Let’s face it, the only time more stressful than the holidays is when the December purchases rear their ugly head as spring-time bills. The euphoria of giving your loved ones their every desire gives way to the despair of realizing this was the year that holiday spending helped you reach the tipping point, where you just cannot make ends meet. Add to this, today’s society is masterful at exploiting our desire to be generous through slick advertising, pushing people to spend well beyond their means.
Pretty much everyone, including myself, have been guilty of holiday overspending at one time or another. It is easier, and frankly much more fun, to get caught up in the holiday spirit than it is to be honest about your finances by setting a budget and sticking to it. Some signs your holiday overspending has become a problem for you are:
- Your credit card balances and minimum payments are more than you can comfortably pay each month;
- You are feeling extreme stress, and even doom, over your debt load and this stress has kept you awake at night;
- Your debt load is keeping you from doing other things in life that you have set as goals;
- You have to “rob Peter to pay Paul” by shuffling your finances in attempt to just keep up with your minimum payments.
If you are in this position, or worse where you have no idea what you would do in an emergency such as a car breaking down, or being laid off from your job, perhaps it is time to consider debt relief. This can come from either the “fresh start” provided by Chapter 7, or a reorganization plan provided by Chapter 13. Whichever option ends up being right for you, relief to your financial worries is available.
Please feel free to contact Gene Thompson to discuss your options, and for Gene to personally review your debt situation. He will be happy to analyze your income and expenses to determine if you pass the means test, allowing you a fresh start, or if a reorganization is right for you. Whatever you currently face, be it defaults, charge offs, repossession, or even foreclosure he is there for you and will work tirelessly to help you keep what you have worked so hard for.