I read an article today about a man who grouped his family together for an intervention for his mother. Most often we read about interventions dealing with some sort of addiction. This gentleman was looking out for his mother as she continued to bury herself further in debt with cash advances and credit cards. The addiction which the family was called in to support and help stop was a shopping addiction. It may sound humorous to many, but the problem is more severe than most think. Using third party money to continue feeding into this habit not only fills the home with unnecessary “stuff”, but it can ruin a family’s financial future.
There is always some unaddressed issue or problem behind a person’s desire to continuously spend money. Credit card availability allows people with this problem to dig themselves deeper in debt. When credit card balances are full and there are no longer new avenues for additional lines of credit, the problem is then directed towards cash advances or payday loans. Once these short-term loans are used, the bills are difficult to hide or go unnoticed. For those shopaholics who share bank accounts and income, there is little you can do to hide the transactions happening on the bank statement.
Cash advances used for anything but an emergency will hurt most finances.
A family intervention for this type of spending problem is more than just about the debt itself. It is focusing on the person, their needs and most of all the cause. It often helps when another family member pays off the cash advance debt before too many bank account problems are created, but it cannot be the only help. Take the family member to a counseling group. Look for meetings which are focused on shopping problems or find a counselor to work one on one. Just like any other type of disorder, it will take nourishing the root of the problem to fix it.
Shopping is a tool used to console a problem. Finding the money necessary is tends not to be a problem when credit cards and cash advances are used. Hiding a credit card statement may be a bit simpler of the two. The minimum payments are low and may go under the radar. A cash advance is a different type of loan all-together and having to pay the full amount plus fees in just a few short weeks will not be easy to disguise, especially if the account has more than one name on it. There is not much hiding to be done when a few hundred dollars has been debited from the bank. These loans are intended for emergencies not for shopping sprees and if your loved one has settled into using them to feed an addiction, it is time to intervene and get help before the family’s budget is ruined.
When a family member has any type of addiction problem, it can create family problems quickly. The desire to fill a need at any cost is a tough one to control as well as recover. Group the family together and let that person know you care and want to help. The purpose is to help the person recover from the problem without more guilt or shame. The piles of debt can be worked on over time, but the shopper needs the most support to control and recover from a shopping addiction.
