So, Do I Save a little  from my meager Pay packet each day/week/month, (this might just be all that helps me weather an unexpected life changing event; sickness,loss of employment, divorce/relationship breakdown etc)…We already know that for the many people that are currently managing their current debt/liabilties levels, there are many thousands more Australians and Americans who are really struggling . At this moment in time there are record mortgage sales/repossession and world wide, not to mention huge waiting lines for financial counseling services.

With all the hoo ha on gross levels of debt and other government fiscal policy agendas, it somehow (quite deliberately in my opinion) misses  the real stories of people that wish to keep on living  and paying their regular bills, but now cannot….

Too many Aussies, like their American counterparts, are turning in desperation to Pay day lenders, debt advisory companies, or specialist financial budgeting services, all of which charge fees. handing out more and more credit is definitely not the way to solve the initial financial difficulty , especially at the high repayment interest rates charged out by these same lenders, and ‘debt solution companies just have one way of dealing with the situation (a debt agreement, from which they then receive high fees.      ) Whether its in your best interest or not. The same can go for budgeting services, with their agenda being serviced first, (that’s getting their share of your pay packet then making sure there is any thing for you to actually live on)

Most consumers are totally unaware (I know I was) that if you get into financial difficulties you can contact the ‘hardship team’ of you respective banking institution rather than the collections department. It is everyone’s interest that your debt be repaid. Banks will look at any reasonable proposal to help this happen(reduced repayments, waiver of fees or interest, or even a waiver of part of the debt)

Also what a lot of people don’t realize that there are financial counselors that work in or with government and community organizations, their services are confidential, impartial and best of all, free.

So, while one end of the country is snowbound  or in flood and the other is in the midst of a raging hurricane or gripped in the most soul destroying drought, We only need to concern ourselves with our own personal finances and whether we are on top of them or they are on top of us, Let the economists argue it out amongst them selves whether the country is going to rack and ruin or  not.

Till next time

Warm Regards

Brent.T

At any one time in this country (Australia) We are we either in flood, fire or drought. In America it would be hurricanes, blizzards,tornadoes or forest fires…

Similar extremes exist with  our own personal debt/income ratios at any given point in the economic cycle of our respective countries.Take the recent news in Australia for instance, the household debt for each adult in the country stands at $74.000. This figure multiplied by the number of adults Australia wide  now is equivalent to our gross domestic product… (Now that is something scary for the average joe)

At one end of the never ending debate are the economists that preach Doom & Disaster (and rightly so)

They say that this issue is a time bomb with a very short fuse, get sick,lose your job or face increasing interest rate hikes and  the struggle to keep your head above water finally loses out to repossesion bankruptcy etc…then you, and the whole economy is in  dire straits.

At the other end of the spectrum other economists are happily telling us not to worry, that most of the debt is in household mortgages that re held by wealthier families, able to weather increased rate hikes and other inconvenient changes to their bottom line.

from listening to both sides of the camp, it is hard to know who is right… Is there a debt crisis? Should we even be worried? Maybe its best to leave it to them to battle it out in their little cocoons in the sky. But back in our day to day world of credit cards, home mortgage repayments and the ever present electricity and gas bills, we know things a little differently. Too much debt can be a bad thing, ( a very bad thing in some cases) Whether its our personal debt or the country as a whole, something has to give ( either we learn to rein in  and reduce the debt or save and earn more to pay it out) The above figures should be seen as a red warning light to do this very thing, We do as a collective, need to step back and have a really good think  about whether we are in control of our financial lives or not… To find out more on how to not only reduce your debt levels but to increase your wealth at the same time , read more here

The following post will conclude this little saga on Debt and Stress