Today's post is about the importance of being accountable, and holding yourself accountable for you own actions. However, this post is also about knowing when to provide yourself with slack enough to know when things are not your fault.
Here are the basics. People have kids, sometimes people were just born into a less than stellar situation. They had to struggle for food, and the lights being turned off at home was not a new situation. A lot of people probably see having a car as a major luxury, while some think of it as a given. Some people's parent's ruined their child's credit before the child was even able to understand what credit or a credit card was. Some fortunate people were lucky enough that their parent's allowed them to be authorized users on their credit card for years before their child went off to college. A lot of people had to visit food banks, are visiting food bank or will have to in the future. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is not known for its empathy or ability to allow itself to step into the shoes of another person. We live in a capitalist society, and at its core, capitalism is just construct to make a lot of people rich, off the misfortune and misinformation of those less fortunate.
So i believe it is important to realize that when you are poor, middle class, or at the mercy of someone else or even the court in a financial way...sometimes you just need to seek out people (usually attorneys) who can understand your situation and who understands how to thwart the bullying tactics of predatory lenders, and harassing creditors. Scam artist are everywhere, and it is your responsibility to fix your situation. If you do not have the knowledge to do something, get someone who does to help you out!!!!
Now, to that tough love that is ACCOUNTABILITY. Yes, as an adult you are responsible for paying your bills, taking care of your children, and ensuring that you have healthy finances. Failure to take the appropriate steps to ensure that these three responsibilities are met, is your fault and your fault only. If you fail to seek help, and you fall behind on your payments to the IRS, or you are handed a child support amount that you feel is inaccurate and you do not seek legal help, subsequently causing you to fall behind in your payment....it is your fault and your fault alone. The only thing you can do from that point is try to remedy your current situation, which is always possible, but much harder than just preventing a financial or legal crisis all together.
Are you underwater on your mortgage? Are you behind in your car payments? Has your car been impounded? Are you behind in your child support payments? Have you not seen your child in awhile....then it is your responsibility to remedy all those situations. Your first step is finding a knowledgeable attorney who can evaluate your situation, and develop a strategy to help you. You may think the cost of an attorney could be high, but there are tons of attorneys (included myself), that offer unbundled services for the fraction of the cost of full representation on certain legal issues. Basic legal guidance is something that could save you thousands, allow you to see your kids, get you out of jail, and allow you to have a future worth celebrating. It is with an accountability mindset that will allow you to change your situation, and get on the path to freedom in many ways.