The Stress that Debt Built
Very often people decide to go into debt without realizing that they’ve decided to go into debt. It begins simply enough. You go out for dinner and put the meal on your credit card. You also put the new suit, a pair of shoes, and the tickets to the game on your card. Then the car blows a tire, so you add the cost of the new tire. And while you’re waiting for the tire to be fixed, you stop in at the store, pick up a couple of cards you need for up-coming birthdays, along with some wrapping paper and a magazine to read while you wait.
Thirty days later the bill arrives and you open it. You’re a little surprised. You remember the tire, but you forgot about the cards, magazine and wrapping paper. Well, it’s only $27.36, no biggie. But when you go to pay off the card, you realize that you also had to pay the kids’ soccer fees this month, so your account is a little short. Well, you’ll just pay half the balance on the card and take care of the rest next month.
Short of cash one month, you decide to cover the difference with credit, and slowly but surely that credit balance grows. Now you’re carrying a couple of thousand dollars, so you decide to pay off the card using your line of credit on which the interest rate is much lower. Smart move. So you do the deed and stick a sparkling clean credit card back in your wallet.
The kids need new shoes for the summer, and the barbeque is a wreck. There’s a special on at the grocery store, so you put the new barbie on the credit card so you can afford to pay for the kids’ runners with cash. But when it comes time to pay the credit card bill, you realize that this is the month the house taxes come out. And next month the car insurance is due. That’s okay, it’ll just be a couple of months and you’ll be back on track.
When you look at the amount you now have to pay on the credit card and on the line of credit, you realize that you’re spending a couple hundred dollars every month to just stay even. If you try to pay more, you run short of money during the month and have to use your credit card to cover the difference. It’s your son’s birthday next month and you’ve promised the kids a trip to the amusement park with four friends as their “party.” It seemed like such an easy way to have some fun without a mess!
Your husband comes home and tells you that he’s planning on going fishing with the boys for a weekend and you yell at him because you can’t figure out where you’re going to come up with the money for one of his damn weekends. He yells back. He busts his ass all week, and the one time he wants to take a weekend for himself, you’re all over him. So now you’re not only feeling discouraged by the drain the debt is on your finances, you’ve added emotional conflict to the mix.
Coming up with the minimum payment is getting tougher and tougher. Maybe if you put off fixing the crack in the driveway, that’ll buy you some time. Or you could call your sister and tell her that you really don’t think you’ll make it to the family reunion because your husband just has to work.
Or maybe you need to find a better job. You hate your new boss, but with the debt hanging over you, you’ve been afraid to make a move in case that ends up not working out. At least you know where you stand at work, even it it’s knee-deep in crap from your stinky-faced new boss.
Now that your debt repayment is eating up $450 a month in interest and service charges, you’re going to have to stop those automatic savings for both your retirement account and the kids’ educational savings plan. Once you get things straightened around, you’ll start them up again. Maybe. If you can ever get out of the mess and get back on an even keel.
And then the news: Your company has taken a big hit and you’re being asked to take a 15% cut in pay. It’s that or 35 of people are going to lose their jobs. And you’ll be in that 35 because your boss hates you. How will you cope? How will you keep things in check? How did you ever get into such a mess?
It’s really easy to get into debt. It takes no effort at all. And when you do, you narrow your options because the debt becomes not only a stressor, but a major consideration in everything else you do. Falling into debt is as easy as falling off a horse. Both hurt. And both can be avoided if you’re prepared to pick up the reins and take charge. If you’re one of those people to whom all sorts of unexpected things happen that “force” you into debt, maybe it’s time to stop and ask yourself “why?” What’s the lesson you’re NOT getting? And how can you change your behaviour to change your outcome.
Or you can just go on living in misery, falling off the horse. Ouch!