The topic of cost of debt, especially consumer debt, is a widely discussed one. From the horror stories of people drowning in ballooning debt to the specifics (like late payment penalty fees) on how credit companies tries to confuse, if not hide, these fee related information. There are also articles from the other side of the aisle that can help consumers identify and avoid these traps.
But there is another side of debt that is seldom discussed. Debt's impact beyond the quantifiable financial aspect is often ignored.
Debt woes will turn into despair. If you have missed a credit card payment before, you may have experienced receiving a nasty call from collection agents subcontracted by credit card companies to remind you about the payment. Although I know that most of what they say are just scare tactics, I still can't help but be swept by the anxiety from these calls. Imagine this fear and multiply its magnitude by the number of debtors you have to face.
Debt is a major contributor towards stress and depression. This current global recession has made this fact more obvious. In worse cases, there were people pushed to consider, if not actually, taking their own lives to escape their financial problems.
Debt pressures to family relationships. There are a many of us who chose to suffer in silence. In our desperate attempt to shield our family from the financial worries, we are unintentionally doing the opposite. Being preoccupied with debt and depression will result to us bringing the anxiety home to our family.
Debt will lead to broken relationships. When partners learn about the financial problems for the first time, there are many who will react by blaming each other especially if they have different spending habits or debt tolerance levels. Even children are not immune to this.
Debt can leave a lasting legacy. Being in debt keeps us parents from providing the best opportunities to our children. For instance, our dire financial situation can spill over to our ability to send our children to the best schools or to keep them in good health. Without these, we are practically impairing their chances to succeed in life.
Our attitudes greatly influence how our children behaves towards debt. Children learn by mimicking parents behaviour and that includes spending habits and attitude towards debt. If we are not careful, our children will be repeating the same mistakes we made over debt.
Debt, like wealth, can be inherited. If we are overburden with debt and can't afford to support ourselves, the children are expected to pick up the responsibility. How often do we hear children taking on debt for parents' medical expenses. How often do we hear Pinoys say "Pera lang yan, napapalitan. Ang buhay ng tao hindi".
Worse, the impact of debt can extend beyond our lifetime. If we are not properly prepared, there will be no one else who can provide us with a decent funeral but our children. Even the most basic funeral service can be expensive.
There are also instances when debts are taken on by children just to preserve the parents' memories. It is not unusual for children to take on unpaid debts from parents - especially those incurred on properties with sentimental value like family homes and heirlooms.
Personal debt affects society. The consequences of debt are never isolated. As hard as we try to isolate ourselves, the impact of debt can never be limited to the individual. Debt is even indiscriminate as it affected everyone, even those that not overburden with debt.
Taking on debt should never be taken lightly. It affects you and everyone around you. With the recent financial crisis, I just hope that people had learned their lessons to avoid repeating this in the future.
But there is another side of debt that is seldom discussed. Debt's impact beyond the quantifiable financial aspect is often ignored.
Debt woes will turn into despair. If you have missed a credit card payment before, you may have experienced receiving a nasty call from collection agents subcontracted by credit card companies to remind you about the payment. Although I know that most of what they say are just scare tactics, I still can't help but be swept by the anxiety from these calls. Imagine this fear and multiply its magnitude by the number of debtors you have to face.
Debt is a major contributor towards stress and depression. This current global recession has made this fact more obvious. In worse cases, there were people pushed to consider, if not actually, taking their own lives to escape their financial problems.
Debt pressures to family relationships. There are a many of us who chose to suffer in silence. In our desperate attempt to shield our family from the financial worries, we are unintentionally doing the opposite. Being preoccupied with debt and depression will result to us bringing the anxiety home to our family.
Debt will lead to broken relationships. When partners learn about the financial problems for the first time, there are many who will react by blaming each other especially if they have different spending habits or debt tolerance levels. Even children are not immune to this.
Debt can leave a lasting legacy. Being in debt keeps us parents from providing the best opportunities to our children. For instance, our dire financial situation can spill over to our ability to send our children to the best schools or to keep them in good health. Without these, we are practically impairing their chances to succeed in life.
Our attitudes greatly influence how our children behaves towards debt. Children learn by mimicking parents behaviour and that includes spending habits and attitude towards debt. If we are not careful, our children will be repeating the same mistakes we made over debt.
Debt, like wealth, can be inherited. If we are overburden with debt and can't afford to support ourselves, the children are expected to pick up the responsibility. How often do we hear children taking on debt for parents' medical expenses. How often do we hear Pinoys say "Pera lang yan, napapalitan. Ang buhay ng tao hindi".
Worse, the impact of debt can extend beyond our lifetime. If we are not properly prepared, there will be no one else who can provide us with a decent funeral but our children. Even the most basic funeral service can be expensive.
There are also instances when debts are taken on by children just to preserve the parents' memories. It is not unusual for children to take on unpaid debts from parents - especially those incurred on properties with sentimental value like family homes and heirlooms.
Personal debt affects society. The consequences of debt are never isolated. As hard as we try to isolate ourselves, the impact of debt can never be limited to the individual. Debt is even indiscriminate as it affected everyone, even those that not overburden with debt.
Taking on debt should never be taken lightly. It affects you and everyone around you. With the recent financial crisis, I just hope that people had learned their lessons to avoid repeating this in the future.
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