subject: Financial Debt,how Debt Ruins Your Life [print this page] People who appear to have everything, nice cars, a big house, lots of toys, beautiful clothes, and expensive vacations...are often the most miserable and stressed out people you will ever meet.
Why? Much of what they have has been purchased on credit. They have to continue to make all of their debt payments each month or they will lose their ideal lifestyle. Sometimes, the pressure is just too much.
You probably don't own a yacht or have a vacation home overseas. Most people do not. But that doesn't mean that your level of financial debt isn't ruining your life. In drastic circumstances, financial problems can even result in an early death.
Most of the time, however, money problems result in social and financial problems such as marital issues, broken relationships, bankruptcy, foreclosure, etc. Following are a few ways that financial debt ruins your life
* It decreases the pleasure that you get out of life in several ways. First, you may not have any extra money to spend on eating out, entertainment and trips. Secondly, you might have to work long hours to pay your bills which will cut into your leisure time. Both of these scenarios results in a depressed attitude about life.
* Stress causes many to become irritable and hard to get along with. Studies show that nothing stresses people out more than money worries. People who allow money problems to affect the way they treat their family are asking for trouble. Constant strife fractures the family, and a broken home may happen as a result.
* Financial debt is like quicksand. It prevents you from ever getting ahead in life. And once you are in debt, it is extremely difficult to get out. The truth is that it is more expensive to live in debt than it is to live debt free. Interest payments are to blame. So, if you are in debt, you have less money because of those payments.
Fortunately, you don't have to let debt ruin your life. You can take steps that will change your life instantly. The first thing that you need to do is to stop buying things with credit.
Adopt a simpler lifestyle until you can afford to pay cash for a better one. Next, you may want to consider consolidating all of your bills into one loan with a low interest rate. This could save you a lot of money over the short and long term.
Lastly, you need to prioritize. Place your family and the things you enjoy at the top of the list. Work should only come after these things. If you are happy in life, you will be more productive at work.
Naturally, more money will follow. You don't have to work harder to get all of the things you want, you just have to learn how to get those things in a stress-free, enjoyable way.
Once you start eliminating some of your debt, you will find that the depression and stress associated with being in debt will quickly melt away.
