Debt, like a nagging illness, may cause pain and suffering to anyone who is not capable of paying his bills on time or simply cannot pay them at all. Nobody is immune and debt causes health problems, both mental and physical, that go well beyond the scope of what the eyes can see.
Debt can cause an honest person to lie, cheat, and steal. It causes feelings of anxiety, anger, embarrassment, depression, and shame. Being in debt is not an enviable position, especially if you can't make the monetary obligations and it can make your whole world seem gloomy and hopeless.
Some of the most telling side effects of negative debt are evictions, bankruptcies, foreclosures, wage garnishments, divorces, emotional breakdowns, suicides, and in some cases, murder.
•Evictions: Because of the inability to pay their rent, many tenants have to cope with the prospect of being evicted.
•Bankruptcy: Every day, thousands of people file for protection under the bankruptcy laws of this country.
◦Chapter 7
◦Chapter 11
◦Chapter 13
•Foreclosure: People who cannot pay their mortgage payments, risk foreclosure and the loss of their homes.
•Wage Garnishments: Wage garnishment can be an embarrassing event if you are sued and the judge orders your employer to send your pay directly to a creditor.
•Divorce: A happily married couple can find themselves in a very unhappy situation caused by excessive spending by either spouse or by both of them together.
•Emotional Breakdown: Some people cannot handle the relentless pressure put on them by demanding creditors, especially the phone calls, the mail, and the embarrassment of losing their homes or apartments, cars, and other items.
•Suicide: Every year, hundreds of people commit suicide because they can't cope with their inability to pay their debt.
•Murder: Debt and the emotional stress that accompanies it is one of the main causes of murder in this country. Some people will kill for money.
Debt can affect your credit rating for years to come and it can rob you of the joys of everyday living. Debt exacts more than just a financial cost, as there are very high emotional costs as well.
To most people, debt is not a bad thing, and it affords us to obtain things that we would not be able to get, otherwise. Debt has many attributes and it can be used as a powerful, positive, experience, providing you don't let it take control of you and your life.