This is something everyone dreams about but, unfortunately, most people are only dreaming. Debt free living can be more than a dream if you're willing to do what it takes. The book of Proverbs, dating 3,000 years ago says, "The debtor is slave to the lender." I know this form of slavery. Are you having a little trouble treading water right now? Starting to time your 'grace periods' to match your paychecks? Is there a little month left over after you've used the money? You probably have a debt problem if you just can't seem to live within your regular income. For more information, see the best-selling books on Debt Freedom. You can track your progress Debt Management Software.
Most think if they'd just get a promotion or win the lottery or inherit some money, they'll make it. They try all kinds of "get rich" schemes. For most, like me, the problem ...is spending. Chances are, if you earn above the "poverty level", the problem is just like ours was...not income, but outgo. It doesn't matter how much we earn, if we don't control spending, we will never solve our debt problem. This is the first step in debt free living. If you want help controlling your outgo, Budgeting Tips For Christians has sound advice and a Family Budget Worksheet to help. If you feel your problem is income, see Employment And Christian Finances.
Actually, whether the problem is income or outgo, the power to make the move to debt free living is in your attitude...yes, attitude. If you have an attitude that someone else is holding you back or putting you in the position that you must borrow more and more, you are denying that you have any control over your debt. You're giving up the only power you have over debt. Our power over debt rests in the fact that we are responsible for where we are. We got ourselves into this mess, so we can get ourselves out. Getting out will take time, just like it took to get into debt in the first place.
In researching for this article, I went through bunches of "quick-fixes" that will patch the financial leak but do little to solve the cause of the leak. You probably browsed them to get here. If your financial challenges are severe, you may need help from one of these to stay afloat long enough to get at the root cause. This could be as simple as a loan or as complicated as having a professional negotiate with your creditors, depending on the size of your "leak". Some people try to negotiate their debt to relieve themselves of the pressure. A more aggressive approach is bankruptcy, and some people are sinking so fast, that's the only way to survive long enough to solve the problem. If your problem is this severe, you may want to get some legal advice. Keep in mind, all these "patches" fix the immediate problem but do nothing to eliminate the cause of your money leak. Be encouraged, though. There's plenty of help if we're serious about a solution. If we're not serious, all the help in the world is useless. I know several people earning well into 6 figures that can't afford Christmas. Under severe circumstances, professional analysis, consolidation loans and bankruptcy can keep us afloat, but if we don't break the debt cycle, their help is only temporary.
To begin to solve our problem three steps are required. 1. Admit we have a debt problem. 2. Make and stick to a plan to reduce that debt. 3. Never add to our debt. Once you've made a complete budget, you can use our Debt Elimination-Reduction worksheet for step 2 above. If you can't complete steps 2 & 3, it's time to admit the problem is deeper than you can manage. Visit Compulsive Shopping Addiction and Gambling Addiction Problems to see if an addiction is at the root of your debt problem.
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