Do you remember in the old movies when a man would say something "fresh" or suggestive to a woman and she'd get angry and slap his face? These days she either doesn't blink at the suggestion or takes much more severe action. Regardless of what actions the woman takes it is all considered feedback. What does this have to do with reducing or eliminating your debt? Your bank statement, credit card statement, credit ratings are forms of feedback in regards to how you handle or think about money. For some of us it would be better if when you opened the envelope the statements come in, a hand came out and slapped you across the face. That might get our attention.
Unless you did something incredibly foolish like betting everything you had on a racehorse, poker hand or spin of the roulette wheel you didn't get into debt immediately. We get feedback concerning our finances everyday, Unfortunately, most of that feedback goes unnoticed. I've known people who've lost their homes or vehicles. I'm not suggesting they'd been careless and misplaced them. I'm saying that they missed making payments and the property was repossessed or they were forced to sell. This was not an overnight process. The vast majority of the time the lending institution does not want the property back. They just want their payment. They're not in the repossession business they're in the collecting interest business.
In these people's situation the first form of feedback should have come from themselves. They should be the first people to know that they don't have the funds to make the payment. In most cases, they should have known this critical piece of information well before the payment deadline. If you pay rent or a mortgage you know that it has to be paid every month. Being expected to pay it shouldn't come as a surprise. If you missed your first form of feedback you can count on the second, which is a call or letter from the interested person or institution. This is generally followed by another notice until we get to the FINAL notice.
The reality for some of these people was that it took four months or more to get to the final slap in the face. What were they thinking? Were they hoping the Bill Paying Fairies would slip in during the night and stamp, "Paid" on their problems? I don't know of any bill or problem that got smaller by ignoring it. In business we have what are referred to as gauges. Much like in a car where your gauges tell you your speed, amount of fuel and the situation with your coolants and batteries, gauges in your business tell you what's going on at any given moment. You have to have gauges too. Keep a list of all your monthly expenses that have to be paid. Once you've put away enough money to cover one of the bills put a check mark beside it. You'll know well in advance if you've got the funds to pay your bills and allows you to take productive steps if you look like you're coming up short. This beats a 'Slap in the Face' every time!
