There is a popular saying in my home that "true happiness lies to those who does not have any debt on them". This has some relevance to Mahabhratha, where Yudhister was confronted by yaksha with barrage of question to save their brothers. If we look deeply on the saying it stands true to many extent. Still many people find themselves falling in the trap of loan and debtness because of various reason. Especially on fullfiling their personal needs which goes beyond their limit.
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My Dad always insisted to be contented with our needs, it gives immense level of happiness. We were taught to ‘spread our legs only as much as the area of the blanket’. Going beyond the limit is always harmful. This stands true in todays ocassion, where people relying mainly on show offs. People alwsys wanted more in their life. They easily get influenced with other lavish lifestyle and wanted to live like them. And in pursuit, alwsys ends up over spending beyond their income level. They arrange money either by taking loans or by utilising credit cards. They just need to enjoy life at any cost. I have seen people, ending with stress and trauma because of credit card. I think it is one of the biggest loan shark that trap the customers easily.
Credit card & Love-Hate relationship
Credit card are one of the free of cost instruments offered by the banks. It meant to allow the customer to make their purchases and pay on later date. Generally, a 45 days credit time period is allowed to make the payments. Customers finding it easy goes out all hand in making purchases when they do not have money in pocket thinking that they will pay in later. But a bad finance and financial planning make it worse for them. And these loan amount keep on mounting pressure on the customer. I have a pretty bad experince once and since then, I promissed not to avail any such credit card ever.
It was during the initial days, when credit card was launched in India and offered to the banking customer at free of charges. Finding it handy, many customers started owning and so does me. It was dispatched to our address and we started making purchases. We strictly followed the payment date ensured to make all the purchase payments on time. Soon we noticed that we started over spending on things which were not been needed at home. We asked the bank to cancel the credit card and we done with the request. However, soon we were handed a annual renewal charges. We were not aware of it, neither were told at the time of issuing the credit card. As we have cancelled the credit card, we avoided the notification. In few month we were handed over the legal notice for not paying the renewal charges. They have added multiple charges and penalty on top of the amount. It was only after multiple talks , meeting and visiting the credit card department, that we able to sort the issues. But it was a painful experince, that gave me a good ampunt mental trauma and completelly exhausted me in getting clearance.
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Money + Mindfulness = Financial bliss.
It gave me a good learning lesson in life, and since then I never availed any more credit card. I belive following the family saying is pretty smarter way of happy life. Though many people find "credit cards" an easy way for managing finances, but again why to spend thinking of future money peospect. If we do not have money at present, it gets difficult to ensure in future. Also being contented with our needs is also helpful in avoiding taking loans or credit from others. It is always a smarter move to pursue a greater happiness.
Be Content
Overcoming bad loans is a test of resilience and determination in the world of finance. Dealing with bad loans requires strategic planning and a strong financial mindset and staying proactive is key to financial success. I alwsys avoided taking loans in life. Even if I borrowed from someone, I made sure to get rid of it at the earliest, before pitching myself into other projects. Taking loans is easy but repaying them is a challenge. We alwsys ends up paying much more than what we had taken. This makes it important in life to avoid loans as much as possible.