“The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity than a friend is a creditor.” – Unknown
As scary as Halloween is, there’s nothing more scarier than the thought of being stuck in credit card debt and being forced to spend a majority of your paycheck on your debt payments. It totally sucks to not be able to enjoy your money that you work so hard for because you owe someone else money.
When I was doing research for my premium guide that I released last week (Completely Conquer Credit) I spoke with many young professionals that were in credit card debt and wanted to get out. Over my research there were three general thoughts on debt that resonated between everyone. I wanted to share them with you guys today.
The following are three scary things that you haven’t been told about credit card debt:
1. Credit card debt greatly restricts your options.
Are you sick of your paychecks going directly to your debt payments? When you’re in debt your options are totally limited. You can’t go on a trip with your friends every year for Spring Break. You can’t quit your job because you have payments to make. You need to stress about getting rid of your credit card debt in your 20s while your friends get to go out and have fun.
Do you want to live a life of abundance or are you cool with being held back? Since you’re reading this right now, chances are that you want more out of life. You want to be a financial stud, not someone that owes a lot of money. Once you realize how much not beating credit card debt is holding you back, you need to start making some serious moves!
2. Credit card debt keeps on adding up.
When you make the minimum payment each month you’re going to keep on getting hit with interest until you kill your credit card debt. If you keep on making the minimum payment without trying to put additional money towards your debt, it’s going to take you a damn long time to pay off your balance.
Unless you take some bold actions with your debt payments you’re going to be stuck in this vicious cycle for a long time. If you keep on using your credit cards you’re only going to the delay a debt-free life.
3. There’s no bail out in real life.
You’re stuck with this debt unless you claim bankruptcy. That’s a completely different issue that I’ll address at a different time here. The reality is that there’s no bail out in real life. You either accepted the college student credit card when you were younger or you grabbed some sort of credit card as a young professional. You’re responsible for the money that you spent. You have nobody to blame.
You’re going to have to work your ass off to beat your credit card debt. You need to stop being delusional about passive income and some sort of bail out that you think is going to come your way. Instead I highly recommend that you get a second gig or you figure out how to pay off your debt with your current income. When in doubt I always recommend that you take the next small step. What are you waiting for?
After reading these three scary points, you’re going to want to get rid of credit card debt fast. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, what are you going to do about this? Are you going to completely conquer credit?
The good news is that you have all of the tools available to you. You can browse through the archives of Studenomics or you can find a thousand other personal finance blogs on the topic. If you’re willing to spend a few dollars you can check out my recently released premium guide on the topic.