Back in the bad old days of 2009, I had a nastier edge to me that is for sure.
I have found two new guilty pleasure shows on TV, one is 16 and Pregnant on MTV (that one I can’t even talk about right now; I’ll save that for a separate rant) the other is “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant” where women explain how they can go 9 months carry a child and then claim they never knew they were pregnant. What does this have to do with Personal Finance, you may ask? Do you know someone who told you, “I didn’t know I was that far in debt ?”, I know a few (and I am pretty sure I have met others who just wouldn’t admit to it).
How Did I Get This Far In Debt?
That is the second question someone asks once they figure out they are “going under” from their debt load, and the question, in this case, is the answer. If you are asking that question, but you know you are in deep financial debt, your question answers itself since you had no idea what was going on in your finances.
Finances need to be watched and monitored (at least read my articles on Quarterly Personal Finance Statements), or you are asking for trouble. If any of the following statements resonate with you, it’s time to look at your personal finance story:
- I don’t know how much I spend on:
- Entertaining and Vacations
- Eating out
- My car
- I never read my monthly statements on my bank accounts or my investments
- I don’t know what day my credit card (or any other bill) is due
- I eat out a lot because I don’t have time to cook at home
- I use my credit card to pay for everything
There are about 300 more statements like this I can make but let’s keep this list short, if you are not keeping track of your finances or you don’t care, you are going to be asking, “How did I get this far in debt ?“, very soon (if not now). It does not take long to figure out where you stand if you are honest and you have all the pertinent information, if you don’t have it, go get it.
Can someone get pregnant and not know it until the deliver, I am skeptical about that. Can someone get into debt and not realize how bad it is, until it is too late? That I am sure happens more often than anyone would want to admit.
Maybe I have stumbled across the next great TV Show Concept? Don’t think so, Gail Vaz-Oxlade and others already have this topic covered.
My list of debt commentary articles is quite long, so let’s stick with the basics.
- Three Solid Ideas For Your HeLOC is a misdirection title. With interest rates going up, home equity lines of credit are becoming heavier anchors on your financial life.
- Pay Day Loans? Absolutely, positively NO! Go talk to a licensed insolvency professional before you do this.
- Surreal Paragraphs Found in Credit Card Bills, if you carry balances on your credit cards, you are in trouble. Look at their estimate for how long it will take to pay off the debt on minimum payments.
- A Mortgage Changes You, which is very accurate. When you get a mortgage, your life changes, and it will be a major element of your financial decision-making process.
- Make More by Reducing Debt with some elementary (maybe naive) arithmetic.
- Straight Talk on Your Money is not just a good book (and podcast). It explains how debt can get out of control quickly.
- Debt-shaming: Debt is Bad, but You Aren’t having a poke at the “influencers” who say my commentaries about Debt being BAD is debt shaming.
- My coup de grace There is No Such Thing as good debt. Debt is a tool, like a chainsaw, and must be respected.
Persons who doesn’t pay attention to their body can be pregnant and don’t know. So is persons who ignored their bank statements, abusing their credit cards,accepting loans and not having a structured financial life being deep in debt and doesn’t know. Ignorance is what causes a lot of persons to be buried deep into debt.
I recently saw a statistic (don’t remember the exact number now) about how many women didn’t know they were pregnant until they delivered/miscarried, and it seemed rediculously high.
I’d be curious to know the statistics of how many people are unaware of their financial situation… then again I’m a freak and check my online statements almost daily!
While you cannot be just a little bit pregnant, luckily you can be in just a little bit of debt. Easier to fix…
Excellent point, and I like your angle, touche and good response.