FOR a lot of people, financial concerns can be their number one cause of stress. We are living in difficult financial times and a lot of people are worried about how they can get by from month to month. But worrying doesn’t really solve anything. If you feel that your finances are out of whack, it’s time to take charge and to hold yourself accountable for the results. Sure, there are certain things that are beyond your control. But unless you take responsibility for where you are, you will remain powerless to change anything in your life.
Here are two steps that may help you reduce your money stress:
(1) Be prepared: You can’t spend more than you earn and then complain how unfair it is that there is never enough no matter how hard you work. Keep in mind that life happens to all of us and financial challenges will always come, sometimes when you least expect them. I think the key to surviving the tough financial times is to always be prepared for them.
As I tell my clients all the time, it is not a matter of “if”; it’s a matter of “when” the financial storms will come. Let me ask you this: How prepared are you financially should there be even just a temporary disruption in your income? I understand how hard it may be for you to save money when you don’t even have enough money to pay your bills. Maybe you can’t even make the minimum payments on your credit cards, let alone put aside a couple of hundred dollars a month in savings.
I see a lot of people who have monthly automatic savings deductions from their paycheck that go into a designated bank account. However, before next paycheck, they withdraw the money from their savings account anyway because they are always short and they wouldn’t have enough to cover all their bills. So although they are doing their best to save, the automatic paycheck deduction becomes a futile exercise.
(2) Think before you act: The decisions you make today can impact your life not only in the months to come but possibly in the years to come. When my wife and I got married 23 years ago, we didn’t have any money to buy furniture for our apartment so we ended buying a lot of what we needed on credit. About 5 years later, long after the furniture was all worn out and we had to donate them to the Salvation Army, we were still paying the money that we borrowed. The balances were barely going down with the outrageous interest rates that the creditors were charging. That experience taught us to be more careful with how we spend our money.
Before spending your hard-earned money on anything, or before you buy anything on credit, ask yourself these questions: Do I really need it? How much am I willing to sacrifice in order to make this purchase and what will be the impact on my overall financial health? See, a lot of people spend their money mindlessly without thinking of the long-term consequences of their actions. If you make the wrong move, you and your family can suffer in ways that you can’t imagine. Don’t set yourself up for a lifetime of financial hardship by making rash decisions that can only put you in a deeper financial hole that you’re already in.
If you’re struggling with debt problems and would like to figure out all available options to get your finances back in order, let me help you. Call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a consultation with me. We have offices in Glendale, Cerritos, West Covina and Valencia.
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None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 4,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772.