I know we live in a world of credit, but sometimes I feel like I am on a seedy corner, with a drug pusher who is saying all of the right things to get me to make the “purchase”. I resist because I see the perils everyday, because I know how much credit I now have and how much I am unwilling to let myself be lured into that false sense of security that comes with credit.
Is it an Emergency? Or a planned expense? Do you use credit versus savings? This is the heart of what I see everyday and what I personally struggled with as I attempted to set up a spending plan for our household. By not planning for things like car maintenance, we are left with a roller coaster plan. We allocate our money to all of other expenses, spend the rest, and then feel the setback when we have a large ‘anticipated’ expense.
If you were to ask me, “what is the single most important thing a person can do to change their financial future?” I would answer “Track their spending”! Oh and I would add “And look at it!”. Let me tell you a quick story about a relative who learned this lesson just a tad too late.
There’s an epidemic in today’s society. We are borrowing on our lives. And payment day is coming earlier and earlier. Is it sad, that at age 40-something :), I look forward to retirement. That in the same breath I fear it, simply because I have little (translated into none) savings at this point because every day, every week, every month, the cash flow that I do have pays for our basic living needs and ensuring that our kids get to have some opportunities in their lives?
What does a passionate business owner, a devoted home owner and a drug addict have in common?
I will admit, this is the start of a very bad attempt at a joke, and the punch line is, well, anything but punchy. The answer is, they are unwilling to let go of an addiction for their higher good. What brings this up you ask? Or maybe you didn’t, but I bet you are wondering, “what in the world is this girl talking about?”…
Oh my, the holidays are fast approaching. I can hear my wallet crying out my name… “open me, spend money, do it! do it! do it!. Fortunately I have a roll of duct tape...
Have you ever driven home, pulled into the driveway, and realized that you don’t remember the drive home at all?! I remember one time I was driving and I suddenly came off of auto-pilot...
You divorced the fool…unfortunately not his debt…now what? ‘Till death do us part or ’till debt do us part?
There seems to be a common misconception about debt and who in a relationship is responsible for it. I’d like to take a few moments of your time and clear up some misconceptions if I may.
I had coffee with a colleague of mine a few weeks back and we had a lively discussion on the price versus the cost of items. I loved the concept so much I asked her to send me her a guest blog on the subject. I like the different perspective this gives us on purchases we make as we tend to focus on the obvious “price” but not necessarily the “cost” to us and the “benefit” received.
The story both excites me and terrifies me. It excites me because I have the opportunity to motivate others to do what I have not done. It terrifies be because I had not followed my friends advice and am now wishing I had spent less money on suede jackets, killer heels and drinks at the Misty Moon and had saved that money instead. So I urge you, read this, and pass it along to anyone in your life who can benefit from it today!
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