By Sally Shaws
It’s something everyone wants to do, but the reality of debt is that it is everywhere. Even the cash in our wallets is debt-based. Our government borrowed it from our nation’s central bank or The IMF, or, if you’re in the Eurozone, Angela Merkel. The entire flow of world currencies is made ever heavier with the added weight of interest payments on every kind of government-issued currency on earth.
Depressing, isn’t it?
It doesn’t have to be, IF, you take your thinking out of the global sphere and into the personal sphere. The only area in life we have true control is our own lives.
So, you have debts? Do you want out of the financial maze? What are you going to do about it?
Monitor Your Spending
This is possibly the most painful thing you can do if you are a debt junky.
Writing down every single purchase you make over the next six months is going to bring you to a level of financial sobriety you’ve never experienced before. It’s like an alcoholic standing up in their first AA meeting and uttering those words “Hi. My name is…and I’m an alcoholic.” It’s going to stop you from making those blind “gotta have it right now”, purchases because they will be noted down in black and white ready to say to you “What did you do that for?”, and it’s going to show you where your money is really going.
Write a Budget
Once you know where your money is going, you can do something to change the direction of the flow. This is where you make a budget. A budget serves two purposes: it allows you to look after yourself, giving you the opportunity to allocate enough money for food, clothes, accommodation, etc, and it also sets a parameter around that so your spending doesn’t spill over.
The combination of keeping a record of your purchases and, then shortly afterward, creating a budget will create a solid foundation for you to grow from. It will keep you honest. Now the real work starts.
Getting a Second Job
We all have skills that can be lucrative. Can you design websites, or blogs on behalf of others? Can you fix up cars? Are you good at DIY? Do you like walking dogs? These are all things we sometimes do for free because we like to when we could be earning money from them.
Pouring cash earned from a second job doesn’t have to be through delivering pizza unless you’re happy doing that. I knew someone once who waited tables for exactly 17 months and four days. When she started the job she knew that’s how long it would take her to pay off her debts using her second job pay packet, while her salary – which wasn’t amazing – was what she lived on. Granted, she wasn’t an economic miracle; it took time and hard work, but she was prepared to do it to reach her version of financial freedom: being “debt free”. She then went on to start her own business. Only when she was debt free did she feel that she could do that?
While it’s the Hare that might race around the shopping mall enjoying all the shiny, expensive things; it’s the Tortoise that understands that everything has its price.
Guest post contributed by Sally Shaws, a freelance writer who regularly blogs about ways to boost your income and save money tips. She is also currently writing about the process of volunteering for clinical trials UK and joining a volunteer panel as a means to raise your income.
