It’s easy to feel disheartened and hopeless when you’re facing one hurdle after another. Maybe your bills have all come at the same time this month, and you feel overwhelmed about the payments you need to make all at once. The first thing you tell yourself is that you’ll never be able to have that dream life because you can’t even manage your problems right now.
Stop right there. Don’t let the negative thoughts stop you from achieving success. You can break out of your circumstances and make your way to the top, but first, you need to make some decisions.
Let Go of Things You Don’t Need
Ever since humans learned to have their own spaces, we’ve been inclined to fill them with stuff. It’s nice to come home to a well-decorated house. But if you’ve been collecting expensive items that don’t really do anything aside from looking pretty, that’s money that could otherwise go to your debt and bills payment. It’s good to invest in items that will grow their value over time, but these are not more important than your more immediate needs.
Even a house in Fort Collins that’s too big for your family can be costing you money. Remember that you’ll want to fill it with stuff, so the more space it has, the more you’ll be inclined to spend. It might be a good time to see if you can sell your home fast and downsize to a property that’s better suited to your current needs.
Live Within Your Means
You deserve the fun nights out with your friends after a grueling week, and you deserve that spa treatment every other month. But before you jet off to those expensive vacations and hotel stays, look at your bank statement. Save, settle your bills, and budget your monthly expenses before you splurge. The worst way to spend your hard-earned money is to splurge blindly. The only thing worse is when you spend money that you don’t have yet, thanks to your credit cards.
Don’t get this wrong—credit cards can be your best friend. A good credit score will help you get better loan terms, which means that you should build your credit score over time. But if you don’t pay your credit cards on time, you’ll be lowering your score significantly. This will cost you a lot if you have to settle for high-interest rate loans because banks consider you a high-risk borrower. If you already have a bad credit score, the way to break out of it is to prioritize repayments for debt with the highest interest.
Live Modestly
When you earn a little more than what you used to, you treat yourself to upgrades. You deserve a better phone to fit your higher position, you think. You want a new car. Your worn jeans need a replacement. You can afford luxury brands now, so you buy them. This means, despite your higher earnings, that you’re still not saving much because your spending has also increased. This cycle takes active monitoring so that you will not slip into the shopping habit. Log all your expenses into a budget tracker religiously. Seeing how much of your spending goes to unnecessary purchases will help you target your problem areas.
Even if you think you’re already failing, you can still do something. That is if you commit to making good changes, of course.