Because consumer proposals involve offering creditors more money than you would in bankruptcy, they can be more expensive. However, the overall cost of either ultimately depends on your level of debt and the value of your assets.   Consumer proposals don’t necessarily require you to relinquish assets. However, if you do have assets which would likely be sold in bankruptcy, creditors may deny a consumer proposal with that in mind and encourage you to file for bankruptcy instead. And with bankruptcy, you may be allowed to keep assets such as a car only if it isn’t worth very much, as well as your house, if you’ve not got much equity in it.   Bankruptcy is also a much faster process than consumer proposals, especially if you’re declaring bankruptcy for the first time. While bankruptcy can last from nine to 21 months, consumer proposals usually involve making payments for up to five years.   One way they are similar is that both will cause your credit score to drop to the lowest rating. However, while bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for six years, a consumer proposal can be removed as soon as three years after being paid off.  Read more: How a bad credit score affects your finances.