This is all a very good thing.  I feel very sorry for those who are feeling so desperate right now.  Hearing stories of people who have taken their own lives and their family members lives is so heartbreaking.  Hopefully, through all these tough times we can truly re-evaluate our priorities and, as Dr Phil says, redefine ourselves.

It is amazing how much physical pressure intangible things can have on us.  At the end of the day, a credit score means nothing.  If you have no money – that is okay.  You are alive, you are breathing.  If you wanted to you could skip out to a remote country and live in a tent on the beach for the rest of your life.  I realize that is extreme, but I think the first step to debt relief is to get a little perspective on the situation.  Realize that you control your happiness and future, not bank accounts and credit scores.

It is important to find out what really makes you happy.  Is your job going to define who you are as a person?  People seem to have lost their identities in their careers.  Turn the focus back on friends and family.  If you do not have family, then there are people out there who could use you as their family.

The next time you want to make a purchase, sit on the decision for a while.  Nowadays, even when I want to jump in the car to go to the grocery store because there is nothing to eat in my house – I wait.  Next thing you know, I survived several days on the food I already had.  I did not waste money and I did not let the food in my pantry go to waste.  Better yet, I am sure I saved a lot of calories as well!

The important thing to understand is that you are in control of your own debt relief.  Just because society may tell you do not have a monetary worth, that should not effect your self-worth at all!  Take back control over how you feel and respond to this economic crisis, and you will see that debt relief will come much easier!

On the one hand, we are told that over-spending got our economy into this mess.  We bought houses we could not afford.  We spent money we did not have.  On the other hand, we are being told that we must bail out the banks so that they can start lending again!  So if they want the banks to loan money, they want people to borrow it.  So which is it?

I am not going to get into the politics of all this mess.  Nor I am going to talk about the macro-economic issues regarding consumer credit.  I will say though that even though some people in Washington think that having tons of available credit for Americans is part of the solution, it is important to really evaluate your own life plans and do what is best for you.

So even though you may not know what exactly a “credit crunch” is and why it is apparently vital that we fix it, these issues do have an affect on you. 

Americans were caught in a culture of it is okay to charge things now and pay them off later.  As a matter of fact, everyone does it and since it is available then it is probably the best thing to do.  However, many people are learning the hard way that this is not the case.  When you put everything on credit you are taking control out of your hands and putting it in the hands of the banks and lending institutions.  When the banks fail, it has dramatic effects on your day to day life. 

Now, if the bank wants to raise your interest rate 3 times what is was, they can.  There is nothing you can do about it.  If the bank wants to cut your credit line they can.  These types of changes can have catastrophic effects on the cash flow for the average American family. 

However, there are ways to find debt relief.  This site will explore some of those methods.  It is important to take back control of your finances and not be dependent on banks, financial institutions, or the government anymore!  After all, you have to look out for number one!