Time line of Debt Trouble

Like most things, trouble can be analyzed as a series of discrete steps you can consider. And you can fix them one thing at a time, too.

Timeline of Trouble

 

Life before Trouble	(this may be mythical)
Distant Rumbles	Something is not right – you know you aren’t doing something you should, either to prepare, protect, or conserve.
Closer Rumbles	Rumors of Doom – bills mounting, spouse complaining, you complaining, boss warning.
Dark Clouds in Sky	Collection letters and calls, serious conflict with important people
Debt Collection
Litigation	Has its own process (See Litigation Timeline)
Clean-up and Move on	Win or Lose, life goes on. The quality of your life depends on handling this well.

This time-line probably doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know. Our point here is to “build system” to help you approach things systematically. It’s easier to take things one step at a time and in order than to take everything on at random. So much of what makes debt troubles so hard is that they are overwhelming and dispiriting. If you break them into simple steps and allow yourself the patience to do them one at a time trusting the results to add up over time, you can handle the problems.

We also suggest that you think “strategically,” which means keeping your end-results in mind from the very beginning.