Sudden Debt - How Should I Deal With It

Sudden Debt - How Should I Deal With It

Sudden debt can crash unexpectedly into the lives of almost any of us at any time. We can be going along through life quite happily and then bang! Without warning we find ourselves in debt and it's well… so sudden! Debt is also something that many of us have been told since childhood is a bad thing. And that just adds to our woes.

Here we are unexpectedly in a traumatic situation and we get hit by the double whammy of sudden debt and guilt!

If you think it will never happen to you don't be too sure. Think of something as simple as an accident, it doesn't even have to be your fault, and you get hospitalized for a couple of months. Do you think while you're laid there in your hospital bed it's just possible that making the payment for your credit card bill might get forgotten?

And what happens when you forget your monthly credit payments? Those nice friendly guys at the loan company who wanted to increase your credit card limit only last month now turn into Don Corleone and the boys from Mob! They start to slap on late charges and the exorbitant interest now starts to attract interest on itself and, and… Well you get the picture.

So what do you do when you find yourself facing sudden debt?

The first thing is not to panic. Easy enough to say I know but it really isn't going to help. Just stop and think of a plan of action.

Before you do anything else at all, contact the companies you owe the money too. Explain the situation you've found yourself in and ask what they can do to help. Some, not all, but some companies will freeze the interest, especially if you've always had a triple A credit rating in the past.

Let take a worst case scenario here and assume your creditors aren't helpful. If you find that is the case then start to look at some of the options. Do you have a family member that can lend you the cash to pay off what you owe? If not, what about your bank? Ask them for a loan that you can repay over a period of time you feel comfortable with. That way you begin to take control over the situation and you will soon begin to whittle away at that sudden debt.