It might be very difficult to understand what it means to be financially free until you go through some painful financial experiences. Being ripped off your investments through a deal that was not well executed.
Losing all your savings into some non viable project and then you are left living and piling up debts with a hope that you will get money and pay.
Before you know it, the financial institutions are on your case demanding their money, credit card interests begin to sour high and high as your lack of any income or enough income is not able to cope with the financial demand.
It is while in such a condition that reality of going down sets in which stirs with it a host of fears, worry and anxiety. You begin to play pictures in your head of how miserable you will be, how things will not work out, how you might even miss having a place to stay. Being in debt is not just a financial issue it affects every other part of your being. It’s also good to note that there is no debt problem that is unsolvable, you might not get an immediate or instant solution but it is solvable and the earlier one realizes there is a debt problem here and begins to look for solution the better.
One of the things to do if you find yourself in a debt crisis is not to panic. Panicking hinders your mind from generating thoughts and ideas that can help you turn around the situation. Taking care of your state of mind is very vital in getting stability. You cannot do anything effectively if you allow fear and panic to inflict your mind.
Do not personalize the debt. You are not the first one to be in a debt crisis, I believe if you look around you will see those who had larger amounts of debt than you. Don’t internalize the debt and begin to see it as you are a failure. Stop identifying with joblessness, lack or anything negative because these are temporary things that people go through in life. Don’t make a temporary incident have permanent impact in your life. Let reference of people that have been through serious debt crisis and turned their conditions around inspire you to begin taking charge of the condition and working on how to stay away from any further debt.
One of the things to begin doing when in debt crisis is be open and let the people you owe money understand your financial condition and negotiate for some repayment plan as you work things out. You can consolidate the credit cards debt and if possible stop using credit cards. You can dispose some assets that you have to help you clear the debt. Be flexible with your lifestyle and take financial responsibility for everything. Work on cutting costs as much as you can and reduce the debts little by little as you get any money.
As you work to reduce your expenditure, get some extra work you can do to have some extra income. Get ready to work extra hard to be able to clear some of the debts.
Resources:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bc749f3e-d323-11e4-9b0a-00144feab7de.html#axzz3WPof7cP1