Today’s economy has been a wakeup call. The consequences of unemployment, rising prices, rampant credit card debt and stress seem insurmountable.
What could we have done in the past that would have prepared and protected us?
Going back: We were told it was ‘the American Way’ to buy whatever we wanted, whether we had the money or not. We did. We got into debt and still bought more. Now we see that spending philosophy has not worked for us. We need to begin a ‘new American Way’, one that will get us out of debt and begin saving money.
Where we used to have fun spending every dollar before the next paycheck and then some, now we have fun seeing how much we can have leftover to save before the next paycheck.
The first thing we need to do is live, not within our means, but below our means. Living on the cheap not only can be fun, but stimulating. Make it a daily routine, like living in survival mode. Then think of new ways to save, have family contests. The prizes are seeing savings grow and having financial stability!
Some things we can do to boost savings:
· Eat healthy and exercise, therefore, staying healthier and cutting back on medical bills.
· In reality mode, think if the upcoming purchase is a want or a need.
· Think of ways to do it cheaper or free.
· Before buying anything, think of upcoming big expenses.
· Develop a new positive attitude that will make your will to save stronger than your will to spend.
· Opt to get an extra job to boost savings, increase 401K’s, or to save for college or a dream vacation.
Where we used to go into savings for a myriad of reasons, now we don’t need to. We have enough in the checking account to pay for emergencies, all our bills and have money to save.
We stay in survival mode until we save an eight-month salary nest egg. Afterwards, we still need to be diligent every day. It all depends on how secure we wish to be, as to how much we relax our spending habits. If we continue to save in survival mode, there will be funds to replace a vehicle or a freezer, buy a travel trailer or pay for a root canal and crown, with cash, thereby, not paying interest. It’s up to each person to decide what is more important. Those who save more will have a more secure future.
So, the ‘new American Way’ will consist of spending more prudently and buying less. Businesses will be presented with new challenges to offer more cost effective choices of ‘needs’ inventory versus the ‘wants’ inventory of the past. Everyone comes out a winner.
Living below our means is like buying an insurance policy against debt and financial disaster.
Judy Guralchuk, author of A Life Preserver in a Sea of Debt, available at Border’s, Bad Rock Book Store, Sliter’s Hardware, amazon, and Barnes & noble
Sunday, April 11, 2010
FORMULA FOR CHANGE
How are we to determine if we can afford something extra this month? Saving money for an eight-month nest egg and paying down credit card debt are our immediate goals.
First, decide how much to keep in a checking account as a back up for emergencies. Then, figure out what monthly expenses are. Next, figure out how fast you want to pay down debt. The faster it’s paid off the more is saved on interest. And then, see how much is left over to save. If there’s no room left to save, downgrade. Move into a less expensive home, get along with 1 car instead of 2 or more, reduce TV cable choices, sell what you don’t need, extend hair cuts a week, and don’t get so caught up in the moment that consequences to spending are forgotten.
There are some people who make $35,000 a year, are happy to save $1,000 a year. Then there are others in the same income group that saves $6,000 a year. And then there are those making $80,000 and are in debt up to their ears.
So, in able to sort things out, we need to, first, scale down lifestyles. My husband said to me, after he explained that his goals are to save at least 40% - 50% of our income. This was made possible because he had lived his whole life being financially astute. Of course, he said, he could very easily spend everything we make on new cars, a more expensive home, designer clothes, lavish vacations, flashy jewelry and name brand everything. But, none of these ‘things’ will give us financial security. I told him, I had left that way of living behind after he taught me another way. It only caused sleepless nights, debt, worry, stress and anxiety. Now, we are happy in our chosen lifestyle and don’t ‘need’ for anything.
So, the question being… how do we determine if we can afford an extra? It all depends on other extras that come up during the month and in the future. We are firm and have our feet staunchly set on the ground. Nothing interferes with money spending. Of course, we could feel deprived, because that’s the feeling many have if they cannot spend, as they have in the past. But now, we know better. The programming of our spending habits will longer be dictated by the credit card companies or the great American marketing machine, nor their advertisements or commercials, but will be decided by us. Nor will they be dictated by the Jones’s living across the street or our worshipping wealth over everything else. And we learn to not feel depressed but elated to know we have positive choices.
Thoreau, 1817 – 1862, stressed simplicity and said the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. This is still apparent today. I believe that our spending lifestyles are the current reasons we live in quiet desperation. So, the extreme change that experts tell us to make in order to prepare ourselves for a different economic future is really quite simple.
A small change in mindset attitudes will put us on the right track. Let us start to program the spending of our hard earned money to benefit us! Have fun, look for sales, don’t buy retail, compare prices, make due with what we have, buy for our needs instead of wants, and not to keep up with the Jones’s. Live below our means. Save the extra money. Ask yourself questions before spending any money. For instance, will I die if I don’t buy this?
Next week: You, the reader, decide. Send me ideas through comments.
First, decide how much to keep in a checking account as a back up for emergencies. Then, figure out what monthly expenses are. Next, figure out how fast you want to pay down debt. The faster it’s paid off the more is saved on interest. And then, see how much is left over to save. If there’s no room left to save, downgrade. Move into a less expensive home, get along with 1 car instead of 2 or more, reduce TV cable choices, sell what you don’t need, extend hair cuts a week, and don’t get so caught up in the moment that consequences to spending are forgotten.
There are some people who make $35,000 a year, are happy to save $1,000 a year. Then there are others in the same income group that saves $6,000 a year. And then there are those making $80,000 and are in debt up to their ears.
So, in able to sort things out, we need to, first, scale down lifestyles. My husband said to me, after he explained that his goals are to save at least 40% - 50% of our income. This was made possible because he had lived his whole life being financially astute. Of course, he said, he could very easily spend everything we make on new cars, a more expensive home, designer clothes, lavish vacations, flashy jewelry and name brand everything. But, none of these ‘things’ will give us financial security. I told him, I had left that way of living behind after he taught me another way. It only caused sleepless nights, debt, worry, stress and anxiety. Now, we are happy in our chosen lifestyle and don’t ‘need’ for anything.
So, the question being… how do we determine if we can afford an extra? It all depends on other extras that come up during the month and in the future. We are firm and have our feet staunchly set on the ground. Nothing interferes with money spending. Of course, we could feel deprived, because that’s the feeling many have if they cannot spend, as they have in the past. But now, we know better. The programming of our spending habits will longer be dictated by the credit card companies or the great American marketing machine, nor their advertisements or commercials, but will be decided by us. Nor will they be dictated by the Jones’s living across the street or our worshipping wealth over everything else. And we learn to not feel depressed but elated to know we have positive choices.
Thoreau, 1817 – 1862, stressed simplicity and said the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. This is still apparent today. I believe that our spending lifestyles are the current reasons we live in quiet desperation. So, the extreme change that experts tell us to make in order to prepare ourselves for a different economic future is really quite simple.
A small change in mindset attitudes will put us on the right track. Let us start to program the spending of our hard earned money to benefit us! Have fun, look for sales, don’t buy retail, compare prices, make due with what we have, buy for our needs instead of wants, and not to keep up with the Jones’s. Live below our means. Save the extra money. Ask yourself questions before spending any money. For instance, will I die if I don’t buy this?
Next week: You, the reader, decide. Send me ideas through comments.
How can I get out of debt?
Since the economic crisis has forced many people to finally acknowledge overspending, I am dedicating this blog to help people get out of debt.
What has happened to cause our debt? Through 50 years of subliminal programming the masses to buy anything regardless of their ability to pay, the stark consequences of this behavior is now staring us in the face.
Burgeoning credit card and other debts are causing millions to lose their homes and worse. We were so ingrained to spend more than we had, that savings were as low as during the Great Depression! We cared not… until the bottom fell out. And we don’t like what’s happened. So:
· #1. How do we get out of our self-imposed debt?
· #2. How can we survive while learning how to change?
· #3. How can we be as sure as we can that this will not happen to us again?
Answer to #1: Immediately go into survival mode. Make it a fun challenge. Only buy what is needed to survive: food – cut back – buy cheaper – buy only on sale. No more spending anywhere…on restaurants, clothes (if emergency go to thrift stores), gifts, yes, including Christmas, Sunday drives (gas costs money). Downsize everything: cable, satellite, make do with one vehicle, move into smaller quarters, sell a collection, sell things that haven’t been used in over 2 years. Call your credit card and other loan companies and ask them to reduce the amount owed and to lower your interest rates. Pay off loans with the higher interest rates first. STOP using credit cards! Work an extra job until debt has been paid off. And…to start us on our way to financial freedom…continue that 2nd job until you have an 8-month salary nest egg. In fact, continue saving that 2nd paycheck just to invest! Remember positive attitude adjustment, where past spending habits are replaced with a new innovative awareness of buying choices. You now are practicing transitioning to permanent financial astuteness.
Answer to #2: Keep reminding yourself you are transitioning to a new way of life that benefits you and your family. As debt goes down, and more money becomes available, do not spend it. Start living below your means across the board. Splurge a little once a month, but only after all bills are paid. Make the splurge a freebee or as inexpensive as you can, but still fun worthy. You’ve worked hard to reduce your debt, so do not go overboard and start the debt process all over again.
Answer to #3: As we transition our spending habits, we see positive tangible results. We must continue to be cognizant of our new spending power. When a financial emergency arises we know we can handle it. When we need a replacement vehicle we know we can afford it, that we can pay cash and buy a cheaper one than we can afford. The difference saved can for into a college fund or to boost a 401K.
The hardest part of transitioning is learning how to let go of the overspending magnet that had such a stronghold over our past spending patterns. Try the new way…once. Remind yourself it will benefit you. The next time you want to spend where you did in the past, try the new way again. Everytime you spend the new way means one less time you spent the old way. After a while, the new way takes over totally. Savings spring up, there will be no more financial stress and sleep will improve.
The things mentioned here to help get rid of debt can be modified according to circumstances and how quickly we want to pay off debt and begin living within our means.
What has happened to cause our debt? Through 50 years of subliminal programming the masses to buy anything regardless of their ability to pay, the stark consequences of this behavior is now staring us in the face.
Burgeoning credit card and other debts are causing millions to lose their homes and worse. We were so ingrained to spend more than we had, that savings were as low as during the Great Depression! We cared not… until the bottom fell out. And we don’t like what’s happened. So:
· #1. How do we get out of our self-imposed debt?
· #2. How can we survive while learning how to change?
· #3. How can we be as sure as we can that this will not happen to us again?
Answer to #1: Immediately go into survival mode. Make it a fun challenge. Only buy what is needed to survive: food – cut back – buy cheaper – buy only on sale. No more spending anywhere…on restaurants, clothes (if emergency go to thrift stores), gifts, yes, including Christmas, Sunday drives (gas costs money). Downsize everything: cable, satellite, make do with one vehicle, move into smaller quarters, sell a collection, sell things that haven’t been used in over 2 years. Call your credit card and other loan companies and ask them to reduce the amount owed and to lower your interest rates. Pay off loans with the higher interest rates first. STOP using credit cards! Work an extra job until debt has been paid off. And…to start us on our way to financial freedom…continue that 2nd job until you have an 8-month salary nest egg. In fact, continue saving that 2nd paycheck just to invest! Remember positive attitude adjustment, where past spending habits are replaced with a new innovative awareness of buying choices. You now are practicing transitioning to permanent financial astuteness.
Answer to #2: Keep reminding yourself you are transitioning to a new way of life that benefits you and your family. As debt goes down, and more money becomes available, do not spend it. Start living below your means across the board. Splurge a little once a month, but only after all bills are paid. Make the splurge a freebee or as inexpensive as you can, but still fun worthy. You’ve worked hard to reduce your debt, so do not go overboard and start the debt process all over again.
Answer to #3: As we transition our spending habits, we see positive tangible results. We must continue to be cognizant of our new spending power. When a financial emergency arises we know we can handle it. When we need a replacement vehicle we know we can afford it, that we can pay cash and buy a cheaper one than we can afford. The difference saved can for into a college fund or to boost a 401K.
The hardest part of transitioning is learning how to let go of the overspending magnet that had such a stronghold over our past spending patterns. Try the new way…once. Remind yourself it will benefit you. The next time you want to spend where you did in the past, try the new way again. Everytime you spend the new way means one less time you spent the old way. After a while, the new way takes over totally. Savings spring up, there will be no more financial stress and sleep will improve.
The things mentioned here to help get rid of debt can be modified according to circumstances and how quickly we want to pay off debt and begin living within our means.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
More Ways to Start, plus…
Americans are addicted to debt. This is evident, as the latest figures show. According to the Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Report, as of April 2009, the average household had $8,329 in credit card debt. This seems to be a downward spiral from which we can never recover. Becoming financially stable has taken the place of the “pursuit of happiness” in the hunt for “the American dream” of yesteryear. This monstrous beast seems insurmountable as it accumulates faster than we can control it…or does it?
There are many ways to confront, admit to, and choose the wisest course to overcome that addiction. We now know that we were indoctrinated, or programmed to adopt the overspending mindset. We also now know that it has become a cancer that has rotted our financial stability from within. By admitting we do know these things prepares us for the first step toward alleviating and ending overspending.
The key is changing our mindset. But, what is a mindset, anyway? According to Webster, mindset is a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determine somebody’s behavior and outlook.
It can be so embedded that concrete could not move it! We feel it’s ours, what defines us. We’ve gone for years, holding on to it like it was a matter of life or death. That to think about changing our mindsets would be like giving up our souls. It clings so fast to us that it seems to be a magnetic pull over common sense.
The economic crisis has made us realize that our present mindset may not have been such a good concept for us to live by and guard like our life depended on it. We also realize that not only are we in debt but may be jobless and losing our homes, as well. This in itself should be enough of a wakeup call to release the magnet. Here is a before and after scenario showing how to release the magnet and feel elated in the process.
Scenario: Any class family of 4: Before adopting positive attitude adjustment: Breadwinner earns a decent income. And wife’s job allows them more spendable income. They buy a home slightly over what they can afford, thinking that future raises will be enough to cover tax and insurance increases. (By doing this they are spending money they do not yet have). They bought 2 vehicles, slightly over what they could afford. The children don’t want for anything. They have the newest, the best, and what the other neighborhood children have, regardless if the parents could afford keeping up with “the Jones’s” and regardless that the purchases have been charged.
They vacation on a credit card, staying at hotels and eating in restaurants. They care not about the cost, only that they are having fun.
School begins. The cost of supplies, clothes, books and other incidentals are charged on a new credit card because their other credit card balances are maxed out.
Christmas is just around the corner, when wife is laid off. Then husband’s vehicle needs an expensive repair. A child gets sick and needs medicine.
Husband and wife never thought about have a nest egg to protect the family in case of emergency.
Their world begins to crumble. Payments are late. Stress is unmanageable and sleepless nights interfere with husband’s job. They may loose their home, their cars, everything.
Same family of 4 after adopting positive attitude adjustment: Husband earns a decent income. Wife works, but not to have a higher living plane. She saves almost all her income. They have an eight-month salary nestegg for emergencies. They make due with 1 vehicle. They bought a home below their means and bank the difference, had they bought a home slightly over their means. The extra money is saved for college, retirement or that special dream get-a-way.
They vacation by camping out, where the kids meet new friends. When they “need” things they pay cash. When they get a credit card bill, they pay the full balance every month.
They realize what children need most is family security, not overwhelming debt that can destroy the entire family.
So, by having positive attitude adjustment as a lifelong companion…(you finish this sentence)
There are many ways to confront, admit to, and choose the wisest course to overcome that addiction. We now know that we were indoctrinated, or programmed to adopt the overspending mindset. We also now know that it has become a cancer that has rotted our financial stability from within. By admitting we do know these things prepares us for the first step toward alleviating and ending overspending.
The key is changing our mindset. But, what is a mindset, anyway? According to Webster, mindset is a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determine somebody’s behavior and outlook.
It can be so embedded that concrete could not move it! We feel it’s ours, what defines us. We’ve gone for years, holding on to it like it was a matter of life or death. That to think about changing our mindsets would be like giving up our souls. It clings so fast to us that it seems to be a magnetic pull over common sense.
The economic crisis has made us realize that our present mindset may not have been such a good concept for us to live by and guard like our life depended on it. We also realize that not only are we in debt but may be jobless and losing our homes, as well. This in itself should be enough of a wakeup call to release the magnet. Here is a before and after scenario showing how to release the magnet and feel elated in the process.
Scenario: Any class family of 4: Before adopting positive attitude adjustment: Breadwinner earns a decent income. And wife’s job allows them more spendable income. They buy a home slightly over what they can afford, thinking that future raises will be enough to cover tax and insurance increases. (By doing this they are spending money they do not yet have). They bought 2 vehicles, slightly over what they could afford. The children don’t want for anything. They have the newest, the best, and what the other neighborhood children have, regardless if the parents could afford keeping up with “the Jones’s” and regardless that the purchases have been charged.
They vacation on a credit card, staying at hotels and eating in restaurants. They care not about the cost, only that they are having fun.
School begins. The cost of supplies, clothes, books and other incidentals are charged on a new credit card because their other credit card balances are maxed out.
Christmas is just around the corner, when wife is laid off. Then husband’s vehicle needs an expensive repair. A child gets sick and needs medicine.
Husband and wife never thought about have a nest egg to protect the family in case of emergency.
Their world begins to crumble. Payments are late. Stress is unmanageable and sleepless nights interfere with husband’s job. They may loose their home, their cars, everything.
Same family of 4 after adopting positive attitude adjustment: Husband earns a decent income. Wife works, but not to have a higher living plane. She saves almost all her income. They have an eight-month salary nestegg for emergencies. They make due with 1 vehicle. They bought a home below their means and bank the difference, had they bought a home slightly over their means. The extra money is saved for college, retirement or that special dream get-a-way.
They vacation by camping out, where the kids meet new friends. When they “need” things they pay cash. When they get a credit card bill, they pay the full balance every month.
They realize what children need most is family security, not overwhelming debt that can destroy the entire family.
So, by having positive attitude adjustment as a lifelong companion…(you finish this sentence)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
It’s All in the Mindset
So… where do we start and how can we mend our ailing financial habits?
First, go over, in our minds, and then write down what had prompted us to spend in the past. Was it such a deeply entrenched set of spending values that was not only so unknowingly programmed into us, that we knew of no other choices? Was that programming the cause of our self entitlement mindset; where we wanted to buy what millions of others were buying, to fit in, to keep up with the Jones’s, or did we develop such an angry defensive attitude, so as to justify our overspending?
Think about this… could it be that America’s wealth was based on debt? American’s were spending money they did not have. They were borrowing money to cover expenses, going on vacations without the cash needed to pay for them. They went shopping until they dropped, using credit cards until they were maxed out, only to get a new one and start the same scenario over again, while paying the minimum payments on their credit card accounts.
When they bought cars, they bought just slightly (to rationalize) over what they could afford, accepting interest rates without a thought in the world. Likewise, they bought homes slightly over what could afford, all the while, thinking they would get raises to compensate for future tax and insurance increases. Of course, they said, “I deserve this, I want this”. Up until the time credit card companies programmed us, when we needed a replacement vehicle, we saved for it. When we needed a new stove or anything else, we saved for it. We lived within our means.
So… the first thing we need to do, in order to put our spending back on track, is to truthfully acknowledge reasons we spent in the past. Once we decide to face it head on (keep thinking that the old way may have made us feel important), we must accept, in reality, our overspending caused stress, interfered with sleep and maybe caused such debt that we’d live our lives out just repaying what we owe! It took a disaster to give us a wakeup call. We now see our past spending habits brought us nothing but grief.
Experts tell us we need a drastic change in our spending, that our economy will never be same, but they don’t tell us what to do to change. A reader of A Life Preserver in a Sea of Debt said it is the change we need.
But when people hear the word change, they immediately put up a defense barrier, thinking it is a negative approach and therefore have no desire to change. So instead of thinking negatively, think of change as having a positive romance with money. Have fun in a new revelation of spending choices. Make a game out of it. High five ourselves every time we save and every time we don’t spend where we did before. This is the positive attitude we need to break away from past spending habits, to release the magnet that had such a distinct hold on our spending.
Yes… It’s all in the mindset. This is where we start. Once we make it a habit, it becomes second nature. It follows us throughout our lives. We have permanently left overspending in the dust and have no desire to return to our old habits.
Next week: More ways to start, plus…
First, go over, in our minds, and then write down what had prompted us to spend in the past. Was it such a deeply entrenched set of spending values that was not only so unknowingly programmed into us, that we knew of no other choices? Was that programming the cause of our self entitlement mindset; where we wanted to buy what millions of others were buying, to fit in, to keep up with the Jones’s, or did we develop such an angry defensive attitude, so as to justify our overspending?
Think about this… could it be that America’s wealth was based on debt? American’s were spending money they did not have. They were borrowing money to cover expenses, going on vacations without the cash needed to pay for them. They went shopping until they dropped, using credit cards until they were maxed out, only to get a new one and start the same scenario over again, while paying the minimum payments on their credit card accounts.
When they bought cars, they bought just slightly (to rationalize) over what they could afford, accepting interest rates without a thought in the world. Likewise, they bought homes slightly over what could afford, all the while, thinking they would get raises to compensate for future tax and insurance increases. Of course, they said, “I deserve this, I want this”. Up until the time credit card companies programmed us, when we needed a replacement vehicle, we saved for it. When we needed a new stove or anything else, we saved for it. We lived within our means.
So… the first thing we need to do, in order to put our spending back on track, is to truthfully acknowledge reasons we spent in the past. Once we decide to face it head on (keep thinking that the old way may have made us feel important), we must accept, in reality, our overspending caused stress, interfered with sleep and maybe caused such debt that we’d live our lives out just repaying what we owe! It took a disaster to give us a wakeup call. We now see our past spending habits brought us nothing but grief.
Experts tell us we need a drastic change in our spending, that our economy will never be same, but they don’t tell us what to do to change. A reader of A Life Preserver in a Sea of Debt said it is the change we need.
But when people hear the word change, they immediately put up a defense barrier, thinking it is a negative approach and therefore have no desire to change. So instead of thinking negatively, think of change as having a positive romance with money. Have fun in a new revelation of spending choices. Make a game out of it. High five ourselves every time we save and every time we don’t spend where we did before. This is the positive attitude we need to break away from past spending habits, to release the magnet that had such a distinct hold on our spending.
Yes… It’s all in the mindset. This is where we start. Once we make it a habit, it becomes second nature. It follows us throughout our lives. We have permanently left overspending in the dust and have no desire to return to our old habits.
Next week: More ways to start, plus…
Friday, February 12, 2010
Wake Up Call
The economy is a mess. We are all affected by its repercussions. If only there was information available to help us cope, deal with, and emerge stronger than we were before…
There are all sorts of parents: some are frugal and others spend themselves into debt and others are somewhere in between. No matter where you fit into this scenario, your children follow your lead. They observe and follow your example. So, if you handle money indiscriminately, your children don’t have any other knowledge to handle their finances any differently.
So, let’s go back to parenting. Say, 50 years or so, ago, you witnessed big credit card companies in their infant years. Their advertisements made us believe that we could buy anything we wanted, whether we had the money or not. People followed their lead, paying the minimum on revolving charge accounts. We followed the masses as we were all programmed to overspend and we were not aware this was happening.
Now, we are aware of the end result of this kind of behavior. Funny thing is… in the past, we may have heard of warnings of this upcoming crisis, but we have again been programmed to think “Oh, no. I’m fine the way things are. That’s all hype. I’m not going to change my spending habits. If I want something, no one is going to tell me not to buy it!”
Yes. Our spending habits are deeply entrenched. It’s what has defined us in the past. So, now… currently… we find us, not only in credit card debt, but without a job. And we might loose our home because we cannot afford the mortgage anymore.
Reality creeps in… a gnawing voice relentlessly nudges us… ”If” we had been more prudent with our money in the good times, perhaps we would have been able to survive the economic crisis with minimum losses.
So… now… we realize we won’t wait until a disaster strikes before we get a wakeup call. We now look for ways to improve our lot. But where to start…
Next week: Where to start
Judy Guralchuk, author of A Life Preserver in a Sea of Debt: How to acquire a new mindset to transition from overspending to permanent financial stability.
There are all sorts of parents: some are frugal and others spend themselves into debt and others are somewhere in between. No matter where you fit into this scenario, your children follow your lead. They observe and follow your example. So, if you handle money indiscriminately, your children don’t have any other knowledge to handle their finances any differently.
So, let’s go back to parenting. Say, 50 years or so, ago, you witnessed big credit card companies in their infant years. Their advertisements made us believe that we could buy anything we wanted, whether we had the money or not. People followed their lead, paying the minimum on revolving charge accounts. We followed the masses as we were all programmed to overspend and we were not aware this was happening.
Now, we are aware of the end result of this kind of behavior. Funny thing is… in the past, we may have heard of warnings of this upcoming crisis, but we have again been programmed to think “Oh, no. I’m fine the way things are. That’s all hype. I’m not going to change my spending habits. If I want something, no one is going to tell me not to buy it!”
Yes. Our spending habits are deeply entrenched. It’s what has defined us in the past. So, now… currently… we find us, not only in credit card debt, but without a job. And we might loose our home because we cannot afford the mortgage anymore.
Reality creeps in… a gnawing voice relentlessly nudges us… ”If” we had been more prudent with our money in the good times, perhaps we would have been able to survive the economic crisis with minimum losses.
So… now… we realize we won’t wait until a disaster strikes before we get a wakeup call. We now look for ways to improve our lot. But where to start…
Next week: Where to start
Judy Guralchuk, author of A Life Preserver in a Sea of Debt: How to acquire a new mindset to transition from overspending to permanent financial stability.
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