Thursday, April 10, 2008

Debt Mind Trap #2: You think you deserve it.


After a long week of work, you’ve decided to stop by the mall for some “window shopping.” While you’re there, you see a pair of shoes that you think would look great on you. You decide to buy them as a reward for your long week at work. After all, you deserve it, right? WRONG.

We all like to treat ourselves from time to time, but it’s not a treat if you’ve got to put it on a credit card. Those amazing shoes may seem like a reward now, but in the long run they are more of a punishment. The temporary joy of having something new will pale in comparison to the long, drawn out struggle you’ll have with your bills later.

How do we avoid DMT #2? We must learn to deny ourselves from time to time. Somehow, our culture of consumption has convinced us that we deserve, maybe even have a right, to have nice things. We’ve forgotten that sometimes, life is tough and we have to “do without.” Remember, a new pair of shoes might seem nice now, but being debt free is even nicer!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree - I am sure that being debt free will definately be a lot nicer. There are lot of great things we can do for free.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, being debt free is the best! In the past, I too often though, "I deserve it!" And then I got what I deserverd, paying and paying and paying for something instead of waiting until I could pay cash! Lesson learned the hard way!