A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. A major aspect of our personal finances to manage is debt. The optimal situation is planning for the servicing of personal or business debt. Managing sudden debt can be much trickier. The following contributed post is entitled, Dealing With The Specter Of Sudden Debt.
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If you have suddenly found yourself facing sudden debt, whether due to an unexpected expense or other kinds of emergency situations, it can be genuinely scary. However, there are always options to deal with it, so you should avoid letting that fear paralyze you. Here, we’re going to look at the steps you can start immediately taking to manage it.
The very first thing you should be doing is looking for the room in your budget that allows you to start dedicating more money towards putting off your debts. If you haven’t created a household budget, now is the time to do so, making sure that you account for frequent non-essential expenses. These are what you should start cutting down on first, including canceling unnecessary subscriptions, but you can look at ways to get your groceries for cheaper, too, such as by meal planning.
Increase your earnings
On the other hand, you should look at what you might be able to do to bring more money into the house. This can include finding a side hustle, but it can also include things like making money using your home, such as by leasing out a room or renting out the space around your property. If you have assets or skills that can benefit others, then you should be thinking about how to market them.
Contact your creditors
If you’re seriously concerned about your ability to pay back your debt in the time you’re given, then you might want to contact your creditor, first and foremost. Most creditors want to make sure that they can get paid the entirety of their money back, and often, the most reliable way to do this is by agreeing to a new repayment schedule with you. It doesn’t always work, but it is definitely a solution worth considering.
Move your debt
If you have sudden, serious debt, and the creditor offers no way to help you manage it, then moving it might be the better option instead. For instance, if you have to pay immediately, you can get some breathing room by opting for installment loans, instead. If you have multiple debts, you can consider consolidating them with one credit, especially if they are able to decrease the interest rates while making your debt more manageable.
Ready an emergency fund for the next time
Although it might not help you deal with immediate debt, one of the best ways to prevent this kind of anxiety from arising again in the future is to work to ensure that you have a cash reserve that you can rely on when you need it. Building an emergency fund can help you in precisely the situations like these.
There are always solutions and always options to mitigate your troubles, keep that in mind. Debt can be scary, but it is manageable. What matters is that you start taking steps to manage it right this second. Don’t put it off, find the option that works best for you.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In some instances running a business involves using debt. The key is to do so in a controlled way so that your operations can thrive and not falter. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Start A Business And Avoid Bad Debt.
Bad debt can drive a business into the ground, and while it might be avoidable in the beginning, it can catch up on you quickly unless you run a tight ship. In this article, you can find some of the best strategies for avoiding bad debt in your business and growing it in the right direction.
Customer Relationships
When you are starting a company, you might be in the market for customers of any kind, but not all customers are valuable. Some of the customers you onboard will be bad for the business; they will buy products and services and return bad debt for the business by using their credit.
The best way to start a business and avoid this type of customer is to screen your customers and build last8ing relationships. The more trustworthy your customers are, the less likely they are to default and leave you with a faulty balance sheet; it pays to know your customers better.
Up Front Payments
If you want to avoid bad debt, then avoid customer credit. It’s a simple solution, but it’s not simple to implement. Of course, it’s better to receive cash that can move through the business accounts right away, but customers nowadays are more comfortable with their credit cards.
If you suspect the cash flow in your business is vulnerable, then insist on debt cards or cash. For the most part, credit cards are fine, but there’s a higher chance of defaulting in the worst case, and it might take longer for the cash to register in the business. Ask for upfront payments.
Credit Limits
If you offer credit limits to customers, keep them low until you understand more about their creditworthiness. Credit limits are useful for some businesses, especially ones that sell expensive products that customers prefer to pay using manageable installments but play safe.
Once you have established the fact that your customer is reliable and trustworthy, you can increase their credit limit; understand your customers better using a customer relationship management tool to track your interactions with them. These interactions help build trust.
Payment Terms
If your customers are late with their payments, it has a knock-on effect on your business; in the best case, it affects your cash flow, but in the worst case, it impacts the credit of your business, leading to hard money loans; these are ideal for companies with debt management issues.
Still, it’s sensible to state the terms and conditions of repayment in your agreement to ensure there are no miscommunications in your process management. If there are any issues with repayment, you have a legally binding document that can be used to reclaim the owed amount.
Better Accounting
When you are focused on running and growing a small business, it can be hard to keep on top of all the customer’s payment processes, but that is also central to running a successful business operation. The best solution is to invest in accounting – outsource this if necessary – to ensure that your customers are fulfilling contracts and bringing correct money into the business.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money. One of the keys to winning with money is protecting your financial future. To do so, you must take several methodical and timely steps. The following contributed post is entitled, Protecting Your Financial Future – Debts, Habits and More.
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We know that taking care of our health and wellness is one of the most important things we can do to live a long and happy life. But alongside taking care of ourselves and our families with nutritious food and an active lifestyle, we need to take care of our finances.
Our finances have highs and lows throughout our lives, and sometimes it can get a bit worrisome.
Tackling your wayward finances and taking control of your financial future might feel and sometimes look scary – but with these few tips, there are plenty of ways that you can kick your finances into touch.
One of the most important things to think about when you go through your finances is that not everyone has the same amount of cash. So, you can choose the ones that will make an impact on you and those that make sense to your own financials.
The basics of your cash will give you the information you need to make positive changes. IT is a good idea to create a spreadsheet or something where you can make notes.
Income
Where is your money coming from? Look at your income, passive income, benefits, and any other income that you get.
Make a note of all the individual places and amounts, then a total. Go back over a few months of your income records so that you can work out an average.
Outgoing
Most of us spend more money than we need to, or that we ever recognize. Look at all of the subscriptions you have. Do you get takeout a little more often than you should? Where do you spend money that you could trim?
Make a note of all of the outgoings you have. Just like the income, it is essential to get a more comprehensive overview – so go through 6 months of spending.
Create a calendar
Often the missing part of the process is knowing when things are going in and when things are coming out. Many of us let our automatic payments come and go without paying attention to anything more than the total. You can ask to move some payment dates around that allow you to have an easier cash flow.
Reworking your current attitude
No matter how you want to tackle your finances now, you could probably benefit from some reframing. Since you have a good overview of your finances now, it is time to align your outgoing and your income.
Budget/cash flow
If you notice that things get a bit tight by the third week of the month, or you end up in overdraft and using credit cards – it’s time to check the cash flow. Your cash flow is the timing of when money is coming in and when it is going out.
Date changes
If all of your bills go out and leave you struggling in the second week of the month, it is a good idea to talk to all of the companies and see if you can spread them across the month instead. Align the income and outgoing dates to never leave too far out of pocket.
Month on Month
As you start to make these changes, you need to keep track of how things are going. It will take several months or more to compare and look for a positive difference.
Emergency funds
Many people don’t have an emergency fund because most people use almost precisely what they have in terms of income on expenses. Build significant emergency funds with small, consistent changes.
Why do you need an emergency fund?
When broken washing machines, car breakdowns, and other big things happen, it is easy to turn to hire purchase and short-term loans to replace and repair what you need. But most of the time, this will cause further financial issues at a later date.
Emergency savings are a little nest egg that can help you to avoid needing to take out loans. One of the easiest ways to do this is to opt for an automated savings program.
With automated savings, an algorithm will automatically calculate how much you can save and put it aside for you—taking the work out of saving and overtime building an emergency fund.
Here are some apps that make saving automatic and easy:
● Acorns ● Digit ● Empower Finance ● Chime ● Keep The Change ● Mint ● Qapital
Make sure that you read the T&Cs to find an automatic savings app that works for you.
What should and what shouldn’t constitute an emergency when it comes to spending the fund? These guidelines can help stop you from dipping into the fund when you ‘want’ something, not ‘need’ something.
And, every time that you need to use some of it make sure that you keep saving and adding to it afterward.
Bonus cash
Any time you have extra, split it between your savings and your regular account. Getting into the habit of seeing extra cash as a nest egg rather than fun cash can make it easier to enjoy saving.
Debts and insurance
There are two things that, no matter what, need to be paid. Debts need to be paid down, and insurance needs to be paid up. Debts are often scary because they stack up quickly – often come with high repayments, and after a default or two, you might end up in a lot of trouble.
Insurance
You need to have insurance that covers everything, from your home and content to family and auto. Your insurance is much like your emergency funds, it might seem like an expense, but it is one worth the time. Find a full-service insurance agency, so you get everything you want.
Debts
Often when people have debts rather than look at the total amount owed, it can be easier to hide and just pay small regular results. Look at where you owe money across the board, and make a note of the totals. Look at what you are paying off, how much of it is interest, and how much is paying down the initial debt. Often monthly payments are made up of more interest than paying it down.
Once you have your total, look at how much you are paying against the total, and then you will know how long it will take to pay off.
There are a lot of different debt reduction strategies that you can use, so it is important you find one that works for you and that is realistic. The snowball method is the one that most people have success with.
You can also get in contact with all of your creditors and renegotiate your payment terms. In many cases, they will be happy to reduce your monthly payments if you need to. It is also important to look at the options you have for paying off student loans.
Money Habits
Creating good money habits isn’t something that just happens. Unless your parents or guardians teach you good money habits – they can be hard to learn. Making a few financial mistakes is something that happens to many people, but it doesn’t have to be the whole story.
Create some healthy money habits that help you keep building on your success.
Credit
Before you apply for anything, ask yourself do you need the credit, or could you wait? Having a few small lines of credit (that are kept in good standing) can help you keep a good credit score.
Credit report
Your credit report will tell you your score, and it will also tell you where you can make some improvements. If there are any mistakes on it, you can have those rectified and clean up your score. Some credit score companies can also highlight how you can improve your score.
Ahead of trouble
If you run into trouble, like you need to have some time off work or your work situation changes, then it is in your best interest to get in touch directly with your creditors to freeze the payments. Missing a bill will give you double or more to pay and with fines and charges on top.
The call might feel overwhelming, but once it is done, you will feel better in the end.
Short vs. Long
Short-term loans and payday loans are designed to keep people in a spiral of taking and paying loans. Long-term loans are much nicer in terms of APR%, but they also tie you into long repayments.
Try where possible to avoid short-term loans and anything payday when you are trying to get your debt and money management under control.
Part of building good money habits is learning how to make your money go further. Making your money go further can help with your saving goals, increase your proactive approach, and more. Here are some extra tips for you: Tips To Make Your Money Go Further.
Once you have the basics and face your finances head-on, you might be surprised just how comfortable you get with your cash and just how quickly you see positive results.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. A key to winning with money is controlling and eliminating debt. As such, figuring out ways to get rid of your debt is critical to your long-term strategy. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Fool Proof Ways To Escape Your Debt.
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If you are struggling with debt you are certainly not alone. Recent statistics suggest that a massive percentage of the national population is facing debt that they can’t manage by themselves. Some will let it build and build to the point where they feel completely helpless. Others will file bankruptcy in the hope it will give them the fresh start that they need. While bankruptcy can provide anyone with a certain level of financial freedom, there are issues. For instance, you can lose a lot of your assets including your car or your home. That’s why you might want to explore alternative ways to deal with your debt. Here are some possibilities.
It is worth noting that dealing with debt isn’t just about wiping out the money that you owe to different sources. That’s just one step because you also have to make the right changes to your lifestyle. If you don’t do this, then you will find yourself back in debt a lot quicker than you would like even after you clear it off. That’s why it might be worth cutting your credit cards and ensuring that you are no longer able to rely on them in your life. You could also think about setting a budget. This means that you won’t have to worry about ever accidentally spending more than you can afford.
Look At Debt Consolidation
You could also explore the option o debt consolidation. Debt consolidation is useful because it means that you can push all your debts into one sum rather than them being spread out. This is going to make your debt easier to manage and can provide a lot of relief. Of course, the main benefit of debt consolidation is that it should mean that your interest rate is reduced. If you can’t cut down the interest rate, then debt consolidation probably isn’t going to be worth it for you. This usually depends on your credit score.
Find The Right Support Structure
You do need to make sure that you find the right structure for dealing with your debt. You will find a lot of different choices on the market here so it’s important that you find the right one for your needs. If you explore DTSS reviews, you’ll find that there’s a lot of information suggesting that the company does have success in helping people escape their debt the right way.
Alternatively, you might want to rely on friends and family members for help here. The benefit of using these individuals is that they won’t charge you interest but it can put a strain on your relationships with them.
We hope this helps you understand some of the best ways that you can escape your debt and get your finances back on track. Once you do this, you’ll find that you are in a far stronger position all around. You will improve your quality of living and you’ll be able to stop worrying about money being a constant burden in your life.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. While debt can be an important tool in business, it can also be a danger if misused. What do you do if you business goes into debt? The following contributed post is entitled, Your Business Is In Debt. Now What?
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If your business is in serious debt, it can cause an enormous amount of stress and misery. You may wonder what your options are and what you can do to turn the situation around. In this article, we’re going to take a look at some frequently asked questions so that you have the knowledge you need to proceed if the bailiffs come knocking.
What Are My Options If My Bank Calls In My Business Overdraft?
Many businesses rely on their business overdrafts to provide them with the capital that they need to survive. Unfortunately, some banks can demand that you pay back the entire overdraft immediately, not giving you any time to actually earn the money you need. If you don’t pay back the money you owe, then you can lose access to your account altogether. The best strategy in this situation is to go to another bank and open a new account, or open a separate account right now with an overdraft facility if you think your bank may shut your account.
Debt counseling business services help you reduce stress, manage your finances, and work out whether you can afford to repay the money you owe long term. Through the debt counseling process, some people discover that they can no longer sustain their businesses and have to shut them down. Others realize that they can better manage their money for a happier, more productive working life.
Can My Landlord Change The Locks On My Business Premises?
The rules for business premises are different from those for your private residence. A landlord can evict you immediately from commercial premises if you fail to pay the rent. They are also allowed to change the locks, but in most cases, they must apply to the court first to do this.
In most cases, you have up to fourteen days to pay an employee any money that you owe them. If you can’t pay them because you don’t have the money to do so in your business account, then you must make alternative arrangements. Most business owners will try to come to some resolution with employees, paying them through installments if and when the money comes through.
Can Debt Collection Agencies Take Your Tools And Business Property To Repay A Debt?
Debt collection agencies are not the same as bailiffs. They do not have the right to force entry into your property and take your possessions. Usually, companies will hire debt collection agencies if you’ve missed a payment or two. After that, they may then pass the matter onto the courts and bailiffs who may decide that they can take possessions from you by force.
Can I Still Have A Bank Account If I Go Bankrupt?
In general, the answer is yes, but these accounts tend to be very basic. It’s unlikely that you’ll get an overdraft facility or the option to borrow money. You’ll also probably have to stick with a debit account.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. A key piece to managing your financial health is controlling debt and making sure that it doesn’t take hold of your life. Allowing debt to run out of control could cripple your future and the futures of those around you. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, Issues That You Could Face If You Get Yourself In Debt.
If for some reason you have got yourself into debt, you could end up facing a lot of issues. Whether this is a debt that you have accumulated as an individual or one that you have got as a business, you could be facing the same kind of problems. People tend to believe that debt is okay, as long as you know that you can get out. Well, this is not going to be the case because a lot of the time, they never do. Let’s look at some of the issues that you could face if you or your business is in debt.
Never Getting Out
One of the main issues that you will find with getting into debt is that it is extremely hard to get out. You might have the money to do so, but many people then don’t do this as they think this payment can wait. After a while, the interest has accumulated, and they can no longer pay their way out of the debt. As such, they are not going to be able to get out of debt, even when they get around to paying it.
This is the most common issue that people find when they are in debt, next to never being able to pay it in the first place. This is why it is never a good reason to get yourself into any form of debt, as you never know how it is going to pan out in the future.
Having To Borrow More
The next issue is that if you get into trouble for any reason and get arrested, you might not be able to pay your bail. This is where you are going to need a bail bonds person to put the money up for you. If you have a history of not doing what you said you would, for example, paying off your debts, you are going to find that nobody is going to help you in this situation. Even if you do get this help, you are then going to have to borrow more to cover the costs. It’s a vicious cycle that never ends.
Or, if you are desperate to pay off your debt, you might borrow off someone else to do this. You will then owe the full amount to someone else, and this might be worse for you than who you owed to before. This is why it is always going to be better to avoid debt if you can.
Accumulating More
Finally, interest on debts is terrible. The lender gets to determine the amount of interest that you are going to have to pay, and you don’t usually have a say in this. So, your lender could decide to charge you 20% interest, and they can adjust this if and when they want without any reason. Interest is a killer when it comes to paying back debt because you usually end up paying a lot more than you borrowed. This is not going to be something that you want, and that is why again, you need to try and stay out of debt.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now understand some of the issues that you could be facing if you get yourself into debt.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money, and Business and Entrepreneurship. Starting any business venture is like setting off on a voyage across the ocean or the sea. As such it’s critical to understand what provisions to load onto your ship, and what protocols to use in various circumstances. The following contributed post is thus titled; Save Your Business Ship From Sinking Into The Abyss.
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Over ninety percent of startups will fail within their first year. This means that many business owners won’t even get out the gates with their company. You have to be prepared for this possibility. You have to know how to right a sinking ship. Luckily, there are a few possible courses you can take here, and we’re going to check a few out right now.
If your business is starting to sink there’s a good chance, it’s being submerged in debt. When you start a business, you may have to borrow a lot of money, and you probably won’t be able to pay it all back at once. That leaves debt to build up more and more in different areas. The fact it’s in different areas can make it seem smaller and less significant when in reality, it’s eating away at your company. How do you handle this?
Well, you can think about consolidating your debt. Debt consolidation lenders are brilliant because they will provide you with the tools to put all the your debt into one sum that’s easier to pay off. You can start to treat it like another monthly bill. Be aware though, this is a loan, and you have to make sure that you understand the conditions before taking it on.
Alternatively, consider getting the help of an accountant. They’ll be able to make sure that you find out where the money is leaking out and whether you have unpaid invoices from clients. This can help shift some of the weight.
Cut The Costs Right Back
You might find that your company is struggling because it’s just too darn expensive. If that’s the case, it’s time to think about cutting the cost, bringing them in line with the level of demand you’re getting rather than what you hoped to claim when you entered on the market.
There are many ways to cut costs, but if you’re running your business from an office, that is definitely the place to start. Consider whether you can instead move towards a home business model with mobile workers who can come in and help when the needs arise. Or, just move to a smaller office and move most of your workers back to their own homes. This is possible with most company models thanks to the latest tech available on the market.
Go For Broke
Or, go in a completely different direction and push your costs right up, throwing most of the weight into new marketing campaigns. By doing this, you can give one last hit and try and get your audience to grow to the point you need it to be. Yes, this is definitely going to drive up the debt that you might already be facing. But if it’s successful, this could be the risk you had to take to save your company from doom. Make no mistake though, this is a seriously risky move, and it’s one that a lot of businesses won’t survive.
We hope this helps provide you with some choices of how to stop your business from sinking completely.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. From experience, losing control of debt or misusing it can adversely affect your financial and even personal health. It’s thus important not to get involved with it in the first place, or to get rid of it as quickly as possible if you have. The following contributed post is thus titled; Managing Your Debt More Effectively.
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If you have a great deal of debt, it is no doubt affecting your life in a number of ways. Anyone who has ever experienced being in debt will testify to the fact that it can be incredibly worrying and damaging, an it’s one of those situations that you wouldn’t wish on even your worst enemy. However, the truth is that even the worst debt in the world can be improved by being managed more effectively, and that effective management begins with a proper understanding of debt, how it works, and what you can do to try and improve or fix it. In this post, we will take a look at some of the things you can do to manage your debt much more effectively and fully in the future.
Something that can really help with the psychological part of debt is understanding what options you have, so that you are much less likely to feel as though all is lost. As it turns out, this is something which you will be able to do pretty easily, and it will mean that you will immediately feel a lot better about your debt in the process too. One of the options always available is consolidation, which can be a hugely helpful way of lumping all your debt into one. This then gets the other creditors off your back, and ensures you can start paying it all back in manageable portions. Sometimes a company will also allow you to call debt forgiveness, which can be the best option if you are able to get it. And other times, there is the bankruptcy route, which can help you to get back on track.
Take It Slow
Once you know what the route is that you are likely to take, you need to start taking it – but somewhat slowly. If you rush into anything, it is likely that you will only cause yourself further and further stress, so it’s something that you definitely want to avoid doing if you can help it. By taking it slow, you make it that much easier to keep on to of things and not let yourself get too stressed, and it means that you will be in a much better position at the end of it too. Remember this important advice if you are wondering what you can do to make it all seem a little easier, as this ensure that psychological side of it is considerably less stressful and worrisome.
Sometimes all it takes is to have a little help from those around you, so this is an option which you should absolutely consider too. You need to make sure that you are aware of what options you have in terms of who can help you, as knowing that is central to being able to get to a better financial position faster. Bear that in mind, and it will make a huge difference in the long run.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. In some instances, it’s important to know when to take out a loan if there is a financial crisis and there are no other options left. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Know When To Call Upon The Power Of A Loan.
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The rut of financial baggage is relentless and tiring. It happens to us all at least once through our lives, but because it can go on and on, we feel like it’s normal. Well, newsflash, it isn’t and no one should ever think that it is something we should be okay with either. Firstly you need to pinpoint the reasons as to why you are in this mess whereby you can’t seem to pay your bills on time, you’re cutting back on the things you need for your family such as groceries and clothes, and yet still here you are sat up late at night with a calculator in your hand. Life shouldn’t be a game of catch up but it ends up being that way when we are irresponsible with our finances, going in over our head and getting into debt. Slowly but surely, if you cannot seem to stop the ball of debt and financial burden from rolling, eventually it will roll over you. But when is it really the best timing to go for a loan to help alleviate the pressure?
Living lavishly
Human beings are just strange creatures at the end of the day, we mostly cause our own problems. It’s hard to admit but you need to seriously question if you’re living a life that you honestly should not be. Have you bought a car that looks and feels good to drive but the gas mileage is pathetic? Do you buy too many clothes just to look good at events that don’t really matter? Could you possibly be a little too passionate and keep buying tickets to your favorite sporting team’s matches? We need to stop living lavishly when we know we don’t have the money. Many people will try to make excuses such as needing to feel good about yourself when you’re sad and depressed, or trying to live a normal life for the family etc. well, tough luck, it’s time to seriously question whether you should be buying some things when you know you are in a pinch.
Do you have a plan
What if you had a bag full of money thrown at you, what would you do? Just for the sake of argument, it’s only enough to pay off your debts and start to control your finances. Do you know what you would do first? What bills, debts, credit cards and such would you pay off immediately? If you haven’t even thought about the long-term solution to your financial burdens, your short-term plans are almost nonsensical. Paying off this week’s debt is a single drop in the ocean, what about the tens of thousands of dollars you owe for your mortgage, car payments, phone contracts and more? Create a plan that deals with a point by point analysis of what is most important financially, and then come up with monetary rules for paying off those problems first and foremost.
Measure the deepness
Loans are a great financial tool to use when you need to just throw money at the problem to make it go away. They do provide you with a lot of power to end some financial crisis situations, that much cannot be denied. But, they come with their own set of rules as they are a solution but also a new addition to your financial responsibilities. Use this information that compares direct lenders only and see what kind of APR rate and interest is best suited to you. Some lenders charge high rates as they want to aggressively control how and when you start repaying them. Others are more open to allowing you to figure out what the best plan would be. You can get a small loan of around three to four figures or you can get into the five-figure sums if you need a large quantity of cash.
Take the hit
No one wants to dip into their savings account to get from under a financial jam, but you have to be willing to do so. If the worse comes to worse, then you need to set a limit on how much you will be eating into the money you have been saving all your life. Take the hit and stop yourself from going under. Filing for bankruptcy is going to be much worse than halving or completely devouring all your savings. As much as it hurts, set a plan in place for how much money you will take out of your savings account to help pay for your debts. Setting a threshold for how much money you have left in your main bank account is a common way of doing this.
Loans have the ability to put a large chunk of money right in your hand, in a very short amount of time. Therefore they have a lot of power to aid you in your financial troubles. However, know when you need to call upon a loan and devise structures so you make good use of the money.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. A key aspect of one’s financial health is controlling and minimizing debt. The following contributed post is thus titled; Breaking Free From The Shackles of Debt.
If you’re in debt then life can start to feel quite gloomy, indeed, having a huge amount of debt can sometimes make people feel trapped like they are a prisoner confined in a prison where they are emotionally paying for what they might feel they have done ‘wrong’.
Yet, debt isn’t as dirty a word as some people feel it is, it doesn’t make you a bad person, and it doesn’t even mean you are necessarily irresponsible. Life is unpredictable and we’re all just a few twists and turns away from being in financial trouble… the greatest challenge is the fact debt is often a slippery slope where one or two missed payments suddenly mount up, and escalate to the point things start snowballing out of control.
The worst thing, though often the most natural thing to do in such circumstances, is to bury your head in the sand. The challenge here is that this is the time you need most to take control and get a handle on the situation.
If your financial situation has snowballed out of control then all is not lost; even if you feel on the brink of despair in most western countries the option to declare bankruptcy exists, meaning you can have a second chance to get things back on track.
People often over complicate the process of breaking free from the shackles of debt as their emotions take over their logical thinking, in psychology this is known as an amygdala hijack where essentially the brain goes into survival mode, and when feeling such intense financial stress, a common response is to bury one’s head in the sand.
The greater challenge, however, is that people in debt often focus on the “debt” as almost a definition of who they are, it’s as if being in debt becomes their identity, and this is dangerous as what we focus on the most we become.
If we liken this to being a prisoner trapped in debt, it’s like looking down at the shackles around your feet, focusing on how trapped and impotent you feel to change the circumstances you’ve found yourself in – yet, it’s only when you stop focusing on the shackles around your feet, start looking up, and shifting your focus that you can get out of debt.
See, the fuel you require to get out of debt is money, as this is the source of freedom in that having money is the only thing that will help you break free from the shackles of debt – whether that’s in the form of a consolidation loan from The Ascent or by earning an extra income through business or employment activities.
When you are focused on the shackles of debt, your attention is not focused on doing the thing that is required to break free – therefore, the predominant thing you need to do to “break free” from debt is to stop focusing on the debt and start focusing on taking the required action to get out of debt.
