No one gains a huge amount of weight overnight and in the same way, a staggering amount of debt doesn’t simply accumulate overnight. It is a process fed by a lack of discipline and bad habits in most cases, although there are cases where circumstances unluckily lead to higher debt.  As weight is put on one pound at a time, debt accumulates one purchase at a time until it becomes unmanageable.

It’s easy to blame others for our financial woes, especially when the economy is unstable and inflation is rising faster than most elevators. However, blaming the president, oil moguls, or anyone else for our financial state of affairs isn’t going to do much to stabilize our personal economy. It’s time to take personal responsibility and take an honest look at what we have done to contribute to the situation.

The fact is that it is easier today than ever before to buy things we cannot afford and do not have the money to pay for.  Not only do we convince ourselves that we need things but we convince ourselves that we need them now.  Then, not only do we have to pay for things we can’t afford but we have to pay the interest on the loans we took out to pay for them.  That doesn’t even take into account the exorbitant amount of fees associated with credit card use and other forms of borrowing money.

Can you imagine walking into a bank and asking for a loan to buy groceries or a new purse?  Sounds absurd, doesn’t it?  In essence, though, that’s exactly what we’re doing each time we swipe that plastic card for these types of purchases.  We’ve gotten so used to shopping with plastic that we’ve forgotten we’re actually borrowing money each time we do so!

In order to simplify our lives and live debt free, we have to make an honest assessment of where we are and where we want to go.  On this site we’ll look more closely at assessing our unique situation to see what changes, if any, need to be made.  In the meantime, spend a few minutes thinking about what, if anything, debt is holding you back from or keeping you from accomplishing.

What would you have time, energy, and money to do if you weren’t burdened with debt?

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Debt Free Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.