Most people understand the financial implications of incurring too much debt. It can wreck your credit score, make it nearly impossible to get a traditional loan from a bank and severely limit your ability to save for emergencies. Besides having a negative impact on your fiscal affairs, debt can create problems for other areas, too.

Health

Debt can indirectly make someone physically ill. Research shows that up to 50 percent of people in debt report having health problems. Stress related to debt can set the stage for someone to be worn down to the point of being sick. Stress creates a flow of hormones that increases heart rate, tenses muscles and speeds up breathing. If someone’s body is essentially on alert in response to debt-related stress, this can increase the chance of having high blood pressure, stomach ulcers and an irregular heartbeat.

Besides creating stress, debt can affect health in other ways. When medical concerns arise, people might choose not to see a doctor because they’re worried about healthcare costs pushing them deeper into debt.  This leads them to gamble with their health and allow the possibility that their illness or condition will worsen over time.  In addition, medications are expensive, so someone in debt might skip his or her pills rather than continue to pay for refills.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

Relationships

Managing money is one of the biggest points of conflict for married couples. In one study, the majority of couples reported having few, if any, discussions about their joint finances prior to saying, “I do.” Disagreements over how to handle debt may create tension that spills over into the bedroom, interactions with the kids and discussions about non-financial issues.

Friendships can also suffer when someone is in debt. People sometimes discover they can’t afford to go out for drinks after work or afford a babysitter so they can go out with friends.  When they do get the chance to have fun, it can be difficult to forget the cloud of debt hanging over their heads.

Work

If a debt problem is significant, concentrating at work may be next to impossible. People may be distracted or waste time looking for the magic solution online instead of being productive.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

Getting Help

If you’re experiencing some of these problems or you’re looking to avoid them, there are steps you can take to alleviate or prevent these issues.  You can organize a financial workshop through a local church or community center so you and others can learn how to get out of debt. You can educate yourself on how to use budgeting tools with the Reach Card, which allows you to limit your spending to money you have instead of paying with credit. You can also speak with a professional debt counselor who can help you identify your options. Finally, you should establish a budget and plan to get out of debt.

What strategies have worked to reduce your debt?

Value is the quest of the masses, and it plays an important role when it comes to buying a car. Most individuals don’t want to purchase a car that will lose more value than it maintains. When you want a car that will have resale potential, follow these four steps:

Step 1: Choose Reputable Manufacturers

Public opinion often dominates all purchases. It is essential, therefore, to consider brands that people recognize as worthy. Vehicles that boast popular names, such as BMW, Ford or Cadillac, tend to maintain value better than other cars. They inspire trust in consumers, which can help you sell the car when you’re ready to buy a new one. With some cars, like Mercedes, age doesn’t affect popularity.

Step 2: Consider Luxury Instead of Convenience

Many people only consider the cost of a car when they think of value. When your goal is to buy a car that will earn appreciation, however, this notion doesn’t work. While you can make a car more affordable by stripping down the options, standard items without the wanted style won’t maintain a car’s worth. Luxury cars tend to hold a steady value. This is due in part to the innovation that’s placed within the frames and in part to the technological support they boast. Regardless of age, luxury automobiles on eBay rise above their competition.

Step 3: Research Purchasing Trends

The search for cars is often tedious. Individuals devote themselves to understanding safety features, gaining insight into engines and deciphering the subtle variations of colors. They rarely, however, examine purchasing trends. This is a mistake. Trying to generate value for the future demands knowing what’s occurring in the present. Drivers should study the most popular vehicles and their demographics. For example, family-friendly transportation remains a vital component of the economy, while trendy muscle cars can waver. Recognizing which items are more likely to resonate with buyers will increase revenue later.

Step 4: Avoid Accident Prone Cars

Affordability is a concern for many drivers who have limited budgets and endless obligations, and choosing a new car may not be an option. However, buying a used car that has been involved in several accidents should not be a consideration. While many secondhand vehicles can offer value, those that have been in collisions are less likely to impress. Buyers will be wary of them, which will reduce the future value. It’s imperative to select items that feature pristine records. This will make selling the car a far easier thing to do.

When you look beyond the initial price tag, you can often see the factors that will help you select cars which will maintain value through the years. What factors do you consider when you look at a car’s value?

There’s an old saying that, you should never a-lender or a-borrower be. While different people have different thoughts on borrowing money, it’s pretty clear that whom you borrow from is at least as important as how much you borrow, and for what reason. Borrowing from reputable cash loans lenders for emergencies is a far cry from using some not-so-reputable lenders for frivolous spending.  Some people might be fine with a late payment now and again, while some others might take their interest in your blood.

The following list is a group of people who you really don’t want to cross when it comes to their almighty dollars. If you have to go hungry for awhile or beg your landlord for more time on the rent, do it. It’s just not worth the potential pain of ticking off the people on this list.

Anybody With a Body Part in Their Name

If you’ve been thinking about taking out a loan for a few Gs this weekend from Freddy Big Fingers or Jesse the Spleen, do yourself a favor and get a clue. Anybody who has a body part in their name got it for a very good reason. As a general rule, it’s either a trait nobody dares to make fun of them for, or a part they particularly enjoy forcibly removing when borrowers neglect their payments.

Look around someone’s office for other clues that you shouldn’t borrow money from them. If they have a suspiciously large amount of cement and a drill press nearby, it’s not necessarily because they work in “construction.” You should leave One-leg Angelo to his own devices.

Pirates

This pirate is really tired of your excuses. A man doesn’t sail halfway around the world pillaging all day long and drinking bad rum just to come back without his loan payments. Hook polish isn’t cheap, and running a vessel of conquest is downright expensive. If you think he’ll just make you walk the plank, consider that it might take you an hour to exhaust your endurance in the water.

You might also consider that with a little work, a human body can fit into a canon. Just keep that in mind before you ask this guy to spot you some booty. Seriously, have you ever considered just finding a publican for your weekend party money?

Mario

Mario isn’t the kind of guy you want to mess with. Other than being able to jump 50 feet in the air and smash bricks with his fists (and occasionally tail), the authorities suspect he’s had dealings in illicit mushrooms since the 80s. While he may or may not be the reincarnation of Tony Montana, Mario is a serious bad boy. Did you know he can occasionally shoot fireballs?

So, why would you take out a loan from a guy who has spent the better part of his life leaping around and risking his life to gather coins? His occupation is stomping people, chucking vegetables at them, and throwing them into pools of lava. With a death that ridiculous, you’d be a shoo in for an episode of 1,000 Ways to Die.

Look at the guy. Staring at you with those massive eyebrows. He’s even holding some sort of torture device in public, in broad daylight no less!

Leprechauns

Everybody knows that one of the stupidest things you can do is to steal a leprechaun’s gold. These little whelps will pursue you to the ends of the earth for one little piece of their horde, and they’ll never stop. Did you know that they can also wield powerful magic?

While you might think there’s a difference between borrowing and stealing, leprechauns aren’t known for their mercy when you don’t pay up. To them, someone else having their money constitutes theft and justifies a serious round of old-fashioned Irish pain. Magical powers notwithstanding, this guy looks like he would really enjoy putting a whiskey bottle into a place where it was never designed to go.

Muppets

Muppets are often expressed as nice, lovable creatures that enjoy nothing more than singing an educational and entertaining song. But beneath their public facade, muppets are an evil race of Satan’s most trusted and lethal henchmen.

While a pirate might drown or “fire” you, a muppet will sing a long, increasingly high-pitched song about how your soul will spend the rest of eternity being torn asunder while hell’s Valkyries bend the shadows ominously toward you.
Run all you like, fool, but there is no escape. You should never have borrowed money from a muppet.

Dark Lords of the Sith

Okay, let’s forget that Darth Maul has the ability to slice not one but two people in half with his lightsaber/staff. Let’s also forget that he couldn’t have possibly have been a good guy with a face like that. If you borrow money from this man, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll bring an imperial entourage and let them have their way with you for a few hours before he finally puts you out of your misery.

In other words, don’t ever borrow money from a super-powered sociopath. Speaking of superpowers…

Superpowered Individuals

First of all, the weakest person depicted in this image can still beat the tar out of you if you miss a payment. While they might pretend to be “good guys” or “super friends,” this band of hustlers has gotten a lot of “protection money” out of the UN. So while they’re flush with cash and don’t really need to buy things, superpowered individuals still have a lot of rage against the “injustice” of being a deadbeat.

You know how it is. You take out a loan, then you remember there’s money in your pocket and you go have a few drinks. The next thing you know, you’re broke and in a strange place with a new tattoo. These guys and gals aren’t buying it, though. You either pay up, or they’ll hurl you into the Sun.

In Conclusion

There are a lot of seriously bad people out there, and they usually have money that they’ll happily lend you. The bad thing about borrowing from them is that it might be the last thing you ever do. While it’s great to have financial options, sometimes it’s best to just save your money instead of borrowing it from a maniac.