Monday, August 22, 2011

But What Can I Do Today To Improve My Situation????

Back a couple of years ago, when we started out on our Journey to Debt Free Forever, I started searching the Internet on ways and means to reduce our expenditures and/or increase our income. Not realising how much hard work was involved, I was looking for a quick fix to make that "OMG, We're going bankrupt!" feeling go away. I never did find it.

Some folks who are just starting out on their journey may be asking, 'What can I do today...right now?'
If you are looking for one big thing, with a lasting impact, you may be thinking about this all wrong.

In my experience, it's lots of little things, small savings, all added together that make a difference. You also have to have a shift in the way you think about money, and your things.

~ Learn to make do, live with less and in some instances, do without.
~ Question every expenditure and learn the difference between 'needs' and 'wants'.
~ Realise that your daily life and spending is mostly habitual
~ You need to figure out where your money has been going in order to develop a plan of attack.
~ Know that from the outset, that it is a long road, a lot of hard work, and almost nothing will happen overnight.

So my question to you, dear readers, is what advice would you give to someone who is just starting out on their Journey to Debt Free Forever?

7 comments:

  1. I agree with your advice. I would advise people to think about how much interest is building up and to think about whether or not it is worth it.

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  2. I would suggest that someone just starting out should plan out their monthly purchases like they don't have access to credit. If they NEED a new outfit that will likely cost $150, then they will NEED to cut $150 out of their other expenses, so for example if they typically spend $200 on entertainment in a month, they would need to scale back their entertainment budget to $50 for that month. Sounds simple but for someone who's used to instant gratification it is hard to do. But the reality is that that is exactly what our grandparents had to do before credit cards and LOC became commonplace.

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  3. I want to say 'tell them to read/watch Gail Vaz Oxlade. It was what got me started on my ah ha! journey.

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  4. I would give gail's advise - spend more then you make. If you don't know what you spend or what you make, figure it out and start tracking it.

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  5. Be honest with yourself. When making your budget, you have to be realistic. If you are a smoker and have no intention of quitting....then you have to budget for your ciggies.

    You need to add it all up...ALL of it. You need to see that big number. Don't just say...it is a few thousand here and there. You have to see it all added up.

    And you need to realize there is no quick fix to this...it didn't happen over night...and it won't be fixed overnight.

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  6. Great advice, I think we all go into this thinking it will be easy but it isn't. I takes a great deal of patience and determination. Above all you can't spend money. I think that is the hardest part. No there is no money to spend.

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  7. be committed to your money change, as you would to your toddler going though the terrible two's.

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