Debtors hovering in the background, procrastinating …

I’ve been speaking about this for years, trying to encourage debtors facing a debt-crisis, or those who know they will soon, to stop hovering in the background, faceless, because you are ashamed or embarrassed. The truth is every day that you procrastinate, is a day that you put the progress of your life on hold and you allow your debt problems to snowball, later into an uncontrollable situation.

You know you have a critical debt problem, you have known for some time now, but you’ve either wasted so much time to delay reaching out to your creditors or remedial companies that can fully support you, or you are simply existing in a delusional zone, pushing this story so far back out of your mind and reality, too busy draining energy from yourself. It takes energy to continue being pretentious, like there is nothing wrong, hard work to put up a good façade all day, only to crumble into a sad pile when you can lift that façade, be that when you get home at night, or spasms during the day, when you are alone.  Know that the people who matter in your life, your loved one’s they can feel the pressure, tension and negative emotions hence you are also affecting their life! So, as much as you assume they don’t know, or you are hiding it from them, they know something is horribly wrong, if they don’t know the actual situation.

Therefore, it is your duty to convene a family meeting and open to the real situation, because you will need this support and most times you will be surprised that the needed support will be given, you only had to ask. This lifts a huge burden off your head, so you can gain clarity, focus and take the first step to your debt recovery, without having additional fear that they will find out, or anyone will find out, you owe it to yourself, nobody else.

I am here to tell you that all is not lost, hope exists if you believe it, or you can come to terms with the fact that it is never too late to step forward and reach out for the hands that understand and is willing to help you activate a debt recovery plan, to ensure you are on the road to debt recovery.

It’s simple, put everything aside and think of yourself, your own well-being, existence, progress in life, the fact that you want to be in a place of recovery, start to feel better about yourself and be able to be proud of your achievements and live your authentic self.

It’s hard work to continue putting up a façade with others, like there is no problem, like all is fine when it’s not, because that zone has an expiry date and if you are fortunate enough to cut the cords before the situation worsens, then you’ve won your own day. This debt problem has an uncanny way of creeping into your entire life and saturating it, until there is no way to turn and you don’t want to be there, because it’s an unpleasant place to cope with and it can destroy you.

Very important is that it’s not going to be easy to get back on track, but there are no choices, once you take the first step then there are huge sacrifices to be made, perseverance, keeping your commitment to your creditors and reducing your personal expenses, scaling down all-round, no shopping for items you don’t need, no vacations (yes, I mean it!), no extra luxuries and this can continue for a good many years, but at the end, the journey would have been worth it!

Remember, you did not accumulate this debt in one or six months, so don’t expect instantaneous miracles of recovery, because it is a path where you are tested, you may crack many times, but you must learn to pick yourself up and push forward, nothing lost, nothing gained! It’s 100% times better than facing legal action, because then you have minimal options if you’ve left it too late.

It’s not easy to come out of the woodwork and admit to anyone that you are facing a debt-crisis, but the problem is, if you don’t act, the debt will do it for you and then the situation is worse, where you will have no choice and face harsher actions.

Don’t look back, keep looking forward, forget about the possibility of being blacklisted, you are not here to seek more credit, but a remedial solution to your debt-crisis problems, so more credit is never going to be an option, else, you will never recover. Debt is a serious addiction, because in the past credit was readily available where people never had any constraints, but it’s caught up with them in a serious way, because they were out of control.

The story of ‘what happened to the money?’ is a fruitless exercise, because nobody will admit that they have it stashed away somewhere else if this is their situation, the fact is, the problem is here, so it must be faced in the most honest way. Being dishonest has a bigger price tag attached to it somewhere in the distant future, when you least expect it and when you can least afford it, because that’s the lesson of life, dues must be paid and it’s not up to you, me or anyone else.

Hovering in the background with no clarity and loads of procrastination is an historic trait of debtors, because they never want to reveal themselves for the negative stigmas attached to debtors facing a debt-crisis. Those days are gone, we must evolve to survive, thrive and be the very best that we can be, where facing a debt-crisis is a hurdle that you can overcome, with enough determination, willpower and inner strength, call it faith, or your beliefs, but it’s what you will need on this journey.

My invitation to those of you facing this debt-crisis problem, step out, take ownership and responsibility, lift the burden off your shoulders and if there are fees to be paid, then stop complaining and trying to haggle prices, because professional services with excellent deliverables can appear to be intangible, until the performance is tangible. If this is the case, then you need to think about what your life is worth, and I am sure it’s worth much more than what money can buy.

When anyone reaches out to take your hand to help you in your debt-crisis then remember, they are taking a huge risk, because with your default record, they have no guarantee of your future commitment and as the record stands, many have been dishonest and leveraged on a remedial mechanism to ease their debt burden, only to disappear into thin air!

Be credible, learn to rebuild your integrity and remember, the money you spent, was given to you in good faith by your creditors, so you need to reciprocate in the same vein, as they don’t owe you any favours to apply ridiculous discounts, only to protect their assets, because their livelihood depends on this very important factor too!

Note 1:  Theda Muller is a UAE-based author of two books: Embrace Financial Freedom Volume One: 10 Proven Ways To Release Debt And Emotional Fears In Today’s Economy, and Volume Two: Releasing Fear And Bouncing Back From A Debt Crisis. She is also the CEO & Co-Founder of the remedial company EFFRS LLC, Dubai. She also conducts webinars and workshops on debt recovery.]

[Note 2: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect in any way, the views of Emirates 24|7. Readers are advised to carry out their own due diligence before taking any decision.]

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