The psychological effects of debt aren't just felt by those who hold the debt, they're often also felt by those...
In many aspects of life, neither success nor failure arrive overnight, instead they arrive gradually a little at a time as a result of a small series of good or bad habits repeated daily and accruing over time. The process by which most people get into debt is usually the same and is often well established long before they realise they need the help of an Insolvency Practitioner.
How Do People Get Into Debt?
No single straw weighs very much, but grouped together there will come a point where their combined weight will be too much for the metaphorical camel. The way many people arrive in a bad financial situation is similar; as a series of small, barely perceptible financial decisions which start to add up to a significant sum. in other cases, a change in personal circumstances which puts a sudden and large pressure on an individual’s financial position is equally common.
Before the credit crunch, debt was easy to get and relatively easy to live with. Borrowing on credit and then being a ‘rate tart’ transferring balances from low or zero interest credit cards made it very easy to maintain a high level of personal debt without necessarily feeling the pressure of interest rate rises. While interest rates are currently very low and have ben so for an unprecedented amount of time, there is always the possibility that interest rates will start o rise again and those in a holding pattern of moving debt around rather than repaying it in any significant degree are in danger of a financial headache should interest rates start to rise or zero percent deals start to dry up.
The ready availability of credit, the buy now, pay later culture makes it very easy to have what you want on a whim and the electronic means of payment doesn’t really ‘feel’ like paying. Added to this, it’s common for to see people with an entire wallet or purse full of credit cards and store cards. Such cards, as well as offering electronic payments, offer electronic statements too, making it easier than ever to turn a blind eye to their arrival in an email inbox.
With so many different ways to get into debt and it being so easy to lose track of where one is up to with them all, it’s no wonder that unmanageable debt sneaks up so easily.
When you get into debt, how can you get out again?
Prevention is always better than cure, this is especially so with debt. Setting a budget and making a special effort to regularly keep yourself aware of your exact financial position will go a long way to keeping you solvent. Emails telling you that the statement for your credit card, or store card, or bank account is available, but making you click through and log in before you see it, can often seem like far too much effort and a cynic might think they’ve been designed that way on purpose, but making a point to do so regularly means that you’ll always know exactly where you’re up to.
If you’ve already reached the point where your finances have started to become unmanageable then rather than worry about it or worse still, ignore it, why not take the opportunity to contact us for a free consultation. We offer impartial advice, decades of experience and as Licensed Insolvency Practitioners, we also have access to a broader range of solutions than are available to non IP debt advisers. Whatever your financial position, speak to us, we can help.
