The Positives And Negatives Of Consumer Debt
>> Friday, January 2, 2015
This type of debt focuses solely on individuals. It excludes businesses and organizations. In some studies it includes mortgages while in others mortgage costs are omitted. One reason house payments are sometimes not included is because this type of debt is said to include only consumable items, or items that do not appreciate in value over time.
A lot of this spending is considered to be unjustified. In other words buying something that is not essential. An example would be spending for a large screen television even though you could easily get by with the small television you already own. However, many families today are going into financial ruin for essential items like food and medicine. It is the only way they see to survive.
Pay day loans, credit cards, and various other short term loan companies are major contributors to this unique financial problem. Consumers look to them for only short term solutions to a problem that is in reality long term. Some need instant gratification and are unwilling to wait until they have saved enough money to get something that they want. Others see these short term loans as a way to help meet their immediate financial needs. They do not realize that they are digging themselves even deeper into debt.
With this trend in the economy, businesses that specialize in payment consolidation or credit counseling are on the rise. They offer various techniques to consolidate or manage credit owed. They give individual options that help their clients pay off their financial obligations in a substantially shorter time period.
Surprisingly, this personal debt can be a positive thing for the economy. People spending more on consumable items leads to a larger demand for those items, and hence more jobs for those items to be made. Domestic production is significantly increased. Others use this money to start their own small business or to improve some aspect of their current working condition. Unfortunately, these benefits for the economy are usually only on a short term basis.
Some consumers owe thousands of dollars for personal loans. Some who suffer from compulsive overspending can owe tens of thousands of dollars. Often those with the most financial problems are having to pay much higher interest rates on their short term loans. This leads to even more financial stress to make their regular payments.
Consumer debt is a serious problem today. If consumers do not learn personal financial management, they are looking for problems in the long term. People should try to get their personal finances under control before it leads to things like bankruptcies or foreclosures.