The Trappings of Debt

The story goes this way, a mature fish while swimming encountered two young fish and asked, "how's the water?" The two young fish quickly replied, "what the heck is water!?" Is it not true, many of us get used to our day in and day out of life that we just do not question our personal world? And in today's context of our discussion is the choppy waters of our indebtedness. If you are someone that does not appreciate plain talk, this blog is not for you in terms of considering the trappings of debt.

In this week's episode, a financial expert who authored the book entitled Going Broke Is No Joke! 52 Money Tips Everybody Should Know, where she shares the realities of personal finance, especially, for the sake of those in underserved communities.

Do you know that debt reveals a lot about ourselves? Yes, it is all based on our cultural environment which demands immediate gratification, and it affects our psychology as a consumer.

​So, what is needed? We need personal discipline, which is not what many may perceive, but the word discipline comes from a Latin root word meaning to teach or train of which is my honest desired intent in this blog.

I can proceed to provide tips and tricks to improve our finances, but often the case it is not the lack of knowledge but the lack of following through with our plan of action. We must ask ourselves, why can I not stick to my plan? We may have good intentions and consider ourselves rational people, logical, and intelligent enough to know what needs to be done, but we fall short of following through. I strongly believe it can be summed up in terms of (emotional unpleasantness, it does not feel good), therefore, we tend to procrastinate and always have excuses to prolong what must be done and avoid the discomfort.

How many times do we avoid exercising because of the discomfort? How many times do we avoid finishing a project at home because our heart is not in it? How many times did we avoid the opportunity to ask for a much-deserved raise? It is simply not pleasant!

That said, the ability to control our debt should be an integral part of the human emotion and if this fundamental fact is missing, the component of enjoyment is elusive or entirely absent, we will not move forward in eliminating debt, it is too emotionally painful. The human sensation, the figurative heart, is a powerful element that needs to be controlled and disciplined. It is the pachyderm in the room that needs to be taught and trained, so, you and the elephant in the room are one, you the teacher and trainer, and the elephant, the overpowering human emotions.

I had mentioned that it is the culture in which we live that affects our psychology, many of us are so centered on what we want immediately, we use credit to obtain it no matter the expense. Why? Because the item we want to purchase makes us feel good! And we will kick the can of debt down the road farther and farther, deeper, and deeper until the day of financial reckoning. And it does not bother many to be in that situation because like those young two fish, we have become acclimated to being underwater in debt and we have not come to terms with it, we avoid the emotional pain that comes with fixing it.

This was exactly what my guest discussed in regard using credit cards much to your financial disadvantage and discredit, no pun intended.

For example, say you have a credit card with a minimum payment of $25 and with a balance, but you have disposable income of $100   to pay down the remaining balance, however, you do not. Why? Bluntly put in case you want to purchase something else that will provide you with an emotional surge of endorphins, it is an addiction. Think of it, your decision has created more on accrued interest over a longer period. Instead of paying the balance down or in full, you would pay exponentially more in interest over time until the drowning man is grasping for straws.

Did you know in 2009 The Credit Card Act mandated card issuers to reflect the truism of credit card debt to consumers? To prevent us from washing overboard, each monthly statement, by law, requires disclosing the length of time to satisfy the credit card debt if they only make the minimum payments compared to what is necessary to eliminate the debt in 36 months. I wonder how many of us have reviewed our statement and understand the repercussions of protracted credit card debt.

So, the question is, how do we discipline, teach, and train this formidable elephant in the room, the human emotion?

We begin by finding ways to integrate the feel-good sensation with our personal finances! Some may conclude that we need more willpower, but you already possess that quality, otherwise, you would be in a state of unconsciousness or in a vegetative condition or worse, dead.

Some would say that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. I would argue that you can! If you deprive the horse of water long enough, it will drink. And when it comes to our personal debt, enough is enough, we are depriving ourselves of the emotional comfort that is desperately needed in today's world, and we begin by taking small, determined steps.

When a baby is given birth, does it come into this world sprinting? Of course not! The child begins by moving, turning over, crawling, standing, one or two steps and before you know it, you cannot catch up with this excited and elated infant.

Similarly, take small reasonable steps in improving your financial world by attacking one debt at a time and congratulate yourself as you move forward progressively. and imagine what this will do for emotional health, it will be a real healthy celebration. Make your financial commitment in a consorted manner, with your spouse, your confidant, or if you must, hyperbolically, scream your commitment from the tops of roofs. This kind of commitment is powerful, you cannot easily shy away from your decision, you must follow through and you will realize the integration of emotion and intelligence. Following Through is hinged on tricking yourself by the forgoing and it is not a matter of working harder but smarter.

To wrap it up, I can share what has helped me along the way and it is the willingness to visualize, providing you a mental picture for motivation, especially in the world of debt And it goes like this:

Every time I pay my monthly liabilities, I visualize a portly man, yes, a fat man sitting behind a huge executive desk with a fat cigar in his mouth and he has his opened hand stretched out to me with a smirk demanding my hard earned money, and I may not be too far from the truth, and you have no idea how much I resent this mental picture, but it keeps my boat afloat.