Embarking on a budget lifestyle plan is all about learning how to be happy living within your means and not off high interest credit cards or loans. If you spend your life paying for stuff you cannot afford, just because that’s what is expected of you or because everyone else does it, you will never be rich or happy. You may find the idea of an instant money fix quite a relief when thing are getting you down but if you stop and really think about what impact that quick fix will have on your life in the future, when it comes to paying it back, you will avoid being tempted at all costs.
A pay day loan or a short term high interest loan to help you through a financial crisis can sometimes be the only route, especially for those who need help with medical problems and additional costs. A recent survey for the charity CLIC Sargent found families can struggle to meet the extra cost of accommodation, childcare, food and travel, which is such a sad state of affairs but very real in this current financial mess we all find ourselves in right now.
To be truly happy, you have to take money out of the equation and feed your soul, not your addiction because you may believe you need a new sofa, top of the range TV or luxury 5 star holiday to be somebody but you would be very wrong. Life is about striving for the simple things like good health, inner peace, lots of laughter and not being sucked into the idea, what your own, makes you who you are.
Its all well and good saying this to you because I am sure you all feel trapped and pressured in to participating in keeping up with the Hiltons, the new Jones but you have to grow up and get real. Living beyond your means will only leave you miserable and buried under a mountain of unnecessary debt. There is absolutely no point in having a 100 pair of designer shoes if you never have the money to go anywhere to wear them.
So learning to live within your means may not sound very exciting, be what you want to face right now or be what you have become accustomed to but it is essential if you are ever to find inner happiness. I have had many times myself when I have longed for a new life with all the trappings to go with it but then I remember back to when I thought I had it all and have to remind myself, it was not money or the flash lifestyle that made me truly happy inside.
Here are some simple ways you can begin to learn to live within your means and start to face your reality, which if you are healthy and strong, is a blessing on its own and something we all take for granted, so be grateful, I say.
Save up for what you want.
Buying unnecessary stuff, like another top you won’t wear or another bottle of wine, you don’t need because you have already had to much, is a great way to save cash for a rainy day. Try and put aside something each week you would normally spend on an instant fix and learn to change your bad habits into good ones.
Stop relying on your credit cards.
Using credit cards to get by, is not living within your means, so never include your credit cards when planning or budgeting your finances because these cards can be stopped or maxed out very easily, without warning.
Learn to spend less than you make.
When we use our credit cards to purchase stuff, we don’t feel like we are actually spending real money because we don’t physically see it changing hands, it’s a virtual exchange. I strongly suggest from now on you only work with real cash when you are learning to live within your means, you will be so shocked at how far your money actually goes when you are in control. Once you know how much you make, then you can focus on bringing you’re spending within your income. Use a budget to plan your monthly expenses then use it to keep your spending on track.
Boost your income.
If once you have done your budget lifestyle plan and you are living within your means but still long for an instant fix, recognise in order to get what you think you want you have to be able to afford it, so get a little second job or find another way to earn extra cash for extra luxuries.
Life is not always about getting what you want but getting what you need.
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