, asking for help, accepting that circumstances have changed and rebuilding without pretending that everything is fine.Good Money After Bad — Why Founders Spend the Savings They Will Need NextBarry Levine has advised small business owners in Massachusetts for 45 years, and the money he watches vanish is almost never the company's. It goes in an order he can predict: a supplier gets paid late, a tax filing slips, and the owner quietly starts covering the gap from a personal account, then a retirement account. He argues that the instinct to keep the business breathing one more month is what turns a company problem into a household one, and that the owners who recover are the ones who separate the two early. He has recorded around 14 episodes walking through cases that went exactly this way, and he lays out the signals that a business has stopped paying for itself. Listeners leave able to tell the difference between funding a business and funding a hope.Debt settlement promises can leave panicked borrowers worse offFor personal finance and debt relief listeners, the most dangerous choice is often the one that sounds less scary than bankruptcy. People in crisis may reach for debt settlement programs because they want to avoid stigma, but they still may not understand what creditors, tax authorities, or courts can actually do next. Barry can walk listeners through the practical difference between a marketed promise and a legal process with rules, timelines, and protections. The conversation helps borrowers ask better questions before they commit to a path that may only delay the moment they need real debt strategy. View all topics →

About Barry Levine

Bankruptcy Attorney and Debt Strategist for Everyday Americans in Crisis

45 years Representing people in financial difficulty1 book Author, Personal Bankruptcy Through The Looking Glass322 videos On his own bankruptcy YouTube channelBankruptcy attorney Massachusetts

The calls often come late: someone has ignored letters from the IRS, missed too many loan payments, or watched their small business slowly bleed out. They don’t open with legal questions. They ask if there’s any way out.

For almost 45 years, Barry Levine has answered that question with calm, practical guidance. A Massachusetts-based bankruptcy attorney, he works with individuals and small business owners navigating serious financial strain, people who are scared, out of options, and unsure what the next step even looks like. His work isn’t about judgement or quick fixes. It’s about helping people understand what tools are available, how the system works, and what choices they can still make.

What Barry sees again and again is that fear, not just debt, is what traps people. The legal process has structure, options, and predictable outcomes; what derails most clients is the panic that keeps them frozen in place. Barry’s role is to bring order to the chaos. With each case, he applies decades of legal experience to help clients understand what’s happening, what’s possible, and how to move forward with a strategy that restores both stability and control.

He first started practicing bankruptcy law in a hands-on Boston office while still in law school, learning case by case how to navigate both paperwork and people.

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About this episode

Bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean the end of your financial story. For some people, it can be an opportunity to reset, address overwhelming debt, and begin rebuilding.

In this episode, host Marc Bautis is joined byBarry Levine, a bankruptcy attorney with nearly 46 years of experience working with individuals and small business owners facing financial challenges. Drawing on his experience, Barry explains how bankruptcy works, what people often misunderstand about it, and what rebuilding can look like after filing.

In this episode, you will learn:

How bankruptcy may provide relief from certain collection efforts and financial pressures.The differences between protected and unprotected assets in bankruptcy.Why reaffirming a mortgage or car loan deserves careful consideration.How bankruptcy can affect credit reports and future borrowing opportunities.And more!Tune in to explore how bankruptcy may fit into a broader strategy for overcoming financial setbacks and moving forward.

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Guest: Barry Levine