10 Ways Debt Could Be Damaging Your Life (2024)

FAQs

How can debt ruin your life? ›

There's a strong link between debt and poor mental health. People with debt are more likely to face common mental health issues, such as prolonged stress, depression, and anxiety. Debt can affect your physical well-being, too. This is especially true if the stigma of debt is keeping you from asking for help.

They don't tell the human side of struggling through a shortage of money. Fact is, debt stress syndrome is linked to a number of mental health issues, including a massive increase in denial, anger, depression, and anxiety. Among the negative effects of debt stress are low self-esteem and impaired cognitive functioning.

In addition to the impact to your mental health, stress and worry over debt can also adversely affect your physical health and can lead to anxiety, ulcers, heart attacks, high blood pressure and depression. The deeper you get into debt, the more likely it is that your health will be impacted.

The disadvantages of debt financing include the potential for personal liability, higher interest rates, and the need to collateralize the loan. Debt financing is a popular method of raising capital for businesses of all sizes.

Financial hardships and losses can have a lasting impact on mental health, causing trauma, stress, anxiety, and even suicide. Financial trauma affects relationships, self-esteem, and decision-making.

Key Takeaways. The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

Feeling beaten down by money worries can adversely impact your sleep, self-esteem, and energy levels. It can leave you feeling angry, ashamed, or fearful, fuel tension and arguments with those closest to you, exacerbate pain and mood swings, and even increase your risk of depression and anxiety.

Financial strain can make for a stressful home environment due to the pressure of a barrage of letters and phone calls, and even the threat of losing the roof over their head. Because of this, half of families claim that their intense situation has caused arguments within their family.

Higher interest costs could crowd out important public investments that can fuel economic growth — priority areas like education, R&D, and infrastructure. A nation saddled with debt will have less to invest in its own future. Rising debt means fewer economic opportunities for Americans.

Why should we avoid debt? ›

There are several benefits of not getting too deep into debt. Debt can drain your cash. Once you free yourself of debt, chances are you will have more money to spend on things you want or enjoy without having to worry about interest payments. Mishandling debt can lead to a bad credit history.

If you don't pay the amount due on your debt for several months your creditor will likely write your debt off as a loss, your credit score may take a hit, and you still will owe the debt. In fact, the creditor could sell your debt to a debt collector who can try to get you to pay.

A bad credit score can make life difficult in a number of ways, and it can even delay retirement by costing you more money over time. But improving your credit score is about much more than luck, and it's only possible if you understand just how much your credit score impacts your life.