Five Signs You Need Professional Help With Your Debt

Debt often gets a bad rap, but not all debt is bad. After all, debt allows us to make purchases that we may not otherwise be able to afford with cash, such as a home or vehicle. Sometimes though, “bad” debt, like high interest credit cards or personal loans, can accumulate and cause serious trouble with finances. There are many resources that provide help with debt, but how do you know when you need to see a professional?

Here are five signs you may need professional help with your debt:

1) You’ve recently had a major life change.

In Canada, the top causes of bankruptcy have nothing to do with a shopping addiction or out of control spending. Rather, they’re the result of major life changes, such as job loss, divorce, or medical problems that keep you from working or incur added expenses. These changes can quickly eliminate your savings or put you further in debt without enough (or any) income coming in.

2) Your monthly payments are more than you can afford.

You’ve cancelled cable, clip coupons religiously, and maybe you’ve even gotten a second job. But even after all this, your minimum monthly payments are still more than you can afford. If this is a familiar scenario, chances are your debt problems are more than you can handle on your own.

3) You have multiple accounts in collections.

Accounts typically go to collections when the original creditor has tried—often for months—to collect their money from you. If you have one or more accounts in collections or have debt collectors calling you, it’s an indication your finances are out of control.

4) You’ve taken out a payday or title loan.

Payday loans, title loans, and other incredibly high interest loans often have high fees. Lenders of these types of loans often prey on people in desperate situations. Most of the time, payday and title loans are last-resort situations and are very difficult to pay off.

5) Your debt balances are increasing instead of decreasing.

Do you make payments on your debt but your balances don’t seem to budge? Interest makes it take longer to pay off your principal. At the same time, if you make payments on your credit cards and then continue to charge more purchases to your card because you have no other way to pay expenses, you’ll be in debt for decades.

Getting Help With Debt

While there are many signs your debt has gotten out of control, these are five of the biggest indicators that it is time to explore obtaining debt help . The Debt Relief Specialists at Bromwich+Smith are here to help, offering powerful debt restructuring programs like a Consumer Proposal or Bankruptcy that will stop all creditor actions, eliminate debt and get you back on the right path to rebuild your worth today.