Who do you picture when you hear the word Foreclosure? Do you picture people sitting around piles of cash they have saved up because they haven’t paid their mortgage? Do you picture people going on vacation on the money they saved by not paying their mortgage? Do you think they are sleeping soundly on a bed of sweet-smelling flowers and wake up to rainbows?
Maybe that’s what you picture, since we have been trained, as good Americans, to work hard and pay our bills. So if someone isn’t paying their bills they must really be enjoying all the “extra” money they have hanging around. If we all believe that paying your bills = good and not paying bills = bad, then of course you think there is some benefit to the person not paying their bills, that they have “gotten away with something,” and are getting rich in the process.
After years and years of working with people in debt, I can tell you not being able to pay bills comes with nothing but gray hair and sleepless nights.
I’ve been trying to figure out who is more likely to be in foreclosure so that I can “target” my advertising better. I want to focus my advertising time, energy and money on that group. The problem is, there is no ONE group more likely to be in foreclosure. I have helped doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, landscapers, painters, contractors, nurses, teachers, retirees, the disabled–you name it—who have all fallen on hard (or even harder) times. The only common denominator is owning a home. Whether your mortgage payment is $3000 per month or $900 per month, your home is your castle.
And hardship doesn’t discriminate.
I have a list a mile long of the terrible things that happened to my clients before they fell behind on their bills, all which fall under the main categories of unemployment, divorce, disability or injury, having to care for someone sick, or death of a spouse or family member. That stuff can happen to anyone.
Believe me no one who isn’t paying their mortgage fat, happy and sitting on a pile of cash. They come to my office crying, depressed, sleep deprived and arguing with their spouse because of the stress that reduced household income and inability to pay bills causes. Don’t think for a minute that the shame and embarrassment is any less for the house painter than the doctor, or that it’s any easier for the real estate agent than the nurse to reach out for help.
I was talking to a friend today who just went through a major health crisis, which got worse while he was in denial about the seriousness of his condition before finally going to his doctor. His takeaway is that he feels we should all be talking about our issues and how they affect us and make us feel. He specifically said he’s seeing a counselor to get over the stress he experienced while getting urgent medical treatment, and he thinks the more we all discuss that the better we will all be, and that we will be more likely to reach out for help when we need it sooner.
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been saying that for years, I even had the Got Debt? logo imprinted on my business cards for years because when I showed it to people it would make them smile and more likely to discuss money problems. In my experience, the sooner someone reaches out for help with their financial issues the more options they have. Nine times out of ten I’m told by clients speaking to me has helped them sleep much better immediately. At the very least, reaching out for help sooner can make you feel like you’re sleeping on a bed of flowers.