Date 17.10.19
Signs You Need Help with Debt
Most people have some debt. Whether it be a mortgage, an automobile loan, student loans, a line of credit, or another type of loan, debt is a part of life. In many cases, having some debt is fine. Borrowing money allows you to make purchases today that you would not be able to, and then repay these debts over time. However, too much debt can cause trouble.
If you have too much debt, it becomes increasingly difficult to make payments. These payments also grow in size each month as interest adds up over time. If you have too much debt, you’re likely to miss a payment, which will hurt your credit rating. If your debt problem gets too bad, you will likely need professional help to solve your issue.
So how do you know if you have too much debt? When is it time to get help with debt? Here are some of the warning signs.
Debt Warning Signs
You may have too much debt if:
- You have trouble paying your bills on time
- As mentioned, when you have a lot of debt, it’s easy to lose track of which debts are due when. This can result in missed payments. Also, when you have a lot of debt, you may not have money available to make all your payments. When this happens, some bills will be missed.
- You use new debts to pay off existing debts
- If you’re paying one credit card bill with another credit card, you likely have too much debt. This strategy might make your creditors happy, but it doesn’t reduce your overall debt and it doesn’t solve your debt problem. If you’re resorting to this strategy, you likely have more debt than you can handle and you may need help with debt.
- You lose sleep worrying about debt
- Dealing with a large amount of debt is stressful. If your debt is causing you significant stress or if you’re not able to sleep at night because you’re worried about debt, you likely have too much.
- You hide your spending and your debt from others
- If you’re not willing to tell your significant other about your spending or your debt, it’s likely because you know you’re spending too much.
- You rely on overdraft protection
- If your bank account frequently goes into overdraft because you don’t have enough in your account to pay your bills, it’s likely because you have too much debt.
- You don’t know where your money is going
- If you get your statements each month and have no idea where you spent your money, it could be that you have a debt problem. One of the reasons why people end up in debt trouble is because they don’t track their spending.
- You ignore bills as they come in
- Debt can be overwhelming, especially when you have too much of it. In some cases, when a person has too much debt, they start to feel helpless about the situation. This can lead to them ignoring bills as they come in, letting them pile up without paying them. Unfortunately, not only does this not make the situation better, it makes it worse. Eventually, you’ll need to get professional help with debt.
- You’re getting calls from creditors or collection agencies
- If you owe money and have not been paying it back, you’ll likely start getting calls from your creditors. If the situation gets bad enough, you could start being contacted by collection agents. In either case, if this is happening to you, you likely have too much debt.
How to Get Debt Help
Not every sign will apply to every person. However, if one of more of the signs above applies to you, you may wish to consider getting professional help with debt.
Meeting with a professional can help you better understand your debt situation and recognize the options that are available to you. For instance, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can review your finances and provide you with information on what you could do to resolve your situation.
The solution will be different for each person as no two financial situations are exactly the same. Speaking with a professional can help you understand what the right option for you may be.