I get asked routinely, " what about debt consolidation services?", "what about debt relief companies?" or "what about bankruptcy?". They all have the same foundational meaning:
"What about ways that will help me NOT pay for what I’ve already squandered, free up some cash, relieve some financial pressure… so I can just go back to spending and getting in debt again?"
Getting out of debt, staying out of debt, and ending the debt lifestyle (lifestyle??) is not:
- Figuring out how to pay your creditors LESS than you owe genuinely owe them
- Threatening your creditors with non-payment
- Consolidating your debt to reduce your monthly payment so you can free up cash to get into more debt
- Learning tricks to get a little relief now without changing your attitudes about debt
You see endless commercials promising to "settle your debt for pennies on the dollar". HUH? Should an honest person skip out on what they owe even if they can LEGALLY do it? It reminds me of a woman I knew of who extorted money from her ex-husband through manipulating the court system. Her justification was that it was LEGAL, so it must be okay. Wrong. For people of honor, legal does not always mean right.
Just because you can LEGALLY figure out ways to reduce what you owe creditors, doesn’t mean it’s right to do it. You borrowed it. You spent it. You blew it. Don’t punish the lender for your stupidity. Pay your dues. You can’t shortcut the process. If you get out of debt by cheating those you’ve borrowed from, then you are not becoming a person with financial integrity. Avoid shortcuts, gimmicks, and shortchanging others to reach your goals.
If you are in debt, and you want to learn to be debt free, live debt free, think debt-free and stay debt-free, there are no shortcuts. You need to have a plan to pay off your debt, ALL your debt, what you owe others. Don’t cheat them. Pay your debts.
You must learn a debt-free mentality. It takes time, it takes discipline. If you don’t want to pay the price, figuratively speaking, you will not ever truly learn the lesson, and develop the right mental discipline.
Quit looking for gimmicks and easy answers. Have a plan to pay off your debt. Make a commitment to never use personal debt again (with the possible exception of a mortgage). Have the conviction that "if you can’t pay cash, don’t buy it". Then learn how to build wealth instead of squander it.
ANYONE CAN DO IT, REGARDLESS OF YOUR INCOME, so stop making excuses about not having enough money.
If you don’t know how, check out my book, "Life Without Debt".
I mostly get questions about this debt issue, but this blog is not limited to that topic. What are your questions about getting out of debt, building wealth or creating an online income?