We have all become very used to buying whatever we want when we want it but this has led us into difficult with debt and credit cards so the question now is, “How To Stay Out Of Debt”.
Money is a simple idea. If I have money I can give some to you in exchange for the goods that I want and you can go spend that money on something else. Where it all begins to get complicated is when I want something from you now but I do not have enough money to pay you. This is why loans and debts came about.
Its OK to borrow money today and say I will pay you next week when I get some money but what happens if I don’t get the money I was expecting? This is what happens when debt becomes a problem.
To find the money to pay you I will have to reduce my spending on something else and in the modern world there are so many regular payments to be made. We have evolved a way of life that is dependent on borrowed money where we have things today and promise to pay for them next month or next year.
As we have seen with the banking crisis, everything is fine while everyone follows the same rules and makes the payments when required but as soon as one person cannot pay that leaves the next one short and so on. It was always, very obviously, a house of cards and one false move and you have the whole financial industry in crisis.
So how to stay out of debt and avoid all the problems it brings? First we need a change in philosophy. Our parents and grandparents did not expect to get everything straight away. If they wanted something they saved up for it. Sometimes while saving they would decide it didn’t really matter anyway and they would put the money towards something else they wanted.
We are used to having what we want when we want it but the satisfaction we get from buying new things soon passes and all we are left with is the debt. So change the way you think. Reduce your spending on unimportant items and start to use cash for buying things. When you run out of cash stop spending.
Happiness does not come from buying the latest gadget and getting deeper into debt is likely to end in tears. The best way to stay out of debt is by changing the way you think. You do not need all these things to be happy. The advertisers play on our human desires to accumulate things but that human need is there to help us get the essentials, not more clothes than we can wear or toys to play with.
Children are a good example of how more toys do not make you happy. Many children have far more toys than they want or need. A toy box full of toys and yet they invariably play with just one or two toys. Many of the others will hardly see the light of day and we are the same with all the gadgets and clothes we buy.
We would all be better off financially and emotionally, if we bought less stuff. Shopping is not entertainment and a better day out would be to visit a local park or local landmark. Get some fresh air and an appreciation of what life is really about. If you want to stay out of debt stop spending money and find other things in life to enjoy that cost less.
