Greed, also known as Avarice, is the compulsion to accumulate more than you need. A sin of excess, Greed is characterised by hoarding or seeking out ways to gain material wealth. In debt terms, this can be seen in people who hold several credit cards, or regularly go on shopping sprees to buy things they don’t need, for the sheer love of spending money. It’s a damaging behaviour, and usually results in large amounts of credit card debt which, as we all know, can take years to clear if you only make minimum payments each month.
Gluttony, often confused with Greed, relates to food consumption. Another sin of excess, Gluttony is the act of consuming more food than you physically need, often to the point of waste. In the world of debt, Gluttony is committed by those who regularly choose takeaway meals or meals in expensive restaurants instead of staying at home and preparing cheaper home-cooked food.
Lust is also known as Extravagance, which is directly linked to Greed as the frequent buying of unnecessary luxury goods. This is a major factor in debt sufferers; often their debts are a result of spending much more than they can afford on items which have no real worth.
Pride is often thought of as the original, or ultimate, sin, the sin from which all others descend. We all like to feel that we’re as important, if not more so, than our peers, and in today’s materialistic society this feeling of importance is often achieved by the accumulation of expensive possessions. We judge one another on material wealth: the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, even the house we live in all provide onlookers with an idea of our lifestyles. Of course, lavish lifestyles come at a price, and for someone trying to appear wealthier than they are, by purchasing expensive goods, the debts can mount up alarmingly.
Envy is linked to both Pride and Lust. Not to be confused with jealousy, which is the fear of losing a person or possession to another, Envy is the desire to have something which another person has. From a debt perspective, seeing another’s expensive television or designer clothes might prompt the envious to go to any means in order to possess a similar item. This can include taking out credit cards or loans in order to pay for the item, and thus the debt begins.
Sloth also encompasses Acedia and Despair (thought of as sins in Catholicism), and they can be described as; the reluctance to tackle problems or situations which should be dealt with (Acedia), the feeling of hopelessness in a situation (Despair) and the indifference or even denial of the problems at hand (Sloth). Put together, this is perhaps the most damaging sin to a person in debt as they allow their debts to mount up and get worse, rather than tackling them head on and working to reduce debt.
Wrath may not seem to fit into a debt perspective, but it can actually be productive in this sense. Wrath is a feeling of anger towards a particular person or situation, and in the case of debt, it can be anger towards oneself. Who hasn’t, at one time or another, felt angry at themselves for buying that unnecessary item or not making that payment? A person in debt may feel angry enough at themselves and their situation to actually do something productive about it; whether that be setting a budget, looking at debt consolidation or even something as drastic as cutting up their credit cards.
Whatever behaviours have led to your debt problems, rest assured there are
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