How do you separate your work life from your personal life?
I wake up in the middle of the night talking to myself, and my husband is like, “You are talking about Visa and Master card.” After 21 years, that’s all I think about.
I have learned that when I walk away, I have to walk away. But there are times at night when I don’t know. I just go into my office, turn on my computer, I see my email and somebody has asked me a question. It could be 11 o’clock at night, and I’ll sit and type a reply. I had one woman type back to me, “Do you ever sleep?”
Sometimes, I’ll pick up messages and call the client back in the evening – they’re not expecting to hear from me until the following day, so it kind of eases a little bit of the pain.
There’s always a reason why people fall into debt. What’s the most common reason you’ve heard?
The most common reason is loss of income – job loss. One party or another in the family has been laid off or had hours cut. If they live for every penny and if their hours are cut, it puts the family into panic mode. They worry: Do they pay their mortgage or buy food for the family? Or do their lights stay on? Or do they pay the credit cards?
What’s the worst reason people give for being in debt?
Gambling. One woman who called me was a tremendous gambler. She lost her job and was looking for something to do, so she started going on river boat cruises. She became an addicted gambler and started pulling money from her credit card – to the tune of $100,000. Her husband didn’t know, and that’s one of the other things that are very prevalent: “My husband (or wife) doesn’t know, please don’t tell them.”
And I don’t.
What’s the nicest thing a graduate from the program has ever said to you?
Both men and women have cried. One man wrote to me and said, “I’m in your program for three years, and I just pulled my credit score and my credit score is over 700. So I am thrilled to death that I will not only be getting out of debt, but my credit is still in good standing!” Those are the things that wipe away the hardest part of the day.
We’re Here to Help You
If your debt problems are keeping you up at night, it’s time to enlist the help of a financial professional. Take action now and call Consolidated Credit at (844) 276-1544 to speak with one of our certified credit counselors and explore your options for debt relief. You can also take the first step online by completing a request for a Free Debt Analysis.
