With the COVID-19 crisis, many Nigerians have seen their incomes fall and thus, the risk of over-indebtedness increases significantly.

We’ve all experienced money problems at some point in time or another. Occasionally requesting a QuickCheck loan to tide you over till your next paycheck comes in does not mean you’re over-indebted. You are only considered to be over-indebted when you have overdue loans and struggle to keep up with daily expenses.

Over-indebtedness gets worse over time if caution is not taken. A lot of the time, it can be due to unexpected events – in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the norm. One can get trapped very easily in the downward cycle of over-indebtedness and that is why we have chosen to give you a few tips to help prevent this.

1. Save as much as you can
   Putting money aside would make it much easier to cope with unforeseen expenses. A separate account can be set up and a fixed monthly deposit can be made.
2. Contact your creditors
   It’s not enough to just wait around and hope that somehow it’ll all just disappear. Instead, reach out to your creditors and negotiate additional time to repay or reschedule your loans.
3. Limit your spending
   Reduce your expenses and just buy the necessities. Some things are best ignored, you can always buy them in the future when things are back to normal.
4. Be realistic when taking a loan
   When getting a loan, ensure you consider the future rising cost of living and always make room for any additional costs that may arise.
5. Avoid taking new loans
   When in debt, taking a new loan is only going to make things worse. As much as possible, try to pay off your overdue loans before taking any new loans.