Living Within Your Financial Means

Many people these days are in debt for some reason or another. With the costs of homes, cars, education, vacations, one can see that it can be an easy thing to spend beyond your current financial means. Most every credit card company is also trying to do whatever they can to entice you into using their card! Low introductory rates etc. Now it is assumed for most to go into debt to obtain a home, education or a car. For most not being able to put these on payments means never obtaining any of it. However, spending beyond this can become a real danger.
     Most people are consumers, and thus fairly avid ones at that, there are so many products out there, so much advertising on getting the latest "toys" and things to make you "feel good". That many just seem to through caution out the window and indulge in what they feel they need now! Now this may seem all fine and dandy for the time as one may not have to pay for it until later, thus giving the impression that it is cheaper or in essence that the future will take too long to come. Yet the "Piper" does come and with him a great deal of interest and this means you pay more! It is difficult for people to live within their means, yet so important.

     I remember hearing a story at my church about an old man on his death bed and what he wished he would have done in life different. His response was that he wished he would have spent more time with his family and friends and would not have spent so much time striving after material goods, that all the material possessions have provided no comfort for him and he was feeling empty for not spending time with his family. Now this is a nice storey and all but basically he was admitting that having lots of possessions, the latest LCD TV, fancy car, huge house did not bring comfort to him and it would have been more fulfilling to have lived within his means and not strived after these things. Now we do not know from this storey if this man was in great debt or not but generally people who strive after all the latest possessions in life are prone to go overboard on credit cards and other loans.
     To not get yourself into a debt trap, it is essential to not buy what you cannot afford. It is also a very good idea to put away a little bit whatever that amount is for a rainy day fund. If your income after taxes is $3000 a month for example, allot the amount payable for rent/mortgage and perhaps a car payment, put a set amount or % away for the rainy day fund (this to be determined by what you feel a good amount is) and then spend no more that month! If you want sometime really bad, well ask yourself, is it worth actually paying more in the long run and even loosing the object that you purchased if it is re-possessed or to have the security of knowing that you can relax knowing your in good financial shape. Remember the future does come, and when it comes... there you are... meaning it is not some distant la la land where everything is happy and bright in the future if you don't take caution in your finances.