Debt. The biggest financial problem of many people around the globe. From maxed out credit cards to huge mortgage and student loans, the modern man has it all.
It doesn’t matter how big or small your debt is, if you don’t make a big effort to pay it off, you’ll never become debt free and enjoy a debt free life style.
Let’s see what keeps you from paying off your loans completely.
Here are the main 5 reasons you can’t get out of debt
You still don’t have a budget
I know budgeting can be tedious and I’ll be honest with you. I don’t track all my spending anymore, since it seems like a waste of time. Instead I budget in a simpler way.
But, mind you, I’m debt free, so most of my expenses and income are taken care of and I don’t have to stress out with monthly payments anymore.
Until you can get your spending under control, it’s time to actually get a budget working and, even more importantly, track all your spending and income.
If you don’t know how much you make on a monthly basis and have no clue on what you are spending this money, you’ll be in debt forever.
Cutting costs and saving more money is the BIGGEST step to make, in order to push all this newly fund income into kicking debt’s arse.
You shop for fun
I have another confession to make: I love shopping. There are few stores in Europe (Lidl comes to mind), where I could spend a thousand bucks and not even ‘feel’ it.
This is why we limit our shopping time and try to use a list, not only to remember what we need to purchase, but also to keep from buying useless crap.
Shopping shouldn’t be a ‘social’ event. If you want to connect with your family, go out on a picnic or spend time playing board games. Anything that doesn’t mean carrying cash or, worse, a credit card you can max out.
Remove all store subscriptions from your email inbox, if you are constantly bombarded with ‘sale’ messages, chances are you’ll feel compelled to go and spend money.
Ignore Black Friday as well. If you spend money you don’t have right now for some junk just because it’s for sale, you’ll stay in debt longer than needed.
I personally like to buy stuff when I need it, not when the stores consider I should buy. Of course, I might not ‘lock in’ such an awesome price, but at least my cash-flow doesn’t have to suffer.
You have a costly vice
Do you find yourself drinking too much? Maybe you smoke, or, worse, use drugs? Gambling is what’s keeping your wallet and bank accounts empty?
Whatever costly vice you have, it’s time to get rid of it. Smoking is very expensive and does absolutely no good for your health. Consider stopping it.
Same with drinking too much or wasting time on stuff that’s not getting you any real benefit.
Cut back on your clubbing as well, if you tend to spend more time in the clubs than getting a good night sleep.
You purchase too much crap
I’m starting to become more of a minimalist these days, seeing how much crap we gathered all these years and how useless most of it tends to be.
You really don’t need 20 pairs of shoes or 5 new iPhones every year.
Try and understand how much stuff you REALLY need and cut back on further purchases. Removing clutter from your home and life will make it all easier and less costly.
You make friends with people who overspend
I know that overspending shouldn’t be such a huge flaw in a friend, especially if you tend to get along great, but try to get some more frugal friends as well.
If you are the person who can easily get convinced to spend more just to impress, make time for people who are not pushing your ‘wrong’ buttons.
Of course we know it’s stupid to keep up with the Joneses, but not all people can actually stay away from this. Hence the idea of surrounding yourself with people who are doing very well, financially speaking, so that you can get a great example and inspiration.
These are 5 of the reasons you cannot get out of debt. What else would you add?
