Debt Review: Do You Love It or Hate It?
Love or Hate?
For some people debt review can feel frustrating, restrictive and slow, but for others it can feel like relief, progress and hope.
Different people have totally different experiences while in the process. But regardless of how you feel about it, the process itself stays the same. The monthly payments, paperwork, budget changes are the same whether you enjoy the journey or not.
So why do some love it while others hate it and what is your experience so far?
Debt Review Is Not Exactly Fun
Few people enter debt review because life is going perfectly.
Many people start after sudden unplanned expenses, an unexpected job loss, expensive illness, devastating divorce or when the rising cost of living just progressively outstrips their earnings, making things impossible to manage.
So, beginning debt review, while an amazing way to deal with debt, is not something people begin because it is a fun thing to do, during a fun time in their lives.
And debt review calls for change. Changes and a new way of thinking about things and doing things, including how we spend our money. Adjusting spending habits affects almost every part of your life.
It is normal to miss old routines and feel frustrated by change. But once the process begins, one question becomes important: will you spend the journey fighting debt review or working with it?
Same Destination, Different Views
Debt review is a bit like a long road trip.
The destination is becoming debt free. Along the way, there will be fuel stops, delays and moments where you wish the trip was already over.
But while some passengers complain throughout the entire drive, other passengers focus on the progress being made. The destination getting closer and closer. They look around and try enjoy the trip.
It’s the same road, the same car, the same route but different attitudes.
What Are You Focused On?
People who dislike debt review often focus on what they have lost.
They miss spending on their credit cards. They feel trapped by a budget, trapped without more credit. They become frustrated when yet another document needs signing.
Some look back at their life before debt review and incorrectly remember the supposed freedom, while totally forgetting the stress, unpaid accounts, growing balances or sleepless nights that came with it.
When people stay stuck in that thinking, debt review can begin to feel like punishment.
They may avoid speaking to their Debt Counsellor, may think about skipping payments or even fall for scams promising a quick, unrealistic escape from debt review. Some reverse debit orders or try to take on more debt that they cannot actually have.
Looking back and thinking about what you no longer have and pretending things used to be so much better often makes the journey feel much harder.
Others experience debt review very differently.
They appreciate making one monthly payment instead of trying to juggle multiple accounts like in the past. It’s so much easier.
They value having a realistic budget that actually enables them to look after their family’s needs. They are glad to receive guidance from their Debt Counsellor and support from Payment Distribution Agents (PDAs), attorneys and others involved in the process.
These people use their PDA and bank statements to track progress, and they celebrate small wins along the way.
These consumers understand that debt review is not about losing freedom. It is about rebuilding it one step at a time, one payment at a time.
‘they may not enjoy every sacrifice, but they tend to focus on the future’
Now, obviously, they may not enjoy every sacrifice, but they tend to focus on the future. They understand that temporary restrictions on new credit can prevent deeper financial problems. They know the process is helping them solve existing debt before they even think about taking on more.
Adjusting To New Realities
An Austrian psychiatrist called Viktor Frankl once famously wrote:
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
In all likelihood, your debt in the past was out of control.
It doesn’t really matter why.
Whether because you had fallen into a bad way of dealing with your finances or because of an unfair shift in your finances, your debt was simply too big to sort out without debt review.
And yes, debt review cannot remove every financial problem instantly. It cannot erase difficult circumstances overnight. But consumers in debt review are progressively improving their situation. And they have control over how they respond to the process.
‘Having a positive attitude does not mean pretending debt review is easy’
Having a positive attitude does not mean pretending debt review is easy.
It does not mean enjoying every budget adjustment or never feeling stressed.
But it does mean you can choose to focus on progress rather than any loss. You are more likely to do this if you remember why the journey started in the first place.
You Get To Choose
Imagine two people beginning debt review on the same day.
They have similar debt, similar payments and similar sacrifices ahead of them. Years later, both complete the process and become debt free.
One spent the entire journey angry and discouraged.
The other spent it learning, adjusting and celebrating progress.
The destination was the same.
The experience was completely different.
Which would you rather be?
Love it or Hate It
You will not have always dreamed of entering debt review.
No one does.
You certainly will not have chosen the financial difficulties that led to the point where you needed it.
But if you have started the debt review and got onto the road to financial freedom, how you experience the journey is up to you.
You can love it or hate it.
It won’t change how the process works but it will change how you feel throughout the process.
Your mindset, your attitude can transform a tough process into a manageable one. One where you focus on the future, focus on your victories and feel better about your life month to month.
Your destination is a debt free future. And the journey becomes so much easier when you stop thinking about what you lost and start noticing what you are gaining.
