HOW TO PERMANENTLY STAY OUT OF DEBT
One
of man’s greatest challenges is debt. Some individuals, companies, governments,
and nations have found themselves in a vicious cycle of debts. It’s worse at
the individual level. But the good news is that if you’re one of those
entangled in debt, you can be free from it. If you aren’t caught up, you can
also permanently stay out of it.
However
you look at it, there’s no dignity in being a debtor. When Benjamin Franklin, a
U.S statesman and scientist said that, “He that goes a-borrowing goes
a-sorrowing,” he was demonstrating wisdom that is from above, far more than the
conventional wisdom of men. Conventional wisdom says that debt is what makes
the world go round. This thinking makes individuals, companies, governments and
nations borrow money. Borrowing without paying back is what makes individuals
and corporate bodies debtors.
There
are many reasons why you should stay out of debt. Proverbs 22:7 says that “The rich ruleth over the
poor, and the borrower is servant to the
lender.” Habitual borrowers remain servants for life. Debts rob people of
their self-respect and esteem. When you owe you don’t have a voice. The public
looks at chronic debtors as people who can’t really plan their lives and
finances.
The
only debt that makes sense is the one an experienced entrepreneur or corporate
entity borrows to invest with the intention to make more money. Often such
debts are paid up and on time too.
What
is debt, after all? Encarta defines
it as a state or condition of owing
something to somebody. When people owe,
most often they’re financially in debt.
If you really want to stay out of debt,
you have to do the following.
(1)
You must reject the conventional wisdom
that says that debt makes the world go round. As long as you believe that
debt is a part and parcel of life, that you can’t make it without owing, then
you’ll continue to owe. Our thoughts will always attract to us conditions that
are akin to those thoughts. If you believe in debts as a way for survival, life
will present many opportunities of borrowing to you.
(2)
Discipline yourself to save. The
saving habit or lifestyle is consciously developed. This has nothing to do with
your level of income. Whether your income is fat or small, it takes discipline
to save. In life, know that once in a while, there will be the day of
adversity, period of some setback. It could be sickness, business downturn, job
loss, or whatever. If you deliberately saved, your savings will act as a
cushion for you to survive the period. It is in such difficult times those who
didn’t habitually save run into the problem of borrowing to survive.
(3)
Don’t buy things on credit: Credit
card is the undoing of most people. They buy virtually everything on credit. Particularly,
those who buy on impulse don’t mind using their credit cards always. In a way,
credit cards are the womb debts are formed. Buying on credit is a form of
borrowing. When you use credit card, you’re simply deferring or postponing
payment. To borrow is to receive
money as loan, something you’ll pay back, perhaps with interest. This is how I
explain credit and debt:
CREDIT DEBT
C arrying D eferment
R eal E ventually
E vil B ecomes
D ay T roublesome
I nto
T omorrow.
Credit
may not appear dangerous or injurious now, but its adverse effects are always
very glaring in the future.
(4)
Make purchases with cash or cheques:
Buy things according to your means, the money you have at hand or in the bank.
You always have enough money for what you need,
not what you want. Why I’m sure is because, “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
(5)
If you owe, commit to beginning to pay
the debt: Your debts will never
develop wings and fly away. They’re always there until you do something about
them. You must develop a plan to pay back and start right away to implement
that plan consistently. Bit by bit, you’ll reduce it to a small size that will
surprise you.
If
this piece is useful to you, Like It
and invite your friends to also Like It.
0 comments