Are you in Debt? You may need a lifestyle Change over
Moder ay lifestyle demands too many luxuries while you may not really have the money to pay upfront. Temptations such as these lead to insurmountable debts. To add to this agony, you have advertisements tellng you that with credit cards, nothing’s impossible. Salespeople and credit businessmen encourage you to buy on credit if you do not have the money rightaway. They suggest that it won’t hurt to have a few debts. Little do we know that debt could actually lead to death!
Just think about the innumerable cases of suicides.Ever heard of suicides committed just because one has too much debt that could not be paid? The only solution these people see is death. And these cases are spiralling every day. If only tese people had learned to control their lifestyles would they be living today.
So, how do you avoid debts? Learn a thing or two from the following suggestions. Harsh but real, you need to take control of your expenses first.
Get the Drift of Being Thrifty
Aim to have enough enough money for your needs and even for your wants. There are only two ways to do this. Increase your income and reduce your expenses. Being savings-savvy doesnt hurt! Even if you don’t have a quite well-paying job, knowing how to save up will still help you in your goal. Consider this.
Budget all your expenses right on your payday. This should be one of your major goals if you intend to lead a debt-free life. Evaluate yourself to know what type of budgeting will suit your tolerance and lifestyle. Depending on this, you can have a daily, weekly or a monthly budgeting habit. This serves well to keep a check on your expenses.
Brown bagging is not someting to be ashamed of. It should become a common practice if you are to make yourself debt-free soon. Once you start accounting the expenses you can very well see how much you can spend on food. You can easily avoid this by carrying your own lunch to office. if you want to ake ab usiness, you could also offer to get a pack or two for your colleages in the office. Here is another tip - Learn to drink your office coffee rather than buying your favorite one. Thats where you save a few buscks.
Coupon clipping can be a good idea too. This will not only make you help save but can earn you some friends too that may support you in your debt-free life campaign. Look for other coupon-clippers and trade offers with them.
You can also save a few bucks on phone services. If you need to make long distance calls, you should always check you phone cards for the expiration date rather than asking the operator for this. Your talk with the operator cost money remember?
Check all your existing Club memberships. the ones that are rarely used should be dumped immediately. You shouldnt be wasting money on things you do not use. Pocket that money instead. The same applies to your credit cards. You do not need a dozen of those. it tempts you to spend and doesnt tell you how to pay back. in fact, you could very well stop using the credit card completely. believe me it saves a ton. Carry cash instead. Learn to afford not swiping that evil card if you want a debt-free life. It’s one of the worst temptations in this world!
Distinguish the Evil Forms of Debt
There are two kinds of debt. the ones that trodo not trouble you much and the ones that will take away your life. The good one is the debt with which the item that caused your debt could be sold and the proceeds could help you repay the debt. The bad one is a loan that has a diminishing value. Get the picture?
An example of a good debt is a home loan that is if such home loan, particularly a home equity loan will add value to your home. On te other hand if you acquire such loan for unnecessary items, then you are fighting lost battle. Check your spending on clothes. Unless you’re a celebrity and can auction off your clothes, there is no way you can get money out of it. Again, school loans can be a bad idea as it will most likely be hard for someone to pay off his or her debt even after landing a good job. Once you start working, there are various other expenses that will cause you to delay paying your school loan. If you intend to take a school loan, be very well advised that you will have to control your lifestyle in the initial years to the fullest.
The key takeaway from the above pointers is to identify and avoid bad debts. Once you start practicing this art, you are on the way to a debt free life. You could then guide others using your own life as an example. Now hows that for a change? S go ahead and take control of your expenses.
Article by Nakagava Ltd., creator of PiggyBob™, the first truly user friendly personal finance and appointment scheduling software. PiggyBob™ is an extremely convenient tool to help you keep track of your income and expenses, plus a very useful printable calendar to record all important events in your life. Downloand now
