"[...] At 29 years old, I was the oldest of the three GitHubbers, and had accumulated a proportionally larger amount of debt and monthly expenditure. I was used to my six digit lifestyle. [...]"
Now, how does it happen that a guy earning six figures "accumulates a large debt" over time?
Really - how does this work? If you consistently live beyond your means, do you just die with a huge debt or do you repay it somewhere along the way?
In my community, nobody of consequence, let alone credit providers, would forget within 7yrs.
Further, there are other consequences eg. you'd be barred from holding public office.
People do die with large amounts of debt, this is not unheard of.
Also, obviously earning six figures doesn't inherently dictate financial responsibility. Just like someone making $50k can accumulate $20k in debt easily, a person earning $125k can accumulate $50k in debt easily. And there can be exceptionally good reasons for having debt.