Debt management getting fiscally fit

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These days, car and bike advertisements do not have the price shown, but the amount of EMI it would cost you to own one. The simple reason for doing so is to urge people who feel they can afford it, ignoring if they need it or not to take a loan and buy a product. It almost sounds like a conspiracy theory with bankers and manufacturers joining forces. However, the facts are real and all around us.

“People are now-a-days over leveraging themselves. It is not an uncommon sight to see youngsters with a new job, maybe in the BPO sector, driven by consumerism, to live beyond his means. Today, there are so many choices available to us, so many more things to spend money on, credit so readily available that there is often a complete lack of discipline seen in people's financial management. Discipline is the key to managing one's finances and debts well. With peer pressure looming large today, technology advanced to a state of wonder, temptation can set in easily, and slowly one credit card becomes two and maybe three when in search for the latest mobile,” explains Arun, who feels strongly about the stupidity we see today. However, he remains optimistic of the fact that things will get better.

Just like there are no free lunches in life, a loan is not meant to be easy. Shylocks never made it easy then and bankers do not do so now. The hardships that one may have to undergo in life due to emergencies are bad enough to keep most people saving for a rainy day. Where does the room to blow up money you have not yet earned seem logical? This is almost a way of bandaging yourself to be a labourer, who will soon start working off years of his life to pay off debt. All is not lost however. For us Indians are lucky enough to see the warning signs early. Also, the fact that the financial trauma has stung banks, corporations and people alike, each seem to be happy to get something out of the other and in this environment, the mistakes we have made with debt may not be as bad as they could have been.