No, Only buying is not the reason for a debt trap

Let me be honest

Consumerism not alone is the main reason for the big debt trap, NO

I have spent 2.5 months with more than 120+ students, (many of them joined me in heavy debt condition)

Before discussing these students, I believed consumerism (unnecessary buying) would be the main reason for their debt trap, but the reality is different. When I started digging deep into the debt discussions I found 2 very serious problems in the behavior

1. Not saying "No" at the right time

Often, debt does not result from spending on oneself, but rather from fulfilling others' wishes (family, friends, etc). This allows them to spend an uncontrolled amount, which encourages family members to demand more.

My student Jay (Name changed) is earning 1.6Lac in hand which is an excellent amount but at the age of 48, he has a 29Lac Loan (Credit, Personal, etc). And the worst part is, His family hardly knows about it, they spend/demand based on 1.6 Lac In-hand and Jay struggles to say NO to them about FALTU expenses.

2. Try to fight the battle alone (Not sharing the right financial situation with family members)

My student Bhushan (Name changed) earns 1.1Lakhs lac in-hand per month which seems reasonable, but his 42.9 Lakhs loans can scare anyone. At age 47, he struggles to pay off debt & run the family.

At this rate

1. When will he pay the full debt?

2. When will he start building a corpus for retirement?

In the next 2 years, his daughter will get married (He needs to save for that).

He is fighting this battle alone, he hasn't shared these things with his family. Recently his daughter started earning, but she is not aware that his father is struggling (I am sure she will help if she knows the truth)

Remember: To be debt-free, we all need to learn this:

Say NO to unwanted demands from your family/relatives.

Furthermore, if you're stuck, do not try to fight the battle alone. It's a long journey. Get your family involved or seek help from them.

If you need help you can watch this video, It may help you to start your debt-free journey

https://youtu.be/uXV10o-Z79w