Debt Free Living in the 21st Century

Live within your means

Overspending and living above your means with credit cards by buying things that you "want" but can't afford can be very harmful both to you and to your family.  Young people that start out by engaging in this type of destructive behavior can end up spending the rest of their life suffering the consequences.  For many people, the high credit card balances is only part of the problem.  The more serious issue is the behavior that led to the high balances and sometimes that’s harder to eliminate than the actual balance. 

Learning to live within your income will make it easier to adjust if you encounter hard times (lose your job, health issues, etc.).  Maybe even more importantly it will help keep you in check if you encounter good times. 

Using debt…not abusing it

By paying your credit card balance off on time every month, you basically receive an interest-free monthly loan.  However, if you carry a balance of even $1 you will pay interest on everything that you charge from the moment that you charged it. If you do have a balance on your credit card, resolve to pay it off as quickly as possible and never pay only the minimum payment or less than the actual interest due.

Although you don’t hear much about them, there are people that know how to use credit cards properly.  In fact, almost 40% pay their balance off every month.  Of course, in our perverse society that calls evil good and good evil, these individuals are referred to as “deadbeats”.

If you pay for something with a credit card and don’t immediately pay it off, you can end up paying double or even triple the total cost due to the interest and fees incurred for the benefit of paying with credit.  So before you choose to buy something on credit that you know you won’t be able to pay off immediately, ask yourself if you’re willing to paying double or triple the price you think you’re paying just for the benefit of getting it now. 

The credit card industry has done a good job on getting consumers to focus on their “wants” and not on what they can afford.  Almost all mid-to-high ticket items are discussed in terms of their monthly payment rather than the actual cost.  However, by following the principles of the Bible you can experience a much higher standard of living than you will by being held captive to the credit card industry.

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