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Debt Management Is a Family Affair American Version of Debt Management
The American version of debt management seems to be; buy now, pay later, or worry about it later. “Instant gratification” has replaced “save for a rainy day” as the watch-word for Americans regarding their money.
Most American households do not have savings. They simply live paycheck to paycheck. They pay what has to be paid THIS WEEK, balance the checkbook, and decide how to blow what's left....and those ARE the responsible ones.
The irresponsible ones get a paycheck, do what they want to do, buy what they want to buy, and if there's anything left, they use it to pay the bill that is most pressing at the moment. Neither method could be called responsible debt management or sound financial planning by any stretch of the imagination.
Saving money is rapidly becoming a lost art form in America. In a recent study, only 41% of all American households actually had savings accounts, but 75% of all American households are carrying substantial debt.
This is certainly not the kind of money management that our grandparents would have approved of. There was a time when being in debt was a shameful thing but that idea went the way of the Model A, apparently.
Declaring bankruptcy became so easy, and so many people were taking advantage of it, that Congress finally had to make it more difficult. Debt management businesses are thriving, and you can't turn on the TV without seeing an advertisement for debt consolidation loans.
Americans need to return to the sound financial practices of the past, like save first. American mothers and fathers need to instill the basics of debt management into their young ones. American high schools need to require that a course in financial planning and debt management be successfully completed before a diploma is awarded.
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| Taking Control with Debt Management Debt Management for the Future
We can't foresee the future and I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. Although we can't see the future or what it holds for us, we do need to be prepared financially to deal with it. If you spend like there will be no tomorrow, when tomorrow does get here, you're going to be in deep trouble.
The trick in debt management is to live as well as you can today while preparing to live even better in the future. Just because you live in a financially responsible manner doesn't mean that you always have to do without everything that you want right now. You do, however, have to choose.
There are three important factors in successful debt management today that will prepare for the unseen future.
The first of these three ingredients is saving. It will never work to save what is left at the end of a pay period. There will never be anything left. You must save before you spend. The most painless way to save is to never get the money that you will save at all. Go by the payroll office where you work and sign a form that instructs your employer to deduct some money from your paycheck and save it for you.
The second ingredient is to prepare yourself for debt. Before you make a purchase for which you will have to make a monthly installment payment, save the amount of the monthly installment for three months before you make the purchase to see if you can comfortably live with that much less in disposable income every month.
The third ingredient is a little trickier. You must know yourself. You must make choices based upon your own set of priorities. Would you rather buy that new car, or would it really make you happier to do with the car you have and buy a boat? You really can't have both if you are going to prepare for the future. |
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| Debt Management and Interest Rates Debt Management: Getting the Priorities Straight
Using half your paycheck to buy lottery tickets in hopes of winning millions instantly is not a satisfactory debt management plan. Successful debt management is based upon truth, reality, and keeping your priorities straight.
The necessities of life must come first when you make your debt management plan. You need food, shelter, utilities, transportation, and clothing....and pretty much in that order. After the total cost of these necessities is subtracted from your bring home pay, what's left is your disposable income.
How much you spend on each of these necessities will determine the total cost of your necessities. When you cut the cost of any of the necessities, you will have more disposable income and when you add to the cost of the necessities, you will have less disposable income.
My daddy summed it up pretty well for me. He said, “The less you spend on what you have to have, the more you will have to spend on what you want to have.”
You have to make your own choices, of course, but here are just a few ideas that might help:
1. Food: It costs less to eat at home than it does to eat out.
2. Shelter: Less space costs less money....usually.
3. Utilities: Raise the thermostat by two degrees in the summer and lower it by two degrees in the winter. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Don't leave water running.
4. Transportation: A five-year-old car will take you to the same places that a new car will take you.
5. Clothing: Clothes purchased at discount stores costs less than clothing purchased at upscale clothiers.
Debt management is all about getting your priorities straight and making choices. Priorities are nonnegotiable, but how much you spend on them is negotiable. |
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Is Debt Consolidation Your Debt Management Answer, Debt Management-The Controls
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