Living below our means is the basis of financial freedom. Once we learn to live below our means, we can stop getting into debt, begin paying off any debt we currently have and start putting money aside for saving and investing. If we’re living above our means it is going to mean more stress, more worry and potentially…more debt. Whenever we live at or above our means, an unexpected bill or expense becomes an added stress that should and could have been avoided if we were more careful with our spending habits. Living below our means largely eliminates this worry by giving us control over our spending to allow money to work for us instead of against us.
Let’s face it! Every time we get some extra money in our paycheck, we get the urge to want to spend that extra money. We get a pay raise…let’s finance a new car! We get a bonus…let’s go on vacation! If we get an extra $5 in our pockets…we find something we “want” to spend it on! It’s common and only natural to satisfy the desire of our wants. It’s fun and it feels good for the moment, but when the moment is gone, we’re still left holding the bag of debts we owe, with the creditors knocking on our door every month. This is where we have to separate our needs from our wants if we going to give ourselves a fighting chance at achieving financial freedom and not having to worry about money. Living below your means obviously doesn’t come without sacrifice. It takes discipline; which is doing something you know you should do even when you don’t want to do it. And it takes patience, by not giving into the feeling of instantaneous gratification when it comes to having some extra spending cash.
The bottom line of it, is this….if we stay focused on the health of our financial future by being disciplined with taking care of what we need (which includes paying off debt and not accumulating more) and being patient with our wants in the here and now, once we reach our goal of financial independence we will have the financial means to not be in need of anything and have what we want! Also, keep in mind that the principle of living below our means doesn’t stop once we achieve our financial goals. Living below our means and the conditions in which we live are relative to one another. So, as our means grow, due to our diligent effort applied over time, so will our living conditions. Even the wealthiest among us live below their means. That’s how most of them have become wealthy and the reason that they stay wealthy. We’ve all heard the expression “money makes money”! Well, it’s true, but it has to start somewhere and that somewhere starts by living below our means. It’s about instilling good, small money habits over a long period of time from living below our means through focus, discipline and patience that will get us to the financial freedom we desire!
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