Debt can be like a cage—boxing us in and trapping us by limiting our freedom and access to the necessities of life.
On a recent trip to the zoo with my son, we left feeling very sad. We noticed animals pacing back and forth, the same steps repeatedly hour-after-hour, biting themselves, or chewing repeatedly on their cage. This behaviour is known as a condition called locomotor stereotypy, and it’s not uncommon among animals in captivity.
Much like how animals in captivity repeat the same behaviour over and over again without any real motive or end, problem debt can lead us to repeat the same meaningless and mindless behaviours, sometimes making our current financial situations worse.
In order to be free, people need to make healthy social connections, balance life and work, have easy access to clean water and proper nutrition, as well as embark on personal growth. But debt can impair our ability to do all these things by forcing us into a cage of limitations. Just like how a polar bear in a zoo paces the same ten steps back and forth all day long, we can become trapped, repeating the same helpless behaviours as well. And unfortunately, many of these behaviours can make things worse.
Do you ever find yourself doing any of the following behaviours when you think about your debt?
- Head straight for the fridge (even when you're not hungry)
- Bite your nails
- Light up a cigarette
- Binge watch television (yes, we are referring to Neflix among others)
- Compulsively buy lottery tickets
- Play online games
- Have an alcoholic beverage
- Get angry at the people you love
- Hide or avoid opening the bills when they arrive
- Take a nap or sleep most of the day
- Stay up all night thinking about your financial situation
While some people might call these “bad habits,” they often fail to look at the cause. We don’t blame animals for pacing when they are caged. Why should we blame people for developing bad habits when they are in debt?
Fortunately, there is something you can do. People who are trapped in debt often have debts coming from many different sources. It might be credit cards, car payments, payday loans, utility bills or student debt. If you have many bills coming from different creditors, you may want to consider a Debt Consolidation Program.
Debt consolidation helps you simplify your debts, so instead of making multiple payments to a number of different creditors you only make one monthly payment that gets disbursed to all of your creditors. And if you consolidate your debt through Credit Canada’s Debt Consolidation Program, we will also negotiate with your creditors to either stop or significantly reduce the interest on your outstanding debt, as well as adjust your repayment schedule and monthly payment so you can safely pay back your debt while still keeping up with your everyday expenses.
If you have many unpaid bills from different sources and you have some means to pay them off, you should definitely consider a Debt Consolidation Program. You should also consider debt consolidation if you’re paying high interest rates that are making it nearly impossible to pay back your debt.
The key to debt consolidation is that you end up with a plan to set yourself free, because freedom is the remedy to all the negative behaviours stemming from debt captivity. If you’re looking for some professional, free advice our certified credit counsellors are standing by. Feel free to give us a call at 1.800.267.2272 or click here to learn more.
