Ask anybody you know and they’ll tell you that money isn’t easy to come by. They’ll probably say this no matter how much they make, because it’s all too easy to spend every penny we have — and especially that which we don’t have — in our consumerist culture. The act of spending is shown to us everywhere. We hardly ever get a break from compulsive marketing telling us to spend, whether it is in the form of a coupon promising us to “save money” or a billboard ad we see while going to work.
This ultimately has contributed to a society driven by credit, and by nature, debt. Even those who make relatively high incomes are burdened by the same levels of debt regular people face. It’s all because we’re conditioned to believe that we find success in life by acquiring as much as possible, and buying what we can’t afford and paying for it later to show “quick” results for our efforts.
This is devastating to financial security for several reasons, one of which we’re all facing today in the form of the credit crisis. It takes the stability out of the hands of the individual and puts it in a credit system, where instead of paying for our own emergencies we’ve saved, we trust in credit to resolve our issues and then pay back whats owed later.
Fortunately, it’s a good thing that plenty of Americans are recognizing this, and have started on the path to do something about it. A good thing for everyone is the fact that it’s relatively simple to get debt taken care of and to depend less on credit. The basic solution is to spend less and earn more.
Easier said than done, you’re probably thinking right now. What with the way the economy is all shaky, hardly anybody can keep their jobs, much less earn an extra penny. That may be the general attitude these days, but it’s not true. First of all, you begin this process by simply spending less.
You take control of where your money goes by examining everything that hemorrhages your income. Find all the paperwork and information you have; this means gathering up all your bills, your credit cards, and important documents and lay them out. See with your own eyes what you spend, and slash everything down to the essentials. Don’t be wimpy about this — give your bills a shakedown and a good beating. Cancel subscriptions, lose paid bonuses, quit memberships; whatever it takes. From there, create a budget that has a list of everything that takes your money — and stick to it.
That’s pretty good and all, but you probably don’t understand how to make more money. This doesn’t necessarily mean to go out and get a second job (although that is a great option). Rather, you want to take the time to evaluate your belongings and to reduce the clutter from your life, both financially and psychologically. For example, you’ll acquire a great deal of breathing room and space for meaningful pursuits by holding a garage sale. The possibilities are based on your creativity and circumstances, so don’t hold back.
Combining these two things will ensure that you get a wide margin of money coming in that can go towards clearing debt. You’ll want to save some first for emergency use, but afterwards you should start paying off everything you owe. With time and patience, you’ll not only clear your debt, but establish true financial independence.
Tags: avoid debt, earn more, spend less
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