“Do not spend a dime until I get paid on Friday, otherwise we’ll be overdrawn in the bank account!” Does that sound familiar? If so, you’re probably living paycheck to paycheck just like 78% of America’s workforce, according to Career Builder™.
If you don’t know why your paycheck keeps disappearing, the first thing you should do is create a detailed budget so you know exactly where your hard-earned money is going every month. Without a budget, you don’t have a plan and you don’t know how to make your dollars stretch because you don’t know how much money you have to work with.
What if you do your budget but realize you have way too much debt, so much debt that you simply don’t have the extra money left over each month to pay it off anytime soon? Well, as you know, living that way is a recipe for disaster and you’ll never get ahead that way. After all, not having enough money to buy gas, groceries, or auto repairs, and having to reach for a credit card is no way to live.
Will You Ever Get Out of Debt?
If you’re like millions of Americans, you have credit card debt, but debt isn’t limited to just credit cards. Debt can be sneaky, it comes in the form of student loans, auto loans, mortgages, personal loans, business loans, store credit cards, and payday loans. It also includes debt for orthodontics, dental work, and veterinarian care. Whenever you owe a person or business money for anything, count it as debt.
Do you want to get rid of your debt for good? If you’re raising your hand and saying, “Yes!” the first thing you do is stop acquiring any new debt. That means stop using credit cards, stop robbing Peter to pay Paul, and start living below your means, even if it means looking for things to cut. For example, this could mean packing a lunch every day instead of eating out, brewing your own coffee, and taking a hike instead of dropping a small fortune on the movies and popcorn at your favorite movie theatre.
Sick of paying all that interest each month and never seeing light at the end of the tunnel? Good, you shouldn’t have to countdown the days until your next paycheck arrives. If filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy will bring you much-needed debt relief, contact Dethlefs, Pykosh & Murphy Law today!
