朱莉·埃斯特利克

Lately when Mary talks to someone feeling the mental strain of financial struggles, 她想象着它们在深蓝色的海洋里上下浮动, 准备潜入海浪，她抛出了一条救生索. 作为一名消费信贷顾问, she listens intently and offers concrete solutions to get her client back on solid ground during a pandemic that has sunk the budgets of so many Americans.

U.S. adults reported having significant anxiety and stress about personal finances before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 根据乔治华盛顿大学的一项研究, and most participants said that the pandemic made their financial anxiety worse. 在经历了18个月的不确定之后, 增加失业, 减少工资, 数百万人失去了医疗保险, 许多家庭已经花光了他们的积蓄, 越来越多的人害怕失去家园.

“It is NOT being financially irresponsible to be impacted by COVID,梅琳达·奥普曼说, president and chief relationship officer for the nonprofit 消费信贷咨询服务 (CCCS). “There is no shame in asking for help and there are programs and services ready to assist you.”

Opperman represents agencies across the country that help people get out of debt, 修复他们的信用, 找到解决财务问题的长期方案, 包括住房. Counseling, budget planning, and financial education services are free. Debt management programs have small fees, usually offset by savings through the programs.

去年，CCCS为全国29,000多人提供服务. 每位客户的平均收入约为62美元,000 in unsecured debt such as credit card bills and medical bills, 共有七个债权人. (Home mortgages and car loans are debts that are ‘secured’ by the asset itself, 如果业主不付款，哪一个可以拿走.)任何人都可以得到CCCS的保密支持, 你不需要成为公民, 政府福利也不会受到影响. And there is no minimum amount of income or debt required to receive one-on-one help.

Here’s how it works: After you provide some basic income and expense information to your certified financial counselor, they will design a plan with you and your creditors that may include lower payments, 较低的利率, or waived late fees as part of an agreement to pay off your debts within five years (sometimes sooner). Counselors also check eligibility for getting help with the cost of health insurance, food, and other safety net programs you may not realize you can access.

在这个不寻常的时期, CCCS employees received special empathy training as well as suicide prevention tools to work with callers deeply impacted by the pandemic. “I consider our counselors ‘financial first responders,’ ” Opperman says. “对很多人来说, a financial counselor is the first one they’ve talked to about their anxiety and financial worries. Some are feeling extremely lost and desperate, and their sadness is just profound.” Clients are encouraged to reach out to a mental health advisor when appropriate.

Indeed, 经济问题常常会导致精神紧张, 情感, 甚至身体上的反应也不应该被忽视, 心理健康专家说.

行动带来解脱

高额信用卡债务的尴尬, 担心巨额学生贷款永远无法还清, 对过去的金钱决定感到后悔是很常见的, 詹妮弗·邓克尔说, a licensed professional counselor who specializes in financial therapy and mental health issues. “我试图帮助我的客户认识到，他们不是他们的债务, 这不是他们的净资产表, 他们的债务和资产不等于他们作为一个人的价值.”

While it may be uncomfortable, discussing money issues can improve our well-being. That’s because putting off financial concerns means that there is “a constant, underlying feeling of stress and tension that we hope will magically get better, 但现实不会好转，直到我们面对它,邓克尔解释道. “The ‘known’ reality—even if unpleasant—is in fact easier for us to cope with than the ‘unknown.’”例如, adding up credit card debts and other liabilities and seeing the figures in black and white means that it becomes a problem that can be dealt with, 而不是焦虑的持续来源.

在过去的一年, Dunkle has counseled individuals so stressed out about financial hardship that they suffer panic attacks. But she’s also seen people feel a great sense of relief when they start to take action. “Believing that we can do something like asking for and getting a deferment on a debt helps us gain confidence. When we take proactive steps to help ourselves rather than having things happen to us, there is a reduction in feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.”

住房帮助

失去住所是一个巨大的压力源, particularly along the Front Range where housing costs have skyrocketed. Demand for 房地产咨询服务 services has increased by 50 percent at GreenPath财务健康, 一个在柯林斯堡设有分支机构的全国性非营利组织. “Housing concerns about eviction and foreclosure usually go hand-in-hand with personal debt issues,杰弗里·阿雷瓦洛说, a GreenPath certified financial counselor with more than 15 years of experience.

科罗拉多州, 像很多州一样, is working to get federal emergency funds into the hands of renters and homeowners impacted by COVID-19. There is still time to apply for up to 15 months’ worth of assistance—past, 当前的, and future payments—through the 科罗拉多州 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, including landlords who can apply on behalf of tenants (see 资源 box).

So if you’re in a financial pinch, reach out for help at one of the resources below.