Why not getting financial help if you’re struggling with debt isn’t a good thing..

I have been heavily over-indebted and even though I still have debt, I’m in a much better place now.

Due to having been in this position, I was inspired to start a business that would assist people who are struggling with, and not sure how to get rid of their bad debt. I decided it was great idea because I could really resonate with people because I’ve been there myself. It also dawned on me that as an entrepreneur, you really only start to make money when you solve real problems for people.

I was chasing money since I quite my full-time job in 2013 and for the first 3 years failed to really make any. It was only when my mom told me that I needed to stop focusing on making money and actually start helping people, that the money would come. She was right…

After entering this industry, I learned that it’s one of the hardest businesses to market. People generally do not like to talk about their finances, especially when they’re struggling with money or are over-indebted.

A lot, if not most of my marketing is aimed at trying to get the over-indebted consumer to take action. The first step is to admit that there is a problem. If we don’t acknowledge that we have a problem, then we will never do anything about it.

And if you’re reading this, and you’re struggling with debt, then this post is for you.

So many people who are struggling with debt go through a series of emotions, and not very pleasant emotions at that. There is one though, that is inherent in most humans, which is optimism.

Sadly, this is often, or rather more often than not, does this end up being a very dangerous emotion to rely on.

Right now, you may be thinking how I could possibly suggest that ‘optimism’ could have a negative effect on someone who is struggling with debt.

Well, here’s the thing.

People firstly fall into financial trouble for various reasons, some, unfortunately being out of their control. When we face whatever reason that caused us to fall behind in the first place, we go on to tell ourselves that we’ll get through this, we just need another month and things will go back to normal or fall in place. Or, this month we just won’t pay x, y or z and make a double payment next month, then we’ll be okay.

Any of this sound familiar so far??

What happens is, month end arrives, and guess what? Maybe something else also popped up, like another unforeseen expense, and now we can’t afford to pay x, y and z, and to top it all, now they’ve gone from being 1 month, to 2 months in arrears. This cycle repeats itself and then

For many consumers this is how it starts, and that false sense of optimism only gets them further behind and into bad debt.

Please don’t get me wrong here, I’m not at all advocating that you should not be optimistic, however, what is lacking is a false sense of what’s actually going on with your debt. Because that’s what we do when we’re in financial trouble. We lose perspective and choose to deal with it at the end of the month.

So, because people are natural optimists, they tend to forget about approaching a professional, who they could have consulted with, and may have ended up saving themselves tons of time, let alone interest, which is now due on their over-due accounts.

To make matters worse. That’s not even the worst part of it all.

You see, because we’re so suffocated by our debt, it’s all we think about. We don’t eat properly; we don’t sleep properly and we most certainly do not think properly. Our debt leaves us on a position where we only think in the moment, the here and now, and not long term.

This is where the real damage occurs. Due to this type of behaviour, while you’re busy skipping payments and neglecting creditors, your credit profile takes a huge beating.

What many consumers do not realise that all your behavior is recorded in your credit profile, including late, missed or skipped payments, payments made in part, and when you default.

This can become a nasty process whereby you can get a judgment and ultimately become blacklisted. Once the consumers debt is under control, they pay off their old debt and want to go and apply for credit again. To their shock and amazement, they are declined.

How can they not be granted credit when they have no debt?

What the creditor has assessed, is your creditworthiness, which is ultimately your ability to repay the debt (borrowed money) over a period of time.

So, if you’re still young, and haven’t bought a car or purchased a property yet, or maybe you have a vehicle and a property. You may in the future need credit again. And if your lack of taking responsibility when you’re struggling with debt is causing you to not act, or get help, I want you to strongly think about what I just told you and reconsider.

You have nothing to feel ashamed about, even though it’s probably the exact emotion you may be feeling right now. I know I sure felt like a loser, I still do sometimes when I can’t believe the stupid financial decisions, I made a few years ago. Sadly, it’s going to take me another couple years to fully recover.

I often tell some of my audience, that if they don’t want to do it for themselves, do it for the people who are financially dependent on you