Why we spend money we don’t have: how to pay off debts and not incur them again?

Borrowing money until payday from friends, going to banks or micro-loan organizations to buy another thing that is not quite necessary is becoming a habit for some people. The vicious circle sucks them in: in order to pay off past bills, they have to take out more and more loans. People do not notice that they become hostages of the situation, and it is not easy to get out of it.

Short-term or mortgage lending for the purchase of property or business development can be justified in the case of accurate calculations of your financial situation. But one should always realize that overpayment of interest, especially for several years, will be a serious burden on the personal budget. Especially if a person does not have a permanent source of income.

When the situation becomes a stalemate, the borrower can not pay the next payment on the loan, psychological problems arise. Due to constant tension and thoughts about money, irritability and depressive state appear. A person enters a state of prolonged stress, which further affects the quality of his life. Let’s find out why this happens.

Business and clinical psychologist

“The formed habit of living in debt is no longer a financial, but a psychological problem. Constant interception before the paycheck affects the internal state of a person, his well-being, mood, relations with others, distorts values. It is difficult to be in this position for a long time. A person should think about it and try to change the situation. Otherwise, this can lead to various diseases”.

The body, which is in constant stress, is under tremendous strain. The blood produces the hormone adrenaline, and this interferes with the normal functionality of the immune system. A person thus becomes vulnerable to bacteria and viruses.

People who are under the oppression of a loan and the inability to pay it off, lose their calm and cannot rest comfortably. Their thoughts are constantly preoccupied with ideas of how and where to get the next amount of money to pay off the loan. Some begin to suffer from insomnia. Relationships with loved ones deteriorate, a person becomes overly emotional and nervous.

Why do people put themselves in debt?

There are several reasons why people take rash loans. First of all, these are internal problems formed in childhood.

1. Low self-esteem

Insecure people often try to compensate for their complexes with material goods. They believe that success can be demonstrated visually. They try to become like others, buy a new phone or fashionable clothes, even if it does not correspond to their real needs and opportunities.

In order to match the appearance of a successful, according to their ideas, a person, such people do not hesitate to get into loans, buy brand-name things, expensive cars. They believe that material objects will raise their status in the eyes of others and return self-respect. But this way of solving the problem does not work: it does not eliminate the cause of such behavior – low self-esteem.

2. Inability to manage money

People who do not know how to plan their expenses, limit excessive spending and save for the future often find themselves in difficult financial situations. They find themselves unable to pay for their current needs and fall even deeper into credit bondage when an unforeseen situation arises.

In both cases, they borrow from acquaintances or turn to microloan organizations to close their budget holes. Thus, they only increase their financial dependence and deepen their negative financial condition.

3. Increased impulsiveness

The third problem is related to the desire to get everything at once. Some people, especially young people, cannot deny themselves whims. They succumb to the influence of advertising and are unable to postpone a purchase until better times or save up for it.

A person with this personality type often takes out loans to satisfy their needs here and now, without thinking about the consequences of their decisions, how it will affect their lives in the future.

People who do not know how to control emotions and impulses are easily tempted and cannot deny themselves pleasures. They are unable to emphasize the important, do not know how to distinguish the necessary from the desired, real success from illusory. To solve this problem, it is necessary to work on their psychological state to eliminate the lack of self-control and self-discipline.

4. Thirst for adrenaline

The desire for risk and excitement can also be the reason for the desire to take rash loans. People who love thrills, testing fate and hoping for luck often accumulate debts. As a rule, they lose money in gambling or invest in dubious projects. People who lose money in online casinos lack strong emotions and adrenaline.

They get bored with the routine of ordinary life and look for ways to get pleasure and excitement from risky activities. Gaming addiction often pushes them into financial entrapment and credit bondage as players ignore the potential dangers and consequences of their decisions, focusing on the instant reward.

Behind every cited cause of debt is a real problem worth addressing with psychotherapeutic methods. To get out of it, one needs to work on one’s thinking, emotions, behaviors, values and goals.

It is important for a person to learn how to manage their money, plan their budget, save for the future, refuse to spend too much and live within their means. The skills of developing self-esteem, self-discipline, self-control and responsibility will be useful for this.

What to do if you fall into a credit trap?

If you still can not avoid financial problems and the negative habit of borrowing has appeared, it is worth looking at life from a different angle. It is possible to write down a clear order of actions for repaying loans.

1. Focus on positive thoughts. It is not necessary to pressurize yourself with negative attitudes and fears. Try to enjoy the purchase for which the loan was taken. Negative thoughts will make the problem even worse.

2. Start looking for options for additional income. It will be much easier to do this when your thoughts are in a balanced state.

3. Take up sports. Physical activity helps to distract and free your head, relieve nervous tension. A rush of oxygen will also have a positive effect on your overall health and internal well-being in the first place.

4. Make a step-by-step plan of action. Written on paper will help to visualize the problem and find suitable options for its solution.