What are some of the causes of debt?
You may already know the most obvious reasons for debt and a few may surprise you. Here are some of the most common reasons:
* Medical expenses. You leave one company and do not start right away leaving a gap in coverage. Sometimes your coverage is not adequate and you have to cover the remainder. Medical bills add up and of course there is the demand for payment upon delivery of the service. Thus you put it on your credit card adding to your financial debt.
* Income does not increase, yet your expenditures do. You have the same job and the time for your next raise is still in the future. Current monthly expenditures are increasing. This is when the credit card payment gets minimum amounts paid which continues to increase your debt.
* Divorce. You have decided to split from your spouse. This also means you split from shared expenses of the household; yes, you now have full responsibility for the bills. Then of course there is the cost of the legal procedure itself. Child support and spousal support is now a regular expenditure someone has to bear.
* Poor money management. Spending without a budget puts you into the category of not really knowing where your money is being spent. You may be spending hundreds of dollars on unneeded items each month and not having enough for the necessary purchases. Knowing where your money goes puts more ability to purchase in the long run.
* Saving too little or not at all. Not having that emergency fund. When something does happen and there isn't any cushion, your only option may be the credit card. The remedy for this is to give yourself a percentage of your income into a special account. When making up your budget, add this as a regular expense. You may be surprised at how easy this can be.
* Gambling. This may be the one that is most surprising to some. However, it is America's newest form of entertainment. Unfortunately the "house" usually wins.
* Ignorance of financial basics. Many people don't understand how money works and grows, how to save and invest for their future. What is the difference between savings and retirement accounts? Time to get yourself educated.
When people are not fully aware of their finances it is possible that they have unclaimed property with the state or even the Federal Government. It is known that 9 out of 10 Americans do have unclaimed cash. You could easily find out if you are one by doing a free money search. This extra money could help save you from some debt.
