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The
statistics bear this out.� In 1998, there were over
1.7 million personal bankruptcies in the
U.S.� The number was similar in 1997.� That
means that over 1 in 70 households in America went
bankrupt during the 2 year period of 1997-1998!�
And the numbers are going up! This is
happening despite the "economic progress" that
is supposed to be going on in the country these past 8
years.� Samuel
J. Gerano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy
Institute, said the dramatic increase in consumer
filings could be primarily attributed to three things: (Source:�
www.abiworld.org/
)
- Households continue
to sustain (i.e., not pay off)�
high levels of household debt
- Household
budgets are so overextended that it seems
impossible to get out from under debt
- There
has been a decrease in the negative
"stigma" around being bankrupt...
and the abundance of credit makes bankruptcy an
attractive option
Why have things progressed to this?�
We think that is is because we have bought into the
lie that Americans need to live in a perpetual state of
debt!�� That this is "normal"
and accepted ("everybody's doing it!).��
This illusion holds up as
long as we are able to make our payments each month...as
long as it doesn't affect us too much.� Of course,
this doesn't take into account all of the decisions that
are affected by our debt, including:
- Job/Career
selection - When we are in debt,� our
strongest criteria for what our present or future
job will be is which job pays the most.��
Never mind what we enjoy...or which one uses our
unique gifts the most...or which job could benefit
other people the most.
- Retirement Savings
Reduced - The more money that you can save right
now for retirement (or college), the larger it will
be when you retire, due to time compounding of
interest.� Having debt means that you have less
to contribute towards retirement...and that means
that the amount of money you will have in your
retirement "kitty" will be less.�
- Marriage - Our
marriages have a much higher tension level when we
are always worried about money.� Studies show
that financial problems are one of the top 3 reasons
for getting a divorce.
- Vacations -
When we have higher levels of debt, we often can't
take the length or type of vacations that we would
like, because we simply can't afford it.� This
is a vicious cycle, because time off from work is
good for us, to relieve stress.� The less time
off work, the more stress.
- Giving - We
can't help out our friends, our charities, our
churches, etc when we ourselves are heavy in debt.
- Getting Bargains
- There are many times that we are presented with
excellent opportunities to purchase something that
we really need or desire that is truly a bargain
price!� This can range from a household
appliance to a car, etc.� When we have money
available, we can take advantage of these
bargains...but when we are loaded with debt, we
can't.� The key here is that having no debt and
a cash reserve allows us to take advantage of good
timing...while debt locks us into few, if any,
options.
Our own federal (and
often state) government does not set a good example
either.� Our government recently told us that
they "balanced the budget" at a federal
level...and there was such a happiness about it in the
media!� Unfortunately, all this means is that for
one or two years, the government didn't spend more money
than they took in.� Never mind the trillions of
dollars in debt that is growing daily.�� No
one seems to want to address the real problem...cutting
expenses!
Telling
Yourself the Truth!�
It's
time to tell ourselves some hard truths:��
- Debt is
crippling our lives - It makes our lives filled with
worry, hampering our decisions.� Debt not affects our own current
lives, but it leaves a decided mark on our children, our
relationships, and our future...the list above is
not comprehensive by any means.�
- Debt makes us a
slave to our lenders-�� We live
in constant dread of missing a payment. Also, we
have to do whatever our lender says...including
paying when they want, paying the interest they
want, etc.� The lender is under no obligation
to be kind to us or to help us out on a month where
we are "running short." The Bible talks about this:� "The rich rule
over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the
lender."�
- Bankruptcy IS a bad
thing! - Despite what our society is saying, it
is not an honorable thing to get into bankruptcy
just to avoid paying debt.� We realize that
there are some viable circumstances for
bankruptcy.� But, so many times the reason for
bankruptcy is so that a borrower can avoid
responsibility.�� Bankruptcy often does
not correct the real problem...it just stalls the
consequences for a while.��
- Debt is not an
income problem - Debt affects people at all
levels of income.� People that are driving
Mercedes are just as prone to debt as people that
are driving a Ford Escort.���
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