Facing debt is usually not a fun thing to do. As a result of that, many of us are in denial about how much debt we have, how much we actually owe. As one friend told me while she was writing yet another check for her daughter’s expensive extracurricular activities, “I just don’t want to know how much I’m spending. I know I’m in debt and probably won’t get out of it, so why worry?”
Well, there are very good reasons to worry. First of all, if your debt gets too large, you could lose everything, including your home. Second of all, everyone can get out of debt, provided that they really want to do so.
Debt is scary, though, but denial is scarier. Most of the time, things aren’t as bad as we think they are. The stress of not knowing and then imagining the worst, is worse, I think, than facing the reality of your debt. The best thing to do is to get over the denial and take charge of your finances.
Sometimes people are in denial about their debt because they are afraid that they aren’t knowledgeable about what to do with it or how to solve the problem. That is certainly acceptable. There is a lot of help out there, though, and it isn’t hard to find.
The first step out of debt denial is to figure out exactly how much you owe. Add up all of your bills and outstanding expenses. Figure out how much you owe to each of your creditors. This includes mortgage, utilities, student loans, personal loans, payday loans, medical bills and of course, credit cards. The amount that you owe may seem overwhelming, but understanding your debt is the first step to managing it and then getting out of it.
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