Are you spending money because you’re unhappy at work, or are you unhappy at work because your paycheck doesn’t pay the bills?
Working to fill a financial hole is tremendously de-motivating, particularly if the hole keeps getting bigger. North America is consumed by credit, putting everything from furniture to groceries on plastic. Bank accounts are perpetually in the red—even after payday! Perhaps this is why so many people seem to have given up the debt fight. They think: I hate my job; I hate my life; I’m in debt up the wazoo, so I might as well take this cruise.
The problem is, when the holiday’s over and the bills are piled up on the rent-to-own table, the reality of being in the grip of uncontrolled debt creeps back in. Eventually, bankruptcy and foreclosure are words that come knocking on your mortgaged door. Are you spending money because you’re unhappy at work, or are you unhappy at work because your paycheck doesn’t pay the bills?
Here are ten tips to taking control of your debt, your job, and your life.
The time for denial has passed. To find out where your stress is coming from, you need to find the courage to examine the numbers.
Start by finding out how much you owe. This includes credit cards, lines of credit, overdraft accounts, buy-now-pay-later cards, cash-advances and payday loans. Use an online compound interest calculator to find out how much each debt will cost you by the time it’s paid.
Renegotiate: see if you can get your lenders to reduce the amount you have to pay. If they won’t do this, maybe they’ll lower your interest rate.
Consolidate: wrap up all your remaining debts into one. Benefits to this could be lower payments and interest rates. It’s vital, though, that if you go this route, you live strictly on cash and don’t rack up any more debt, because frequent consolidations can kill you financially.
Transfer balances. If you don’t qualify for a consolidation loan, you may be able to do some balance-transfers. This means putting the debt with the highest interest rates onto the credit sources with the lower interest rates.
Your money should be balanced across several areas of your life. This includes housing, transportation, clothing, groceries, entertainment, health & fitness, and debt reduction. If you spend more than you earn, then you’re going further into debt. If you can’t get your budget to balance, then perhaps your cost of living is too high. You may have to cut out some of the non-essentials until you have your debt under control, or find other ways go gain more income. Gail Vaz-Oxlade has some helpful hints on how to create a balanced budget in her book Debt- Free Forever.
Everything you spend must come from paper bills—not charged on plastic. This means food, clothing, gas, mortgage/rent, utilities and vacations. This also includes your debt payments. You must be able to pay your debt instalments with money you’re earning. Paying credit off with more credit just gets you deeper in the hole.
Now that you’ve balanced your budget, and your paycheck covers your bills, how are you finding work? Do you still roll out of bed in the morning and hate what you’re doing, or are things looking brighter behind that desk? If you still hate your job, maybe it’s time to look for something else. In a world of retail-therapy, stress at work can translate very easily to debt-stress.
According to David Bach, author of Go Green, Live Rich, living an eco-friendly life is a great way to help you save money. Using less energy, including electricity and gas, lowers your monthly bills and helps the environment. Planting your own produce in a backyard garden cuts your grocery bill dramatically, and saves on gas going to and from the store. The three Rs: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling ensure that you spend less money and buy less stuff.
Have you ever noticed that the more expensive a gadget is, the more attention it requires? Are you spending more time with your stuff than you are with your family? Look for free sources of entertainment in your area. It will help you save money, and put a smile on your face.
Did you know that the New York Times cites financial problems as the best predictor of divorce?
Talk to your spouse about how you’re feeling at work, at home, and about the debt you’re carrying as a couple. Focus on the problems at hand, and try not to place blame. When tackling financial stress, it’s amazing how much more effective a united team can be!
Goals and dreams are very motivating. They can help keep you on track for saving and tackling that debt. Dare to think outside the box, and plan for something big.
Discover what motivates you, and make it happen.
And the final thing you can do to decrease your debt and improve your life:
A friend of mine once said, “Imagine that all the people in the world packed their lives into a suitcase and piled them in the desert, and they were told they could choose any suitcase they wanted. You know what? Everyone would choose their own suitcase.”
Everyone has stress and everyone has joys. Work on the problems, but focus on the joys.
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