4 of 8

Write now Article Tools

You may think that by ignoring your debt problem you are making life easier for yourself. What about the unconscious anxiety on a deeper level which this will cause? Can you live with the sense in the back of your mind that one day this could all catch up with you?

My wife, before I met her, buried her head in the sand. When it finally did catch up with her, it not only hurt her, but it hurt me too. It won't be just you who is effected by ignoring your debt problem.

There are plenty of specialist agencies out there who are good at tracking down bad debtors, and they can find you even several years after you think everyone has forgotten about it. OK, so your original lender may appear to have written the debt off. What has really happened is that they may have sold the debt to somebody else. They should inform you, but if you have been changing your address a lot you will be oblivious to what is happening. Eventually an agency will track you down. Not all of these agencies are that professional, and they will harass you, they will threaten you, and play on your ignorance of the law regarding debt. They may even add their own charges and interest, whether or not it is justified by any codes of practice.

You do not want these financial skeletons coming out of the closet about five years in the future when you think you have started a new life, perhaps even with a new partner.

Get wise now, learn about how you can deal with your debt situation right now legally and afford ably. There is plenty of debt advise on the net and you are not on your own with this problem. There are debt management agencies who will bite your hand off to help you. Yes, it does cost you a bit, but the lower repayments which you'll start paying NOW and the probability of interest being frozen will reduce your outgoings immediately. Yes it is a short term solution because it will take you longer to pay off what you owe, but in my experience, trying to pay off too much now caused me to go further in debt because I couldn't really afford the repayments. It is all about paying what you can afford now, and in the UK (I don't know about the US) the law says your debt repayments do not have to be more than you can realistically afford. Don't be ignorant, and deal with this now, or it will get you later.

Learn more about this author, James Smart.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Why it is wise not to bury your head in the sand over debt?
We want to hear your view. Write now!