Modern financial advisors mostly rely on shaming clients to overhaul the debt cycle. However, according to experts, shaming clients for falling into debt can be counter-productive and may discourage the client from meeting the debt and improving their financial position.
The unrealistic models of frugal living and early retirement
Today, the market is abundant in providing unrealistic expectations of a career cycle. It stresses that a person should spend only a minimal amount of their total wages and live the most frugal lifestyle.
One example of it is to satisfy your wants, only if you cannot do without them. If you have 5 t-shirts, you can easily spend your entire year by using them in turns. Why go out and buy one more? Instead, put that money you would spend on the sixth t-shirt into your piggy bank so that it experiences compounding interest and meets you after retirement as a treasure trove.
When your friends are planning on hanging out at a restaurant or bar, better yet skip the invite, because you will end up spending $100.
This all seems extremely nonsensical. What is the point of earning if you must live the lifestyle of those living next to the poverty line? However, this has become a parable for living intelligently to avoid debt burden and cope with the financial crises while efficiently saving for retirement.
Modern financial advice
Modern financial advisors hold the debt victim accountable for becoming a victim of debt. They immediately point out that their client has adopted a moderately good lifestyle- as though it is a bad thing.
If you have a student loan, they will immediately reproach you for seeking out advanced education. If you have your children’s burden of living on you, they will immediately blame you for undertaking their responsibility. If your child has crossed the underage limit, financial advisors would expect them to pull their burden themselves and, in fact, contribute to the household expenditure.
Empathy can offer a solution for financial distress
This advice of saving every penny and spending minimally ignores the rapidly rising costs of living in the urban centers where income is hardly rising proportionally.
In a study conducted at Florida State University College of Medicine in 2015, similar outcomes were seen for patients who were obese and were trying to make recovery.
If their health instructor engaged in body shaming and blamed the patient’s lifestyle for their excess weight, they were less likely to show results of the treatment than those who were dealt with empathy.
Likewise, the cure for financial distress is also empathy rather than blame.