Are You the Chicago Cubs?
A Consumer Proposal Can Prevent You From Having to Wait a Century to Pay off Your Debt
108 years! That’s how many years passed between World Series victories for the Chicago Cubs. It’s an astonishing number when you consider that someone born in 1916 will have lived 100 years and never seen the Cubs win a world series…until November 3rd of this year. Unreal!
What on earth does this have to do with debt?
Do you have a credit card statement handy? If not, please retrieve one…I’ll wait, promise. Got it? Ok, is there a balance on the card? Great! Now, every statement is a little bit different, but you want to find the spot that explains to you how long it’ll take you to pay off your credit card if you make only minimum payments and never use the card again.
Did you find it? What was the number?
I can’t see your statement, but I’ll bet the explanation went something like this…
You owe $34,536.78, if you make only minimum payments you will pay off your balance in 213 years
Yes, you read that correctly.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that you’re not going to live another 213 years. I know, you exercise every day and you eat nothing but kale sandwiches topped with organic wheat germ, but I’m just saying…I don’t think you have another couple of centuries left in you. Think about it…the Cubs could win another 2 World Series in that span of time!
You know what’s going on here, right? This is the glory of revolving, high interest payments. Banks make money off of credit cards in many ways. They make money from transactions, they make money from annual/monthly fees (if applicable), and they make a lot of money through interest on balances people carry month to month.
Most people I meet who are struggling with debt understand that the money they’re spending on their debt is effectively paying little or none of the principal amount they owe. However, there are a few folks I meet every month who insist to me that despite all indications otherwise that they can “handle their debt”. When I press people to explain what they mean by “handle” they tell me…
“I’m able to pay the bill every month. I never miss”
Ok, I’ll grant them that. They’re able to pay enough to keep the creditors off their back…but that’s all they’re doing. At this rate, the Cubs will win another World Series before the tiniest dent is placed in the principal of the debt. These people are effectively paying someone to NOT call them. This is money out the window. Instead of saying “I’m able to pay the bill”, people in this situation need to understand that they’re really just paying ransom. They’re paying just enough that the creditors will leave them alone and they can continue to pay for another couple of centuries.
I’m as thrilled as any baseball fan to see the Cubs win a World Series for the first time in 108 years. Hopefully, for the sake of their fans, it won’t be another 108 years until the Cubs win again. In the case of debt, trying to match the Cubs in terms of futility is not an effective debt management strategy.
A carefully structured Consumer Proposal by someone solely looking out for your interest can help significantly lower the debt, remove the interest, and allow you to make manageable payments that will only last for five years maximum, not 213 years.
If you’re currently competing with the Cubs for a new standard in futility, please contact 4 Pillars. We can’t help you win a World Series (well, I can’t…maybe one of the other offices can), but we can get you out of debt and it won’t take 108 years.
About the Author:
Zach Brull operates the 4 Pillars Markham, On and Scarborough, On and North York, On Debt Restructuring office. To contact him directly visit his website or call him directly at : (416) 222-6772
