Is Your Stress Financial?
How can you tell if the stress is actually caused by the financial pressures of your debt? Right now, start thinking about your debt. Can you find a solution for every bill that you owe? Do you argue with your spouse about money and/or the debt? As you start thinking about these typical financial stressors, is it possible that you can feel your breathing get faster? Are your present instincts to "fade off" or think about something else?
These are simple tests, but they will point to the source of your stress. There is a better direction for you. If you have unmanageable debt, it is highly likely that your stress is financially induced. Realizing that debt is impacting your emotional well being is half the battle. If you can admit you are in or about to get into financial trouble, you can begin to find available solutions.
Go back to the category index and you will find several suggestions and some alternative solutions. There are many ways that you can relieve the pressure and the stress. Some of those alternatives are:
1. Find someone that you can trust and talk to them about your problem. Don't be defensive. Part of the benefit of this process is to get advice. The other major benefit is to release some of the pressure that is building up inside you. It is possible that you have been uptight for so long you no longer recognize the source of the problems.
2. List all of your monthly bills and financial obligations. List all of the monthly income. Be realistic. List everything. If the expense side exceeds the income, you are in or nearing financial difficulty.
3. If the monthly expenses exceed the monthly income, you should consider talking about your situation with a counselor at a credit counseling agency. These counselors are certified and skillfully trained and have experience working with creditors to obtain relief for their clients. Their non-profit, third party advocacy enables them to obtain concessions you could not imagine.
4. Be open with your spouse or significant other. This is not the kind of problem to conceal. Do not go it alone. Enlist your family as your team. Much good can come from diligent family participation.