{"id":485,"date":"2017-10-23T06:34:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T06:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.development-work.com\/mydebt\/?p=485"},"modified":"2020-10-26T06:38:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T06:38:51","slug":"overcoming-fear-is-the-first-step-to-debt-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/debt-management-plan\/overcoming-fear-is-the-first-step-to-debt-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming Fear is the First Step to Debt Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e2e2e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>Too often, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do\/201507\/what-your-financial-health-says-about-your-mental\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psychological toll of debt<\/a>\u00a0is discounted.<\/p>\n<p>It may not occur to everyone (even the person in debt) that a heavy debt load comes with emotional trauma attached.<\/p>\n<p>Shame, embarrassment, and fear can cripple the debt recovery process. Before you can move forward to a new, debt-free future, you must overcome these feelings, especially fear.<\/p>\n<p>Debt recovery services are there to help, and they can walk you through the process, but the first step is working through the fear of beginning. Misconceptions and myths abound about the debt industry and what debt can mean for you.<\/p>\n<p>So let&#8217;s talk about some myths and misconceptions, and figure out the best way to move past fear and into debt recovery.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-1{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:15px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-1{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:0;color:#37474f;\">Where Does the Fear Come From?<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>Debt-based fears can stem from all kinds of places.<\/p>\n<p>This kind of fear stems from worry about how you put food on the table, whether this debt is going to hold you back in life, and whether you will have to declare bankruptcy. It&#8217;s scary stuff, and fear is a valid response.<\/p>\n<p>You know you are dealing with fear when the bill comes and the very idea of opening it makes you sweat or your heart begin to race. Or maybe you just refuse to open the bills and hope the debt will magically go away on its own.<\/p>\n<p>Sad to say, that method didn&#8217;t work on schoolyard bullies when you were in school, and it doesn&#8217;t work with debt, either. The only way to get past it is to stand up and face it.<\/p>\n<p>So how can you overcome the fear? Let&#8217;s take a look.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-2{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:15px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-2{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-2 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:0;color:#37474f;\"><h2>Step 1: Know Your Balance<\/h2><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-3\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>Ok, this part is probably the hardest.<\/p>\n<p>Steel yourself, and open that bill. And that one, and that one. Get a fix on exactly how much you owe. Not an estimate or a guess.<\/p>\n<p>Get a hard and fast total. Face it. Stare at it, let it sink in. It&#8217;s hard, but the knowledge will help you get a game plan together to get out of debt.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing your balance may also help lessen your fear. When your balance is just some nebulous unknown, it&#8217;s easy to think of it as some insurmountable monster. By knowing the number, whatever it is, you regain the power to shape your future.<\/p>\n<p>And even though that number may seem huge and scary, it is finite. Your debt is not endless. It is a limited number that you have the power to overcome.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-3{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:15px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-3{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-3 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:0;color:#37474f;\"><h2>Step 2: Know Your Rights<\/h2><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>If you&#8217;ve fallen behind on payments, chances are you&#8217;ve been hit with collection calls.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the time, these collectors are just doing their jobs, and they follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/ask-cfpb\/are-there-laws-that-limit-what-debt-collectors-can-say-or-do-en-329\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">federal guidelines<\/a>\u00a0on what they are and are not allowed to say.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, however, collection agencies turn predatory and threaten all kinds of outlandish things. They may say they are issuing a warrant for your arrest or they are going to garnish your wages or that they will call your job and tell them about your delinquency.<\/p>\n<p>Those things sound scary, and when the person on the phone seems to hold all this power, why wouldn&#8217;t you be afraid.<\/p>\n<p>Well, you can breathe, because a debt collection company can do exactly zero of those things. America doesn&#8217;t have debtors prison, so you won&#8217;t go to jail for being in debt. They can&#8217;t garnish your wages unless they sue you and win, and they can&#8217;t give out information about you to other people.<\/p>\n<p>But if you don&#8217;t know that, the threats can be terrifying. Knowledge is power, so know your rights when it comes to collection companies.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-4{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:15px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-4{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-4 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:0;color:#37474f;\"><h2>Step 3: Know Yourself<\/h2><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-5\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>Overcoming fear means being honest with yourself.<\/p>\n<p>If your debt is the result of life hit you with unexpected crises, that&#8217;s one thing.<\/p>\n<p>If, however, your debt is the result of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/urban-survival\/201511\/10-signs-you-re-addicted-online-shopping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">personal spending habits<\/a>\u00a0that are out of control, it&#8217;s time to take a hard look at what is causing that and take action to fix it.<\/p>\n<p>This may mean creating a debt recovery plan with a debt counseling company. It could mean personal counseling for underlying issues that are contributing to a pathological need to shop or spend money. Whatever the cause, getting to the bottom of it will make your recovery from debt 1000 times easier.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-5{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:15px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-5{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-5 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:0;color:#37474f;\"><h2>Step 4: Know Your Plan<\/h2><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-6\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>Now time to get serious.<\/p>\n<p>You know your balance, you know that you aren&#8217;t going to be carted off to prison, so now what?<\/p>\n<p>This is where debt recovery services come in.<\/p>\n<p>If your debt is comparatively small (less than $5000, say), you may be able to deal with it on your own.<\/p>\n<p>If however, you owe large amounts of debt, or if you know your financial habits are contributing to your debt issues. it may be time to seek out an expert.<\/p>\n<p>Debt relief companies offer many debt relief services to help you get to debt-free. They will work with you and your particular situation to figure out what plan is best for your situation.<\/p>\n<p>It may be debt counseling and putting together a plan with lower interest rates so you can pay off your debt quicker. It may be debt consolidation, where your many debts are combined into one monthly payment, or it may be debt settlement, which gets part of your debt forgiven.<\/p>\n<p>Good debt relief companies know there is no one-size-fits-all option, and they will work with you to find your perfect road out of debt.<\/p>\n<\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-6{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:15px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-6{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-6 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-two\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;\"><h2 class=\"title-heading-left\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:0;color:#37474f;\"><h2>Where to Go for Debt Relief Services<\/h2><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-7\" style=\"font-family:&quot;Poppins&quot;;font-weight:400;\"><p>If you&#8217;re ready to take back control of your life, we can help. Debt Academy can give you the tools you need to work your way out of crippling debt and into financial freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Our credit counselors will work with you and your creditors to make sure we get to the very best solution to your debt problem.<\/p>\n<p>You can be debt free, and we want to help you get there. For more on the services we offer and how you can achieve financial freedom, contact us today at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/mydebtacademy.com\/\">http:\/\/mydebtacademy.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 20px;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-1{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydebtacademy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}