MAYBE you’ve experienced this before: You’re driving down the road one cold, chilly day and before you know it, you find yourself surrounded by a thick white wall of dense fog. How did you react? If you’re like most people, perhaps you felt momentarily lost and confused or perhaps even panicked, not knowing what was in front of you or the direction you were going. People who have lost control over their finances often feel the same way. They’re lost in a “money fog”.
What exactly is a “money fog”? Money fog means that you’re in a state of being disconnected from your money. Here are some of the symptoms: (a) Having no idea about your real bank balance (2) Always broke at the end of the month no matter how hard you work (3) You’ve lost track of how much you owe (4) Chronic debt that just cannot be paid off, and (5) Zero savings- and yet, having a lot of expenses that cannot be accounted for or explained.
I meet with a lot of people who are in denial about their situation and will try to rationalize by saying things like: “Well, it’s really not that bad”, “It’s only money” or (here’s one that I always hear) “Maybe, I’ll win the lottery.” Often, it takes an eye-opening event to wake them up. This could be a nasty collection letter they get in the mail, a threat of a lawsuit, foreclosure, wage garnishment or a notice of bank levy. Or it could be a sudden realization one day that their bank account has been consistently overdrawn month after month, they are drowning in debt, and they have nothing to show for all the money they’ve borrowed.
Clearing the fog can sometimes be an uncomfortable process because it involves looking honestly at the financial behaviors that contributed to our present financial crisis. But unless we become aware of what we may be doing wrong, we may never get out of the fog.
Financial recovery cannot begin while your finances are cluttered, messy and disorganized. Start tracking your monthly expenses and create a monthly spending plan that allows you to live within your means. Spend some time working through an accurate picture of your total income after tax, your realistic expenses and current debt repayments. Then work through some ways of reducing unnecessary expenses and use the money you save towards debt repayment. If filing bankruptcy is your only solution to get out of debt, consult with an experienced attorney who can help you understand the pros and cons of such a solution. Whatever you do, have a clear goal and a defined purpose in order to maintain the level of motivation that you need to become debt-free.
If you need help in figuring out your debt solution options, please call Toll-Free 1-888-752-8211 or (661) 775-4880 and let us review your situation. We have offices in Pasadena, Cerritos and Valencia.
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None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped thousands of clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772.