Lending is certainly a very convenient banking service, especially if used wisely. Despite the fact that everyone perfectly understands the basic principle of lending - the money borrowed from the bank will have to be returned with interest - the number of problem borrowers does not decrease. Of course, debts can arise as a result of any force majeure, but the process of sliding into a debt hole occurs gradually, and sometimes even imperceptibly. But is it possible to somehow notice this moment even at the stage when everything is fixable? It is possible, but the main thing is not just to notice in time, but to take appropriate measures to avoid serious problems.
1. You use a credit card to buy the essentials
At first glance, it seems that there is nothing wrong with the fact that you buy groceries in the supermarket a couple of days before your paycheck, using the credit limit on your card, since you have run out of cash. Or you did not calculate your financial capabilities and spent a little more, which in the end did not have enough money to pay for utilities. A credit card will come to the rescue again, especially since you can pay for utility bills directly through an ATM. It seems to you that there is nothing wrong with that - you are sure that you will return this money on time, and even save up some bonuses, because now you are using your credit card very actively. In fact, such situations mean only one thing - you are so incapable of managing your personal finances that you have to attract borrowed funds to meet basic needs. This is the first step towards more serious debt.
2. You started missing payments
You don't have enough money to make all your loan payments at one time. You deposit money on a credit card and wait a few days for it to be credited to the account, and then withdraw cash again to pay on another loan. You are in a vicious circle, but you still hope that some loan will be paid off to the end. You don’t think about how much you are losing on such "circular" schemes, consoling yourself only that if there are no delays, then everything is fine.
3. You take more than you give
Pay attention to how often you use your credit card and for what purpose. What will be the ratio of the amounts that you borrowed from your credit card account and returned to it. If, after a few months, the available balance on your card is rapidly approaching zero, then it is time to stop, because you cannot spend more than it is provided for by the credit limit, which means that you will have to either save a lot for some time in order to quickly return everything back, or take a new loan. If you have used the second option, then you will not be able to avoid a debt trap.
4. You borrow too expensive things
Striving to be no worse than others often leads to the purchase of not quite necessary, but very expensive things at the expense of borrowed funds. At the same time, you do not care at all that the difference in the price of a mobile phone that you now own and the model that you intend to buy is more than 2-3 monthly salaries. You are not afraid that you will have to give a loan for a car not for 3 years, but for 7-10 years, because you have chosen the best car, and your income level does not allow you to take a loan for a shorter period. In short, if you allow yourself to buy expensive things on credit, then you are guaranteed a debt hole.
5. You began to experience loan delinquencies
The presence of overdue payments on one or several loans at once is the last warning. This does not include technical delays in payments for several days, but only significant delays that arose due to your lack of money. Do not forget that any delay is accompanied by a monetary fine - the longer the delay is, the greater the fine will be. Such a situation will not add optimism to your already empty wallet, and it will be impossible to put an end to debt.
