Over-indebtedness does not always start with a spectacular accident. It often sets in silently, thanks to a divorce, a drop in income, unpaid debt or a loan taken out to repay another. As Joëlle L, 45 years old, experienced. After her partner left, she kept the family home, but the rent became too heavy to bear alone. “My ex-partner did not regularly pay child support. To hold on, I dipped into a first payment card offered by a merchant, then a second, a third, etc., until I took out an additional revolving credit to pay the installments every month”.
Very quickly, the spiral of revolving credits overtook it. “I couldn’t cope anymore”she says, referring to reimbursements to “unbelievable rates”. Cornered, she must give up her accommodation and return to live with her parents. With their help, she ended up paying off her debts by consolidating them into a single “normal” consumer loan taken out with her bank. “It took me more than five years to repay everything”. A testimony which illustrates a frequent reality: we do not fall into over-indebtedness through irresponsibility, but often following a life shock and lack of immediate alternative.
Locate the gear before breaking
The first reflex is to identify the warning signals: overdraft which becomes permanent, recourse to credit to pay for current expenses, scattered monthly payments, reminders which accumulate. The real danger appears when a new loan is used to repay the previous ones. In Joëlle’s case, everything starts from a budget weakened by the separation and the irregularity of alimony, then worsens with the ease of access to money reserves. The sooner the alert is taken, the more solutions remain.
Reduce pressure without delay
Before complete suffocation, you need to review all of your expenses and assess your rent, your energy costs, your insurance, your credits, your pensions due or received. The objective is to prioritize: housing, food, transportation, then dealing with debts. Consolidation into a single loan, like the one obtained by Joëlle with the help of her parents, can sometimes make it possible to smooth out repayments, provided that it does not increase the total cost. It is also crucial to contact creditors quickly to request a rescheduling rather than letting unpaid debts pile up.
Without a way out, grab the help devices
When the budget no longer allows debts to be faced sustainably, it is possible to turn to support structures such as a social worker, a specialized association, a budget advice point or even the Bank of France. Filing an over-indebtedness file allows, depending on the case, to suspend proceedings, reorganize debts or erase part of the amounts owed. The hardest part is often taking the plunge. However, Joëlle L.’s testimony shows it: even after a spiral of revolving credits, it is possible to get out of it, at the cost of rapid decisions, external support and budgetary rigor.
