Too many people claiming to be financial experts are to be found everywhere advising people how to manage personal finances so they can pay off all debts and live debt free. One must pay off all debt, they scream. These financial self proclaimed philosophers hold on to the stake that debt of all kinds is bad. These so called financial experts want you to pay off every loan that you may have and then once you have paid off all loans they then want you to pay for everything strictly with cash only. And then to add some noise to the process and sound and lighting effects, they want you to cut up all the credit cards and scream that you did so and may be call all your acquaintances and friends and unknown people all over and announce to the whole world about your financial accomplishment. But the biggest question that you need to ask yourself is the following. Is the goal of being totally debt free a brilliant one to aim for or is it absolute stupidity. As a clue to this answer, have you ever noticed that the people that advise that debt free living is the only way to go are all generally older people that all had debt of some kind at one point or the other and that they did not buy their first home or second one for that matter for cash. How can you advise people against any debt when you yourself have not practiced what you preach. Continue reading ‘Debt free living – brilliance or stupidity’ »
Posts tagged ‘debt reduction’
Have you ever tracked all your expenses for a single month? You can do this by getting all your receipts and writing down everything you spent money on – from utilities to fast food meals. If you’re like most people, you found something shocking. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s better to catch bad spending habits now rather than later. There may come a time when you really need the extra money and you’ll regret spending it all on a few items you didn’t really need.
What’s the next step? If you want to take a real financial assessment of your life, then take a closer look at each expense category to see which items can be reduced. You also need to list your long term goals and your short term goals, because that will motivate you to make needed changes.
Here are some helpful suggestions:
DO look at the little expenses. Some people think that $5.00 a week is nothing to worry about, but that’s $260 a year – a large amount that can be put towards one of your goals. Continue reading ‘Financial Assessment Of Your Life’ »