Getting into debt is much like wading into the ocean.
Have you ever stood on a beautiful white sandy beach and watched the gentle waves roll up on the shore? The water looks cool and inviting, so you stick one toe in.
Your friends are out there swimming around and having fun.
Ohhhh! It feels as good as it looks, so you step into the water.
You begin wading out toward the horizon, and suddenly you find that you are in over your head and a very long way from shore.
That is just how debt sneaks up on you.
One day you are standing safely on a debt-free shore, and the next you are swimming for your life while you are pretty sure that you are going to drown in a sea of debt.
If you were drowning in the ocean, you would need a lifeguard to save you.
If you are drowning in a sea of debt, you need a debt counselor to save you.
A debt counselor can throw you a lifeline, called a debt consolidation loan, and pull you safely to shore.
Now don't misunderstand.
Getting from the point of drowning in debt to debt free is not easy even when you are holding onto a debt consolidation loan.
It takes self-discipline and self-denial to again stand on solid financial ground, but it can be done.
And once you feel financially secure again, you will believe that the effort was well worth the sacrifices that you had to make.
Not only that! You will have learned a great deal about money management.
Usually when people have to be rescued from an ocean of debt, they never venture in over their heads again.