A recent study showed that Canadians feared debt almost as much as they feared death. In fact, 43 per cent of Canadians reported that they lose sleep over their finances, with the top concerns keeping them up at night being debt, a lack of savings and retirement planning.
It’s no doubt that we’ve almost all experienced stress caused by money woes at some point in our life. Money is one of the leading causes of stress in our lives, and if left unchecked, it can even lead to health problems.
If your debt stress is mounting, one of the best steps to take is to seek debt counselling. Debt counsellors can help you find the best solution to reduce your debt and provide you with the tools and education needed to stay debt-free – and ultimately stress-free.
Here are six ways debt counselling can reduce your stress:
- Avoid bankruptcy. Debt counselling opens the doors to effective debt management by focusing on relieving debt and avoiding bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can have a devastating emotional impact on you and the ones you love. The stigma of bankruptcy is impossible to avoid even in today’s modern society. Furthermore, bankruptcy could also mean selling your assets, which again affects your mental wellness and that of your family. Unlike bankruptcy trustees, who primarily focus on the bankruptcy route, a credit counsellor will present all of your options to you.
- Eliminate credit card debt. Credit card debt is a great source of stress. With sky-high interest rates, it’s one of the worst kinds of debts and often traps us in a never-ending cycle of debt. One of the great advantages of debt counselling is the fact that it helps to identify the best way to achieve credit card debt relief. Once you are on your way to getting rid of credit card debt, you will immediately feel a dramatic improvement in your stress levels. No debt has a more stressful effect than credit card debt.
- Consolidate your debt. Debt counselling aims to provide you with a debt management plan that consolidates all monthly payments into one manageable and affordable payment. While you will still have to make efforts to pay on time, you will no longer have to worry about not being able to make the payments at all.
- Stop collections calls. The stress of bankruptcy can only be matched by the relentless harassment from creditors and collectors. Debt counsellors typically contact your creditors on your behalf to negotiate a debt management plan, meaning you won’t have to speak to them anymore. Additionally, once you’re on a debt management plan, collections agencies will stop calling.
- Enjoy your life. Debt counselling guides you towards debt relief, ultimately allowing you to worry less and enjoy life again. Once you have a viable debt management plan and a personalized budget in place, you can go on with your life and forget all about the debt-related stress.
- Regain control. An achievable debt management plan as a result of debt counselling involves affordable payments. The moment that you no longer have to worry about multiple payments and whether or not you can actually make them, you will regain your financial independence and pay off your debt in a controllable manner.
At Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada, we can help relieve your financial stress by helping you regain control of your life and your finances. Through education, budget counselling, debt management plans and more, our counsellors will help you find a solution that works for you.
Contact us now to get started and get on your way to relief.
