How to Survive With What You Already Have

Jennie has a good thread going over at her blog, and I just had to add to it.

A lot of our culture today is based on "have it now". We definitely have entitlement issues. After several years of marriage, many of us have the same lifestyles of our parents, often with bigger homes, newer cars, and more fashionable clothing. The trouble is, they can afford their lifestyle after 20+ years of working hard for it, and we can not. So we go deeply into debt for it. Add to that the fact that we have to "keep up with the Joneses", and you have a surefire recipe for disaster.

So were does all that lead? It leads to fear, arguments with your spouse, and a general discontentment with the things we have. Isn't it time we stop this insanity? But how can we do that, you may wonder?

First, make it a point to communicate with your spouse about money issues. Paul and I had a hard time with this at first. I had been taking care of the money for so long, I was a little scared to tell him exactly how much we had (didn't have was more like it) and how much we owed. But it wasn't that bad once we actually had the talk. It seems he was thinking things were much worse that they were.

Second, sit down together and spend EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR on paper before the month begins. You know how much you make, you know how much you spend on your "necessities", and you should have at least an idea how much you spend on food and gas. When we did this, we noticed that we spent a ridiculous amount of money on paying back our creditors. It was almost a third of our take home pay, actually. Once you have this taken care of, you can see where you can trim your budget. We chose to suspend our DirecTV service for 6 months to add that $65 to our payoff plan. We also use cash now for food, gas, and clothing purchases. According to Dave Ramsey's research, people spend between 12% and 18% more when using a card of ANY type for these purchases, and I would have to agree.

Finally, learn to tell yourself NO. This is where the contentment comes in. If you really look around your house, how many things do you have that you truly love? Probably not as many as you would think. I can look around and see many things I would love to get rid of. Have a yard sale with all of the junk you don't love. Then, you have to be able to say no the next time there is something you just have to have. NO IMPULSE PURCHASES. If you want something bad enough, it will still be there tomorrow.

For more information on how to take control of your finances and become content with what you have, click on the "Family Tree" banner at the top of my page. It will take you to Dave Ramsey's site. I think you can learn a lot there.