DEALING WITH DEBT - 2 (REASONS WHY PEOPLE GET INTO DEBT)

In my last article, I shared my experience with a brother and the need for us to educate those close to us on the importance of living a debt free life; I also made clear my conviction that we can live a fulfilled life without having the rope of debt hanging on our neck. Also I stated clearly that it won’t be a smooth and easy ride out of debt, but that with the right mindset and giving it all it would demand, one can live a debt free life, as many people have done.

In this article, I will be showing you some reasons why people get into debt and signs showing that you are either in debt our on your way into debt. These reasons are not some strange facts that you have never heard of in your life, rather they are issues that we face most often as we journey through life. You may be able to identify some, most, or even all of them either in your life at one point or the other or in the lives of those around you. But I have grouped them into categories, and the reason is for you to understand the nature of the solution that it would require, the solution to a category may not necessarily work in another category, you cannot use an eardrop to solve an eye problem, you will be magnifying the problem, rather you use an eye drop to solve an eye problem while using an ear drop to solve an ear problem. Now let’s get to the reasons.

1)  Psychological Factors: This has to do with our mindsets and dispositions, thoughts and feelings, and any other known or perceived characteristics that affect our attitude, behavior and the function of our mind as it relates to money and debt. Our belief system has a lot to do in determining how we see debt. If we see debt as something that we cannot do without, we will always find a cause to be in debt and vice versa. Take for example;

a.)   The general disposition and a cultural system that encourages materialism in our society today: Many people believe both consciously and subconsciously that having the latest material acquisitions like, cars, clothing, shoes, electronic gadgets, and furniture puts them in the category of wealthy and successful people in the society. This mindset stems from a root of low self esteem and has made many enter into unnecessary debts while trying to get items of this sort so as to put up an appearance of being rich. Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “…the life of a man does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses.” The aim is not to look rich, it’s actually to be rich, and there is more to being wealthy than flashy materials and putting up a show with them.

b.) Laziness: This simply means ‘resting before you are tired’. I have not seen anyone who is financially independent who is lazy, you may not see them running around physically but what you will not see is the mental work they are involved in. Most people are lazy when it comes to planning their finances, they can’t sit down and draw up a budget and follow it up, all they do is sit down all day and dream of material acquisitions, only to discover soon that they have spent their money on unnecessary things and will be forced to borrow when the real issues come up. It is also noteworthy to state here that most lazy people know the solution (s) to their challenges but lack the will power and motivation to take the bull by the horn.

c.) Impatience and Impulsiveness: How many times have you bought something and realized later that you didn’t really need it or that you could have actually done without it? We want everything and we want them now. We must gratify our desires whenever they come poking, with zero willingness to discipline our emotions in order to build a better future for ourselves and those around us. Most civil servants and office workers in my country fall victims to this, colleagues and marketers bring different wares to the office and they buy just because they convinced them that they actually needed those things even though they never had any plan of buying them and would not have bought if they didn’t bring the items to them. Some others buy because everyone in the office has bought and they don’t want to be left out. Some are impatient, taking the path of least resistance, it looks like they will die the next minute if they don’t lay their hands on the latest thing that hit town, no matter the cost, and they wouldn’t mind borrowing to get it just to show off, very soon, they will discover that they have a burden of debts hanging on them.

d.) Overspending: No matter the amount you earn, once you are living above your means, you are travelling at a high speed into debt. Overspending automatically leaves you with less money and causes serious psychological tensions, have you not seen people complaining of not having money a week after receiving their salaries, not because they handled a project that can be identified with but that they don’t even know and can’t really state any meaningful thing that they did with the money. Such people will always borrow to survive before the next payday.

e.) Lack of contentment and trying to be like others: Need I say more on this?