Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Things That Keep You In Debt

I mentioned in my most recent post that I was still seeing myself in some debt. The sad thing is that I got lots of it paid off and then the balances just crept back up. So, what keeps someone in debt for so many years? I know that it sounds kind of stupid, but I am not the only person out there who can't keep things debt free.

However, the things that keep up under that mountain of debt vary from one person to the next. For me, it is all about crazy awesome travel (for the most part) and lots of coffee cause I'm always caffeinated. I mean, this lifetime Starbucks giveaway really wouldn't even last me half my lifetime, that's how much coffee I drink! If only I'd spent all that money on Starbucks stock instead of coffee drinks and travel and then maybe I wouldn't be in debt again!

For other people, the things that they spend all their money on can include lots of different things like:

  • kids
  • home repairs
  • autos
  • gambling
  • collecting things
  • DVDs and music
  • electronic gadgets
  • dining out
  • nights out on the town, going to the movies, etc
  • concert tickets
  • and many other things

Going forward, I do not really see myself putting a dead stop to the amount that I spend on things like coffee and travel. And it is the same way with a lot of people. Why? Because the last thing that you want to happen is that you cut out all of the fun in your life just to save some money and pay down debt...and then you die unexpectedly before you even get to enjoy being debt free.

So, if you're not going to change your spending on the things that you enjoy, then how do you pay down your debt or get yourself debt free? Easy. You find ways to make more money. This can be looking for a job that pays you more per hour. Or it can be taking on second jobs. You may even want to start a business or get a few side jobs to increase your income. Just don't spend a lot of money to get that side income cause that will defeat the purpose.

For me, I am adding a few side hustles to my monthly income sources after getting the idea from this book. Hopefully, by adding in some additional sources of income to my bank account each month, I will be able to finally get that debt down and keep it down.

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