NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - QUESTION: I'm of retirement age, but I don't have a retirement fund. Even worse, due to my "antique addiction," I also owe $150,000 in credit cards. I earn about $120,000 annually, but when I retire, I'll have only Social Security of about $2,000 a month. I've already refinanced my house, so that's not an option. At this point, I'm thinking bankruptcy seems like the best way out. What do propose I should do, outside of killing myself?

-- Edward, New York, NY

ANSWER: Well, even though it sounds like your judgment has been pretty flawed, I'm glad you still have the sense to realize that killing yourself isn't a viable option (although I do think having someone administer a few swift kicks to the derriere wouldn't hurt, not so much as punishment, but as a way to snap you out of your ruinous behavior).

And while I can understand why someone in your position might see bankruptcy as an inviting way to put this whole mess behind you and get a fresh start in retirement, it's actually a drastic move that you should turn to only if nothing else will work.

Besides, the new bankruptcy law went into effect last year that makes much tougher for individuals like you to clear their debts. (For more on how the new law works and the restrictions it places on people filing for bankruptcy, click here.

So what can you do to climb out of this hole you've dug yourself into? Well, I've got a couple of "modest" proposals.

First, start thinking about unloading some of those antiques you've collected over the years. I know you probably think of them as pieces of art and enjoy having them around. But guess what. They're also assets, and assets can be sold to pay off liabilities, which you've got in spades.

With any luck, some of your antiques have increased in value since you acquired them. If that's the case, you may be able to pare down a good chunk of that credit-card debt by selling them off.

Second, don't even think of retiring now. The fact that you are "of retirement age" is irrelevant. The fact is that you're not financially ready to retire. If you're capable of making anywhere close to $120,000 a year, then the best thing you can do is postpone retirement for as long as it takes to get yourself into decent financial shape.

At the very least, that means working long enough to eliminate whatever credit-card debt remains after applying proceeds from your antique sales. But since you say you have no retirement fund, I think in your case you should also work some additional years so you can create such a fund.

Obviously, you're not going to build the same size nest egg you would have had you begun saving earlier in your career. But even just a few diligent years of saving can dramatically improve your situation. (Too see just how much you can accumulate, go to our Savings Calculator.

Besides, postponing retirement will also increase the size of your Social Security check, which is a real plus in your case. (To see how much larger your monthly payments will be by waiting a few years, check out Social Security's benefit calculator.

For more moves you can make to help alleviate your situation, I suggest you take a look at the 9-step debt-reduction program MONEY columnist Jean Chatzky laid out on this site last year. And while you're at it, you should also check out our Debt Reduction Planner, a tool that can help you estimate how long it will take you to become debt free under different payment and interest-rate scenarios.

Ultimately, though, no debt reduction plan or calculator can get you out of debt. That depends on you being willing to make a commitment to do whatever it takes to become debt free. In other words, I've done all I can do. Now it's up to you.

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