Brilliant Finances Personal Finance Basic Training Primer Number Three
Wipe our Debt (Photo credit: Images_of_Money)
If you’re going to succeed in anything you have to be committed. Part of what the Personal Finance Basic Training series is going to try to teach is how to get out of debt. However, in order to get out of debt you’re going to have to be committed to stop borrowing. When you borrow money you have a tendency to live beyond your means. If you think you need debt to function, you’re wrong. Credit card payments are designed to keep you in debt. Have you taken a look at the new credit card statement disclosures, which show you how long it will take to payoff a credit card by making the minimum payments? Some of them show the total amount paid back as almost five times the balance and 20 years or more of payments by paying only the minimum payment.
Remember getting out of debt it starts with behavior change – you need to have a desire to get out of debt. You’re going to have to draw a line in the sand and say borrowing stops here! I can’t make you have a desire to get your finances under control. To start building wealth you need to start building up some cash, and you won’t be able to do that if you’re always going to be making payments for your debt.
You have to be able to live on less than you make in order to get out of debt and build wealth. But, there is one more thing you need to do before you can get out of debt and succeed in saving money, building wealth, and being able to give more – you need to build a relationship with God. Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you” (NLT). By everything, it means our finances too. Have you ever committed your finances to the Lord?
Personal Finance Basic training is not going to be easy. It’s going to take commitment to succeed. If this is the first article you’ve read about Personal Finance Basic Training, I encourage you to look under the category Basic Training Primer on this site and you will find more articles getting you prepared for Basic Training. You may also want to look at the post “And the Winner Is” Including some Site Highlights and Updates to read about the announcement of a personal finance training series coming to this site soon.
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I totally agree that when one gets into a mindset of borrowing, he or she is likely living beyond means. Having the stress of owing somebody money can’t be a good way to live, and is not the way to build for the future or for any semblance of financial freedom. So yes, it’s good to commit to stop borrowing.
Tie the Money Knot recently posted..Will Taking a Long Vacation Be Held Against You?
Debts do come with stress, that’s a cost most people probably have not counted.
Not borrowing while trying to get out of debt is a huge factor in getting out of debt as soon as possible. We’ve been conditioned to think that we can’t live without debt, but their are people and companies out there living debt free!
Yes I agree the people living debt free are probably less than 1% though. I hope we can all become 1 percenters.
Aside from the mortgage, I haven’t borrowed since my student loan to finish school, and before that since 2005.
Edward Antrobus recently posted..My experience getting scammed
That’s great Edward. You are way ahead of most people who borrow more frequently.
I didn’t even borrow for our two cars. The only time i’ll borrow is when we’ll get our house.
SB @ One Cent At A Time recently posted..51 Ways to Get Out of Debt
That’s really great. I wish I could have said the same. It’s changing though. Do you plan to borrow for a 30 year mortgage or 15 years? If you can 15 year would be best.
It took me a LONG time to get out of the “borrower” mindset. My former self never would have believed it, but it’s incredibly rewarding to get something after saving for it ahead of time. I love the feeling of paying with cash and knowing that whatever I bought is MINE without being an indentured slave to a monthly payment. I just wish I would have figured this out much sooner than I did!
Andrea @SoOverDebt recently posted..Do You REALLY Want to Work From Home?
Good point Andrea, it does feel like it’s yours when you pay cash.
but if you use your credit card to supply your business like i do i called it investment
tj@obama student loan recently posted..Eligibility Requirements For Federal Student Loans
I would disagree, I might have thought about it that way in the past but not anymore. They teach us leverage is good for business, but not always and using a credit card is really bad use of leverage.
Taking debt was never ones interest to take but paying back the same on time feels good while not able to pay back the same makes mess around life.
Robinsh recently posted..Business Insurance Cost
Yes it does feel good to pay back what you borrow. Especially when you are finished paying.