Are You in Denial About Your financial situation

A new survey by YouGov for StepChange Debt Charity finds that 45% of all British adults – equivalent to 23 million people – have found it difficult to keep up with household bills and credit commitments in the last few months, up from 30% in October 2021 and 15% in March 2020.

That means the number of people struggling with their financial commitments has shot up by 8 million in less than a year.

This now shows that almost 50% of the public are struggling to keep up with essential bills This is a significant increase since the pandemic so appears to now be the new norm.

No one wants to think about their financial situation/debt or even talk about the subject and when it comes to doing something to get yourself out of this situation it may seem like an enormous task.  Most people do not acknowledge that they are even in debt whilst they are paying their bills even if the payment is late

As hard as it is to talk about, you are not doing yourself any favors if you cannot be honest about your finances/debt, it is likely that you may be in denial

As we are swiftly nearing the end of the year, here are a few questions for you to consider and hopefully begin the new year with some financial resolutions!!

1. Do you ever stress about your finances but never actually make any changes in relation to how you manage your finances?

Every month you struggle to pay the minimum payment on your credit card bill, and the balance keeps getting higher. However, you are still using the same card to purchase items rather than your debit card.

2. Have you used a balance transfer more than once?

Are you always looking for the zero-interest card to transfer your debts.

Transferring a balance to a card with no interest rate with a plan to pay that balance off can be a smart financial choice. But if you keep repeating the pattern whilst never actually clearing your debts then YOU may have a problem.

3. Have you ever argued with your partner family or friends about money?

Have you borrowed money and promised to pay it back but did not have the funds to do so when it was time to pay it back.

If money causes an issue with friends or loved ones, it may be time to take a closer look at your financial situation.

4. Do you ignore your bills? 

You leave letters unopened and hope they will resolve themselves.

Unfortunately for all of us, bills rarely pay themselves. This is another sign that your finances need reviewing.

5. Do you have an overdraft and are regularly overdrawn?

This is another sign that your finances need a review sooner rather than later. Does your monthly or weekly income last for the month or the week? If the answer is no, you need to think about your finances.

6. Are you totally focused on making more money to manage your debts? 

You keep telling yourself that the debt will be resolved if you can access more money, for some people this may mean gambling or taking out a pay day loan to keep your creditors off your back.

7. If you were without income for the next three months, would you be able to pay your regular bills the first month?

This is again an indicator that debt may be an issue if you have no savings, remember you are not alone

How many questions have you answered ‘YES’ to?

If you identify yourself in even one of these, do these two things right now:

1. Congratulate yourself for taking that first step towards acknowledging your financial situation and ending your debt denial. Identifying the problem is the very first step, according to about every expert to tackling any problem.
2. Make a commitment to be honest with yourself about your financial situation.

That means no more hiding letters and not opening them, no more transferring credit card balances while still using the card to continue spending.

Beginning the journey to sort out your finances may be the smartest thing you do this year make your goal for 2023 to be financially stable.

Here is a useful link with some tips you may find useful.

Some tips to help begin to break the cycle of Debt. – Debt Today Free Tomorrow (debt2day3tomorrow.com)

Remember there are plenty of free resources available to help you on your journey

Struggling with Debt Useful links and contacts – Debt Today Free Tomorrow (debt2day3tomorrow.com)