There are a great number of debt management companies in business whose principle aim is to assess debt and prescribe a manageable program of payment for their clients based on the financial information provided.
Sometimes, however, the debt has not quite reached that point of no return and is still in fact within the client’s grasp of control. Debt and credit difficulties can present the worst kind of problems and even life’s more successful men and women have been affected by the stress and worry caused by not being able to meet their financial obligations.
The most important thing to remember when trying to deal with your own debt without the assistance of a professional is to face it head on. Running away from your creditors will not get the problem solved and in fact is likely to make it ten times worse.
So many people in debt adopt a program of not opening the mail for weeks on end, preferring to face the unpleasantness in one ghastly session after a few glasses of scotch and a tranquiliser. This is not helpful and certainly not a good way to conduct your responsibilities.
Open the mail every single morning. Set the bills aside in a tidy pile and resolve that you will address the problems contained within a few days. Do it regularly and with steely determination not to be distracted by other things. It will only take half an hour of your time each week to contact your creditors and make whatever arrangements you can for payment.
Do not be embarrassed to ring a credit company and tell them that you are unable to meet the contracted payment. Nobody is going to tell you that you are a worthless loser and waste of time; nobody is going to yell at you or call you names; credit companies are there to extend credit and recover interest – end of!
You will be pleasantly surprised to find your admission to being unable to pay meets with a polite enquiry as what you are able pay and when. From that point on, however, you would do well to remember that credit companies are not possessed of endless patience and if you take too much advantage, they have the right to demand the full amount is paid in full. Try to pay whatever small amount you have agreed is manageable on time and in the correct format.
When you have made arrangements to make payments each month and have normalised your payment routine to an extent that you can at least pay something each month, look at your disposable assets to see if you can realise some cash by selling Granny’s silver teapot or the exercise bike that has vegetated in the garage for three years to help pay more of your bulk of debt.