Thoughts on Debt

Usury by definition is the loaning of money at exorbitant interest rates. This is a term that is condemned by both the Torah and the Koran, so why is it that it is our primary theme in American culture? Many people would say it is so that we can own a home, a car, and so forth, but if you think about all the debt in this country and the fact that our government is the primary benefactor of the interest we pay, there may be something to the fact that maybe we are just convinced that we need to live in debt. Look at the facts:

Credit card debt with interest rates hovering at about 24 percent used to be a crime, but since our government entered the picture, there are no real corporate crimes anymore. And as wages shrink and prices soar, American’s will use more and more credit to hang on to their “I want it now” lifestyles.

College tuition debt, the new growth area in the debt industry. In most Western nations college education is free or nearly free. This type of debt gets the youngest adults in our society started off in debt before they even can get a reasonable job. Why is it that in other countries, they can get an education for nearly nothing, but here in the US the government who runs the colleges for the most part is benefiting 2 fold from these monies. First they benefit from the money that is paid for the schooling, and then they benefit from lending you the money to go to school, how is this legal?

Medical debt, the latest twist in the health care story in America. While health care is a right and is publicly financed in most countries, in the U.S. 42 percent of Americans either have no health care coverage, or have pay-nothing private insurance scams. Again, who is getting the money we pay for medical care? Oh, that’s right it is our government.

Mortgage debt. Need that dream house, the little place with the white picket fence. No problem all you have to do is make payments of half your income to a mortgage company for 30 years. Now they have even made arrangements for poor people to get in on the act with sub prime loans and buy it now pay it later loans, this way they can be in debt like everyone else.

National debt, my favorite. A small percentage of people, through both good fortune and wise decision-making, avoid the debt trap. But not to worry, everyone pays taxes — well, everyone below a certain income. Now that is us paying off our country’s debt, well all the welfare spending money, tax breaks for the rich, and military spending money, has to come from somewhere right. Don’t worry you are paying that off and currently each one of us owes the Federal Government about $32,000 each to pay off their “deficit” which that is right comes out of our pockets too.

Thank goodness our government has us to take money from on a regular basis, otherwise they might go broke.

Is it any wonder why so many people in this country are in debt? If you think about it we live in a country that is always in debt, but ironically their debt never seems to count against them in the same way our debt counts against us. Why is that? When we spend more money than we have or than we can afford, we run the risk of losing everything, yet somehow our government overspends and they just call it a “deficit“. Why are they allowed to function at a deficit, but we are not? If you think about it, where do they get the money from when they are spending more than they have? Do they borrow it or just print up more money?

I would really like to just be able to say I am functioning at a deficit this week and move on, but unfortunately no one would think that was acceptable if I said it. Aren’t they really setting a tone for American’s to spend more than they have? I assure you that in other countries the credit card debt is nowhere near what it is in this country, although the trend is showing an increase in debt internationally as well.

As American’s this is a definite time to learn from our mistakes and start taking down our debt. Let’s face it you can live without a new TV or a new car, but can you really live without food and shelter? We need to stop putting things on our credit cards that we really can’t afford and start paying cash. I really think that this is the wave of the future in this country, as I just can’t see how credit card companies are going to continue to lend us money if we continue to not make good on our debts.

If you have entered this financial crunch with a bag full of debt in your hand, then you are probably starting to rip your hairs out by the roots.  It is frustrating enough to have the cost of everyday items rising daily, but in addition to that having debt that you are trying to pay down can feel like a ton of bricks on your chest.  Well, there are answers and options for you.  Of course you will want to do some tight budgeting to see what extras you can eliminate, the more money you can put towards paying off your debts right now the better.  Financial anaylists don’t think that this financial crunch is going anywhere soon, so working hard to pay off your debts now will pay off later.

If you have assets that you can borrow against, don’t.  Right now if you house is paid off, then just work to keep it that way.  Don’t over do, you don’t want to potentially lose your house to pay off your credit cards.  Better to keep the house and consolidate your credit card debt into one lower monthly payment.  Most debt consolidation companies can easily help you reduce the interest rates, and get you an affordable monthly payment.  Then you need to work hard to try and pay more than that minimum payment every month, and if that means that you need to cut back in other areas of your spending then do it, and if that means that you need to pick up a second job or sell off your old record collection, then do it.  The time to resolve your financial issues is now.  Don’t waste any more time getting yourself and your family on solid ground.  You need to do it now.

Also, if you are already in over your head, stop spending.  Not on the necessary items, but on all the unnecessary ones.  Take the time to shop more wisely.  It takes a little more time and patience to do this, but it is a definite rush when you get the item for the price you want or even less than that.  Shop online, use all available resources to save money.  Shop clearance racks, discount/wholesale outlets and big box stores.  Take that money that you save and put it back to your credit card or into a savings account.

Avoiding your debt, won’t make it go away, and spending more today will only worsen the problems later on.  Take action today, and have a clearer, easier financial future down the road.