How to tell you need debt help
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Sometimes you don't even know that you have a debt problem. You are living like you always have, so you don't know that it is wrong. Here are 9 indicators that you may have a debt problem.
1. Your new charges are consistently bigger than your payments. You might not even remember the last time that you paid more than you charged. This obviously means that your debt is just getting deeper.
2. You are buying groceries or gas with a credit card because that is the only way you can afford them. If you didn't have your cards you would be unable to eat.
3. You have a huge stack of credit cards and you use them all. Lots of people have a card or two that they keep around for emergencies, but if you have several cards and regularly use all of them, you might have a problem.
4. You apply for every unsolicited credit card you are offered because you need them.
5. You are afraid to answer the phone because it might be a debt collector or a creditor. Or maybe you don't like getting the mail because you keep receiving letters from creditors.
6. You are at or near the limit on one or more of your credit cards. The higher your balances are the bigger the impact on your credit score.
7. You have to consistently use your savings to pay your bills, even though you are working full time. This means that you are spending more to live each month than you are bringing in.
8. You lose sleep because you don't know how you are going to pay all of your bills, or you feel stressed out constantly and can't think of anything but your debt.
9. You have to work really hard to keep up with your credit card payments. You just get them paid when you have to start thinking about next month.
None of these mean that you are beyond hope or that you can't solve the problem. They do mean, however, that you are on a bad road and that you need to change something before it is too late. Make a plan to address your problems or seek out the help of a professional (like a credit counselor) who can help you find the road out of your problems. Most importantly, don't panic. Just calmly make a plan, set a goal and work towards it. If you do that, your problem will get better.
Posted by jonathan on November 17, 2005 at 03:48 PM