You Must Keep Some Semblance of a Social Life Even With Money Problems.
Being behind on bills really sucks – the threatening dunning letters, harassing phone calls, etc. What can suck most are the social ramifications. When your finances are a mess you can find yourself slowly withdrawing from society – you may not even notice. Social withdrawal can quickly lead to mild depression (if not worse) which is definitely not conducive to helping you take control of your finances by attacking the problem head on.
Humans are social beings. We need to interact with others to maintain our mental stability. For the majority of us, the most important social interactions are with friends and family. And having no money can lead to less interaction with both groups.
How a social withdrawal may start.
You stop participating in the events with your extended family. After all, going to your cousin’s birthday party costs money; you can’t just show up empty-handed, right? Your credit cards are maxed out and you have no cash for a gift (not even a small one) because you’re trying to keep up with the minimum payments – that have now doubled since you’ve fallen a bit behind. So you come up with an excuse and you don’t attend.
You spend less quality time with your immediate family. Constantly preoccupied with your finances, you can’t enjoy any activities because your concentration is elsewhere. Doing stuff outside the house is out of the question; even taking the kid to the zoo costs money. There’s the price of tickets, and heck, you have to pay for gas to get there.
The severe debt induces the social withdrawal further as you stop going out with friends. You can no longer afford to go to a movie or to hang out over a few beers. You have to pay for the beer and there’s that dreaded tip (Remember when you took great pride in being a great tipper?).
Serious consequences to the unwary.
A missed birthday party, a pass on a hangout, etc... The next thing you know you’re screening calls from family and friends as if they themselves were the debt collectors. You figure: what’s the point? you can’t afford to participate anyway! Now you’re even in a deeper hole. Not only are you in trouble financially, you’re now in trouble mentally and emotionally. It becomes hard to take any kind of action when you’re mentally resigned. You must be proactive to take control of your finances. You have to want to get out of bed in the morning.
You don't have to be a social butterfly. A small amount of social engagement can go a long way.
So the bottom line is this: You don’t have to attend birthday parties or hangouts with friends when your finances have taken a turn for the worse. Just be mindful of the dangers of a complete social withdrawal. Lack of interaction with your social support networks can lead to depression. And depression is a bad thing. You must attack your financial situation with all your mental faculties intact.
I challenge you. You challenge you.
I challenge you and you must challenge yourself to get informed about all your debt relief options; after all, knowledge is power. Address your financial problems head on
. . . and start living your life in color.
- BKguy
“Get out of debt . . . and start living your life in color.”
