It’s a touchy subject. Not for the squeamish. It’s a lot harder to get by these days. If you don’t tighten up and plan your expenditure, you can find yourself in trouble. Running out of money before the month end, puts stress on you to go cap in hand and ask family and friends. But they too are just managing to get by. It’s easy to see why so many people are over their heads in debt.
Spending beyond your means, not planning for unexpected expenses, failing to anticipate rising costs, all work together to land you in deep water. Not only do you become indebted to others but you stand to lose the love of those closest to you. How can those close to you respect you when you are always running into money troubles. Loss of your self-esteem is one thing but you also carry guilt. Why, the reason is simple. You see, when you can’t meet your obligations to your loved ones you feel a lesser person in their eyes. If only… if only… you could have done things differently.
People who study these sort of things say if we spend more money than we make, life becomes a very stressful. Every day is consumed with juggling balls and scraping enough to buy essentials. If you owe more money then you have, you will have full-time stress. You keep telling yourself that it will be better next month but that never happens. You get so entangled in your own fear, constant worry and the fear that those people close to you have around you that you start to feel bad about yourself.
It’s easy to say hey but wait it doesn’t have to be this way. But talk is cheap. If you haven’t taken action before what’s going to make you take action now? Old habits die hard. How much pain do you have to take before you decide to do something about yourself and your income? Do you want to continue with directionless worrying and shame over something that makes you sick inside just thinking about it?
There’s a lot more to this than just the fear and anxiety about a single source of income that you can’t personally manage. The solution is easy to say but very difficult to do. Some people who make less than you, live a very comfortable life with few stressors. Some say their secret is that they spend less money than they make. They are also the people who have saved money in a cash kitty just in case they need it in an emergency.
But is this all there is to it? Not really. Listen, those who are successful make preventative decisions all the time. What does this mean? They tend to use their fear as a motivator to rid themselves of anxiety. They project into the future and anticipate possible emergencies where money will be needed. Risks that could cripple them they insure. Riding around without insurance on your car can wipe you out financially for a long time. Even not having a legally registered car licence can be devastating if you are the party to blame in a motor car accident. It’s amazing isn’t it that those most vulnerable, living close to the edge, land up in even more and more trouble because they neglect to get the basics right.
With two incomes needed to support a family, younger people unable to get a foot on the housing ladder, and mature people seing their life savings been chewed up by inflation, costs that are skyrocketing from state-owned businesses such as telecommunications, electricity and roads and the corrosive effect of inflation, doesn’t it make sense to stop messing around and live within your means and at the same time start taking action to build your own side income generating asset? It might sound pushy but how much more nudging do you need? Make a brand-new start this year by moving in the right direction and leave your worries biting the dust.
