Being unable to pay debt has always carried a stigma with it, as people associate you with those who are irresponsible. Banks, credit card companies and stores who provide credit cards all play into this perception. But the truth is that these companies do everything in their power to seduce people into taking credit. They make it very difficult for us to resist with their big promises and assertions that they are here to help us.
They do not want us to resist. Their marketing is very sophisticated and psychologically astute, and they are everywhere! They inundate the public with seductive offers, and very deliberately lead us to believe that they are the good guys. They do not even really want us to pay off debt too quickly, because they make their money from the interest we pay.
At no time do you ever see or hear spoken the words “beware if you cannot repay us, we will crucify you”.
But that is what they do. And then they pile on the guilt. Marriages, families, relationships, even lives are destroyed by this Machiavellian policy of theirs that is founded on usury and greed. A policy that seeks out the uninformed and deliberately misleads.
In reality, very few people take out credit knowing that they have no capacity to pay it back and no intention of even trying. We all intend to make those payments, and on time, and we believe we will be able to. None of us can see into the future. But life happens. People are retrenched, medical emergencies happen, businesses fail unexpectedly, economies go into recession.
Suddenly you need credit debt relief but it is nowhere to be seen. Well, not from the place that you want it. Strangely, now that so many people cannot make their repayments, credit card companies are becoming more amenable to negotiation. They have to be, or they will go under.
Now they want to negotiate, they want you to have some kind of repayment plan, because at least then they will get something back. You have a lot of different options these days with credit card debt: credit debt consolidation, reduction, settlement, management. Even bankruptcy, although that is a very drastic step.
Credit card companies do not have the power that they used to have, and that is surely a good thing. And we have maybe learned our lesson – too much credit can get out of control too easily. If you’re in debt, you need to examine all your options, find a solution that works for you, because there is one. And take your life back from the credit card companies and banks.