Living Within Your Means!

How can one guy making 150k per year be broke and another making 45k have 3 months salary in the bank? Believe it or not, it's quite simple when you take a good look at both scenarios. The number one problem in todays society, that plagues more people than anything, is money. Despite the fact we live in a country with more opportunity for financial success than anywhere in the world, most of us are living paycheck to paycheck! Even those of us who experience significant increases in income, usually end up raising our lifestyles up another level and ultimately end up, still living week to week, only on a higher level! So when you consider that most of our stress is based on the need to make money, it makes even more sense to learn to live within ones means. Whether you make 150k per year or only 45k per year (or practically any amount for that matter), your current financial situation is dependent on many factors. Certainly your income is one of them. However, consider how much money you are spending each week or month for a moment. How much money do you really need each month for your basic living expenses? Break down how you spend your money each and every month. Are you spending it wisely? Unfortunately, an awful lot of us aren't! At the end of the day, most people couldn't tell you how they spend their money. Thus, we are a society who for the most part doesn't live within our means! So rather than focus on living smarter, we walk around thinking only in regards to increasing our income level. The bottom line is, it's not just about how much you make, but rather how much do you spend! Every time you save a dollar, you've essentially given yourself a dollar increase in income. Saving money = making money!

Most of us can save a lot of money without sacrificing anything, by simply altering our purchase habits. For example: If you buy 2 sodas per day, out of a vending machine at work, it can easily cost you $2 a day. That's $10 a week just for 10 bottles of soft drink. Yet, I can buy 3 to 4 twelve packs (depending on the sale price), for that same $10. Even if you split the difference between 3 and 4, say 3 ½ , thats 42 cans of soda. So now, for the same $10, you can get 4 times the product. By taking that one simple step, you just gave yourself an additional $30 per month without sacrificing a single thing. Now with that in mind, take a good look at how and where your money is going. Before you know it, that $30 grows and suddenly you've got way more headroom in your budget than you ever thought possible, without a single dollar in additional income. It's fair to say that for the majority of us, we are spending a minimum of 15 to 20% (and more in some cases), of our disposable income in a completely inefficient manner. And the worst part of it is, we can literally pocket that 10 to 15%, or more without giving up anything. That money is being spent on nothing more than convenience. A little bit of convenience can end up costing a small fortune, especially over time! Try breaking down your expenditures on a daily, weekly and yearly basis. I bet you will literally find thousands of dollars (over a years period), you never knew you had! Without sacrificing anything! Try changing a few things and you might even find more money yet!

Our society, which has the largest GDP in the world, is built on a consumer driven economy. Everywhere we go, everywhere we look, everyone of us is being constantly programmed into believing we must have it all right now. And it doesn't matter if you got the money to pay for it today or not. Don't sweat a thing, just use a credit card, or no payment no interest (same as cash) till 2008 etc.. The biggest problem facing the vast majority of americans is money, period. It's the number one reason people argue, get divorced and are stressed out of their minds. All because we can't seem to practice delayed gratification in regards to anything. Learning to live within your means (whatever they may be), is your ticket to living your life, as opposed to your life living you. Truth is, other than the basic needs we all have, are lives wouldn't change even a little bit, if we sacrificed having all the other things right now. Buy what you need now, buy what you want later, when it's practical or when it is truly affordable. It's your money, it's up to you when and how it gets spent.

Take charge of your life, before your life takes even more charge of you.