Hello All,
I was just browsing through a summary of Jerrold Mudis’ How to Get out of Debt and I came across a handy checklist of warning signs telling you when you have a problem. Many of these rung true for me back in 2002 when I racked up $11,000 due on credit cards. If you have a friend who has a debt problem, or maybe you are running into trouble, a ‘yes’ answer on some of these could help clarify things.
So, here is the list:
1) You are constantly juggling payments
2) You miss payment-due demands
3) Mail remains unopened because you don’t don’t want to deal
4) You can’t make more than the minimum payments on your debt
5) When buying things on credit, you choose the longest payback terms possible
6) You’re psyched when the card company increases your limit
7) Budgeting isn’t something you do often
8) You have little or no savings or investments
9) When making payments, you used to use cash, but now use store credit cards.
Back in 02′ when I was racking up my debt, I could have said yes to most of those. So, from my standpoint they are pretty valid problem indicators.
The list is from Tom Butler-Bowdin’s 50 Prosperity Classics, an excellent collection of summaries of influential books on building wealth.
Best,
James
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