How to Live Absolutely Debt-Free

Reader Comments
Back to blog

+1

soundtracks of AL 7:18AM July 17, 2009

The principle is to never spend more than your income. There are many examples today of the super rich that spent more than their income and are now broke or in jail. The idea that if you can make a million dollars a day you will never have any financial problems is a myth if you spend a million and one dollar a day. That leaves you broke and in debt.
That's the theory, but more reality is credit card misuse: Credit cards are convenient substitutes for your check book--but not for loans. If you don't have the money in the bank, don't write the check and don't use the credit card. It's that simple.
But what about a home or auto or college? If your income can afford a $50,000 home, don't sign up for a half million dollar home. Same for autos. A good one or two year old mechanic checked out auto is a far better buy for transportation than a new one. College? If mom & dad aren't affluent, many of the most successful people have worked to pay tuition, even if they had to take longer to graduate.
There is no law that says life has to be easy, but doing what is most likely possible works best for most of us and ends up being more satisfying than trying to live behond our means and hoping for some unlikely windfall to bail us out when we get in debt over our heads.

HillbillyBill of TN 6:55AM June 09, 2009

Many of us years ago also had an aversion to paying personal interest, UNTIL we hit the housing bubble (now bursted or bursting). For a few year there, the game was to borrow as much as possible on a mortgage, because, "Hey, the house is going up in value at a rate greater than the interest payments", and "Hey, houses ALWAYS go up, right?"
Well, times change.

Muser of NM 4:23PM June 08, 2009