Wouldn’t it be great to get along in this world without needing or using credit of any kind? This might be a question that more and more of us are asking these days. After all there’s a lot of us out there who are suffering in this latest economic downturn.

Even if we count ourselves among the lucky ones who still have jobs and are not falling behind our scheduled monthly payments, the plight of others is a sobering one.

In times like this we count ourselves lucky if we have been able to hold onto our jobs. But still it is inevitable that we will not very optimistic about the immediate future. There’s just no telling how long one’s own employer will be able to hold on before they start to make cuts. That certainly makes you wonder if it might not be better to get rid of those credit cards and live more realistically.

Using credit cards and lines of credit is very easy when times are good. With a steady job and source of good income keeping ahead of the payments is not a big deal for most of us. At least that’s what we tell ourselves. Meanwhile we get deeper and deeper in debt.

Maybe we rationalize that we need credit cards in case of an emergency. What exactly is an emergency? If we get sick, we have health care, if we lose our job, we have friends and family. If the roof leaks, that doesn’t mean that the whole thing needs replacing. Patch it up and wait until you have enough real money in the roofing fund.

Once you get on the easy credit roller coaster it is pretty difficult to get off. So when a real emergency comes along – like a business downturn or loss of employment – there is not much wiggle room left.

Of course cutting up all our cards isn’t going to happen in most cases. However, just think of the savings on interest and late payments that could be saved if we used fewer cards and were more prudent with our credit buying. At least then, if hard times come knocking, we’d be on a more level playing field, rather than standing in a huge hole of debt.

Once you’ve fallen behind to the point that debt collectors start calling, then you know something has to be done. Some of those debt collectors can be very aggressive, and it can be very unsettling to have to deal with them every day. At that point is important to realize that while being in debt can be uncomfortable, it is not the end of the world. There are limits on the tactics that debt collectors can use to try to squeeze money out of you. Those limits are defined in the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act – the FDCPA.

When things get really frustrating and even downright nasty it is time to call a fair debt attorney. An attorney is not able to make your debt go away magically, but they are able to stop the threats and intimidation tactics used by many debt collectors. In some cases they can even file complaints against the debt collectors and force them to pay compensation to you.

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