Business

How to Recover From Crushing Debt

Published

4 years ago

July 4, 2022

Most of us have at least some debt. You might have a mortgage, a standing student loan, and a standing balance on a credit card. But for some people, debt is crippling. They have more debt than they can ever easily pay off and the balance just seems to climb higher and higher.

What can you do if you feel like you’re in a hopeless financial situation like this?

The Good News

First, the good news: you have options. Some of the options are difficult. Some of the options have short-term consequences. But all of your options give you a potential path forward, allowing you to move past this difficult period of your life.

File for Bankruptcy

One option is to file for bankruptcy. You’re likely familiar with the idea that bankruptcy allows you to eliminate your debts in exchange for putting you in a kind of financial quarantine, damaging your credit score and making it much harder to apply for credit cards and loans in the future. However, in reality, typically, bankruptcy only negatively effects one’s credit for a relatively short period.

There are many misconceptions about bankruptcy. For starters, there are multiple types of bankruptcy and not all of them play out the same way. Chapter 13 bankruptcy, for example, generally allows a person to eliminate a substantial portion of their unsecured debt, while allowing someone to restructure other debts, to permit an individual to keep their property. If you have steady income, and you want to avoid some of the worst ramifications of bankruptcy, this option could be perfect for you.

Bankruptcy is a complex topic, and it’s not a good fit for everyone. Because of that, it’s important to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer to get more information, evaluate your options, and make the best decision for your situation.

Negotiate

If bankruptcy isn’t an option, or if it’s not of interest, you can consider negotiating with your creditors. Oftentimes, credit card companies and loan providers will be willing to work with you so that you can continue paying off your debts without much hassle. Sometimes, simply asking for a lower interest rate or an extended deadline for your payments is all it takes to put yourself in a better financial situation.

Debt Settlement with the Assistance of Third Parties

There are two accepted options for settling debt with the assistance of a company. The first is debt settlement and the other option is a debt management program.

Debt settlement companies may be able to work out a settlement with one or more creditors. Generally, after a certain amount is paid into the company’s account, the company will use the funds to pay off a specific creditor.

Typically, a company that handles debt management programs will work out a settlement with numerous creditors that requires a monthly payment.

Further to that, real estate note selling is also a viable option in this scenario where you can sell your mortgage notes while obtaining the best market value.

There are two issues that occur when working with either option. One’s credit report will still reflect the payment arrears amount, even though a settlement agreement is in place. Also, any creditor that has not yet agreed to settle, or that refuses to settle, may continue to pursue the debt, which includes filing a lawsuit for the funds.

Transfer and Consolidate Your Balances

After negotiation, consider transferring and consolidating your balances. High interest rates can quickly skyrocket your debt, putting you deeper into a hole that’s already almost impossible to climb out of. But with lower interest rates, you’ll buy yourself more time and end up paying less over the long run. Transferring balances from high interest accounts to low interest accounts allow you to take advantage of this course of action .

Put Together a Strict Repayment Plan

After taking these initial steps, consider putting together a strict repayment plan. Ideally, you’ll be making more than the minimum payment each month, gradually chipping away at the principal you owe. You should make debt repayment one of your highest priorities in your budget, second only to absolute necessities.

Many people find it difficult to put together a repayment plan because they’re living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet. If this is the case, you’ll need to improve your financial situation in other ways.

Increase Your Income

One option is to increase your income.

Start a side gig. There are dozens, if not hundreds of ways to make money on the side. You can babysit, walk dogs, practice freelance photography, or work as a chauffeur. The options are limitless, so even if you only have a few hours each week to dedicate to this project, you can make some extra money.
Work overtime. Are there overtime opportunities at your current place of employment? Can you take on more responsibilities to make more?
Apply for a new position. If your current position doesn’t give you much money or flexibility, consider applying for a new one. Look for promotions or an alternative employer.
Improve your skills. Set yourself up for long-term career success by improving your core skills. Learning new things and getting more experience will set you up for much higher pay in the future.

Reduce Your Expenses

You can also work to reduce your expenses.

Move to a cheaper area. Different places have different costs of living. Consider moving someplace cheaper.
Downsize your home. Smaller houses and apartments are much more affordable.
Cut unnecessary lifestyle expenditures. Entertainment subscriptions, restaurant meals, and personal vices are unnecessary luxuries.

Increasing your income, reducing your expenses, and sticking to a strict repayment plan should be enough to help you crawl out of debt, even if you have to do it slowly. If that’s not an option for you, filing for bankruptcy could be the better option. Make sure you talk to a lawyer about the possibilities and think through all your forthcoming decisions carefully. If done right, you can start a new financial life – and leave all your old debts behind.

Business

Ipsos Helps Brands Understand How They Get Customer Experience Wrong & Why It’s Costing Them Millions

Published

4 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Matthew Wiles

For brands looking to succeed in the modern business ecosystem, the customer experience (CX) is not something companies can afford to ignore. CX is a direct driver of revenue, loyalty, and growth for organizations.

Ipsos, one of the world’s leading market research firms, helps brands understand that failing to focus on the customer experience can lead to lost sales, which in turn can translate to not only millions in lost revenue but also lost trust and credibility in the market.

How brands still get CX wrong

“The customer decision and desire to do business with brands directly affect the bottom line,” says Brad Christian, Chief Commercial Officer at Ipsos – Experience Practice.

Customer experience may sound like a simple concept, but many brands still get it wrong. CX goes beyond surveys and feedback. Leaders who fail to connect feedback in a meaningful way to goals such as retention, repeat visits or purchases, advocacy, and operational performance fail to deliver on their service promises. The emotional and functional disconnect can spell trouble for brands. The most polished advertising campaigns cannot make up for a frustrating customer interaction or a promise that a business cannot fulfill.

According to Ipsos’s internal research, many customers today see service as too automated and impersonal. More than half report that their experience is worse than promised.

These findings don’t just result in disappointed buyers. They result in lost customers, negative feedback, and a long-term impact on the business as a whole.

“Brands have to manage the entire customer experience across each and every touchpoint,” explains Christian.

Poor CX can be expensive

Executives can often underestimate how expensive a history of poor CX can be. Global losses can reach into the billions while leaders wonder what went wrong. In an age of rapid social media communication, a single negative interaction can spell disaster for a company, leading to reduced customer spending or the entire loss of its most loyal customers.

Those losses are not just reflected in lost revenue, however. Customer acquisition and marketing dollars can also be lost as companies continue to spend money trying to retain their customer base, often skipping right over the experience part of retention.

Poor customer experience can be a deep operating problem that creates a domino effect, decimating businesses from the inside out. These poor experiences can impact not only present and future customer acquisition but also business leaders and employees.

CX matters more in today’s business landscape

The customer experience has always mattered, but it may matter more to brands trying to make it in a modern, ultra-competitive, digitally-driven business landscape. Good experiences encourage repeat purchases, boost loyalty, and increase the likelihood that customers will go online and recommend a brand to others.

“Customer experience isn’t an isolated function,” says Christian. “It’s ‌part of a larger system that ensures that brands measure and manage customer experience data and then act on that data to drive action where customer experience gaps exist.”

Brands also have to seek to understand today’s customers, who expect experiences that are seamless, authentic, and relevant. As more and more companies hop on the automation train, they will want to reassure their customers that the human element that many people consider important still exists.

At Ipsos, six drivers of strong customer relationships form the bedrock of the company’s CX platform, something that they refer to as the “Forces of CX”: certainty, fair treatment, control, status, belonging, and enjoyment.

Customers want to feel that if they have an issue with a brand, it will be handled and that their concerns will be understood. They don’t want the customer experience to feel like a battleground; they want it to feel fair and human.

“Customer experience isn’t just a nicer experience,” says Christian. “It ties directly to specific financial outcomes, whether that be increased sales, greater market share, or stronger brand loyalty.”

How Ipsos helps businesses deliver customer experiences that matter

Ipsos turns customer feedback into reliable, actionable, decision-ready information. The company goes beyond simple satisfaction metrics and implements voice-of-the-customer programs, journey analytics, relationship feedback, and quality research.

“Brands don’t just need data,” Christian says. “They need measurements as to how they are delivering on their brand promise and predictive modeling to tie financial performance measures to those measures to help them determine where to invest to maximize the customer experience and understand what financial impact those investments might deliver for the business.”

Ipsos measures the interactions that matter ‌most and shows brands how each interaction can affect retention, share of spend, and efficiency. For brands that are trying to reduce the guesswork behind CX, Ipsos helps them move beyond cosmetic fixes to achieve real, meaningful change.

Customer expectations can shift on a dime, influenced by society, social media, and even changing trends. Ipsos helps brands meet those rapidly changing customer expectations with hard evidence and comprehensive metrics.

Today’s brands need to understand how to get the customer experience right. Ipsos has the insights needed to drive home the deep importance of CX in today’s marketplace.