Let’s face it! Every time we get some extra money in our paycheck, we get the urge 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.
Take Control of Your Money
Staying focused on the health of your financial future with discipline and patience will eventually allow you to have the financial means to not be in need of anything, including the means to get the things you want! By taking care of what you need, which includes paying off debt and not accumulating more, along with the delayed gratification of your wants, will set you on the path to financial independence. Something that you also should know is that the principle of living below your means doesn’t stop once you achieve your financial goals. Living below your means and the conditions in which you live are relative to one another. So, living below your means when your means are high affords you more, where living below your means when your means are low affords you less. As you grow your means, due to your diligent effort applied over time, so will your living conditions and lifestyle.
Even the wealthiest people on the planet live below their means. That’s how most of them have become wealthy and the reason that they stay wealthy. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression – money makes money! Well, it’s true, but it has to start somewhere and that somewhere starts by living below your means. It’s a universal principle that can’t be ignored when it comes to building wealth. Money is a tool, that when used the right way, can make you more money. There’s nothing fancy or sexy about it. It’s all about instilling good, small money habits over a long period of time from living below your means through focus, discipline and patience.
“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” – Lydia Sweatt
One of the biggest financial traps you can easily find yourself in is the trap of keeping up with the Joneses. By trying to keep up with the perceived lifestyle of others, you’ll undoubtedly end up overspending. Living below your means is the basis for financial freedom. Once you learn to live below your means, you can stop getting into debt, begin paying off any debt you currently have and start putting money aside for saving and investing. Not only is living below your means a cornerstone for financial freedom, but by living above your means you of course will have more debt and along with that comes having more stress and more worry.
Whenever you live at or above your means, an unexpected bill or expense becomes an added stress that should and could have been avoided if you were more careful with your spending habits. Life happens and those unexpected expenses will show up. The best way to help you to prepare for them is to get control over your spending. Living below your means will largely eliminate that worry by giving you control over your spending and allowing money to work for you instead of against you. By overspending you may have nice things, but when the nice things fade away, one thing is for sure…you won’t have any money when you need it most. So start focusing on your money habits and get yourself on the path to financial freedom.
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