Bad Credit Loans Financing Solutions       

Learning to Live Within your Means

Some of you will definitely not like what is written here. Please note that it isn’t meant to upset anyone. Rather it’s a description of what unfortunately happens quite often but can easily be avoided if individuals are willing to take a step back and look at their lifestyle expectations versus their real incomes. It is normally these discrepencies in what you earn vs. what you'd like to spend that creates financial issues.

Learning to spend even as Children

Here is one of our modern society’s main issues. We are thought early on in life that we must spend and consume. We are pushed to buy-buy-buy but strangely enough we don’t learn to sell-sell-sell or even how to save-save-save. It is almost like it’s a conspiracy to get us to spend as much as we can. We are taught that spending to the very limit is normal. We are taught that we are entitled to a good life regardless of what we actually earn and with the help of loans or credit facilities that we can achieve that. I know when you read this it makes absolutely no sense but the fact is most of our subconscious minds are programmed to think that this is the reality and that we are driven to make this happen even if it is illogical to do.

The Spending Teens Trend

A recent report from the US Department of labor states that the average spending of teens has increasing over the years. The quantum of increase is as much as 4% over the underlying inflation rate. This means that teens are spending up to 4% (+ inflation) more every year with the trend likely to increase over time. The most worrying thought is the fact that most of these teenagers are spending their parent’s money and forming this damage causing activity burned into their mind as something quite normal to do.

Creating the Drive to Spend

Most of us are aware that spending feels good. We have been taught very early in life to associate buying new things as something enjoyable. This need to spend and buy “new” and “improved” products is causing many families in the US to suffer from a financial disillusion causing them to spend more than they make.

The mechanism that is driving the need to spend can most directly be attributed to the huge rise in media and advertising. It’s power to influence people by provoking their basic desires and needs has only been apparent over the last 100 years. It is all down to reach. It is only now when corporations can reach out to so many people that they can instill the drive to spend on a mass-scale. This level of media exposure has been unprecedented. Unfortunately we are paying the price now by having so many families literally spend themselves to the ground.

Envy

This is the emotion that’s most used to drive us to spend over what we need. Although the urge to compare yourself against others is a very basic human nature, advertisements and media have successfully increased many individual’s need to compare well against others by repeatedly showing us videos of beautiful people “living the good life” and telling your subconscious that you too can have that if you use the products that are being advertised. The media ad campaigns will then tell you that you need these “privileges” in life to compare well against other people.

Misalignment of Needs vs. Wants

Many people who overspend have a problem in that they mistake a want for a need. A need is something that you need to maintain healthy and continue living such as a home, food, healthcare etc. A want is something that you don’t need but would like to have such as a new handbag, a new car, a new T.V. etc. A need is something important that is necessary while a want is something you desire but don’t absolutely need.

Many people in today’s society find it hard to differentiate between needs and wants. A good example will be that new flat screen TV. They think that it is necessary (a need) to obtain it so they can measure well against their peers when in fact it is completely unnecessary. That older box TV is just fine. This problem extends to almost all consumer good when individuals misalign their wants to needs.

Combine that misalignment with easy credit and you have the recipe for financial disaster. Most will just charge, charge, charge thinking that they absolutely need whatever product or service they are buying and that putting it on the credit card is less trouble than to go without the product or service. This will ultimately mean that individuals will dig themselves into the debt hole and ultimately find themselves facing bankruptcy which is something you NEED to avoid.

The Gist of it

You should never buy something you can’t afford. It really is that simple. The drive to buy something to make yourself feel better especially if you compete against your peers is very strong. It is almost like a drug and is an addiction that you simply must break in order to keep yourself financially healthy. Here are some tips that you should adopt to keep this terrible addiction to overspending at bay:

1) Have a budget and find the pleasure in getting       something that is both cheap and a bargain; 2) Never give children your credit card, instead get       them to work and buy things on their own as much as      possible; 3) Parents must monitor their child’s financial activities      closely in their formative years; 4) Try your best to clear your credit card balance at the      end of the month. Never let it keep rolling; 5) Tackling your debt is much like fishing, aim for the      biggest and most expensive first; 6) You can always negotiate with banks to lower your       debt interest rates, they rather earn less than you      have to write you off as a bad debt; 7) Avoid using credit cards for purchases that you can     use cash for.