photo by Paulus Maximus!

There has been an old saying “doing two bad things doesn’t equal a good thing”, in other words, if you would want to get rid of your debt, then pay for it through a positive source. Opening up another debt just to pay for the previous one is NOT the answer. And once you have done that, it’s like digging your own grave. You go deeper and deeper into debt and it is harder for you to get out.

It’s also the same as paying for your credit card bills with another credit card, and this is much more dangerous as the interests escalates and compounds and you’ll be burning your pockets before you know it. This sort of practice is definitely WRONG but some people think that it’s just fine.

As what I have read in an article entitled “Your Brain is Your Own Worst Enemy” from Engineer Your Finances, it shows more examples of debts and marketing systems that are used in trapping us into this kind of thinking.

Now it is really important to know what we need and want, being able to classify the differences could definitely help in minimizing our purchases. Next is to start paying off for the debt, even though it is slowly. The important thing is you could eliminate it little by little and not add to it. Mind setting is very important here and having the discipline and patience to keep it constant is needed.

If the hole that you are in is really deep, the only way to get out is to ask a friend. You could ask a close friend to help you watch your spending and even help you overcome your debt. Being honest with yourself and admitting that debt is a burden would change the way you look at your financial state.

It’s not easy, but starting as soon as possible is a good first step. It’s up to you to constantly continue on dissolving your debt until it’s gone.

So if you’ve got something useful from this information, I do hope you could write your comments and suggestions down and post them here. It could really help others know how debt could be a burden if you use it the wrong way.

With the current technology that we have, it is good to utilize them as they make life easier for us. But when the time comes that it malfunctions (come on, technology has its bugs), just remember that you always should have a back-up plan, or in short – push the red button on emergency exit.

Here’s a real-life story of how a stay at home mom managed to save $576 in NSF fees. I’m glad that she was able to incredibly cancel all of the automated payments for 16 bills. Now that’s a lot of transactions and to remember lots of logins and passwords, dealing with technical difficulties and try back later messages, she was still able to save the day. Wow, you deserve a pat on your back for doing a terrific job on saving your budget from the penalties.

Moral of the story: I think that this is a very good example that we should not depend on technology and especially put all of our transactions automated. Who knows when there would be a sudden general power surge or even a black out. Though it is good to make a few transactions automatically get paid, you must always have a backup amount of money in your account.

Especially if you have it fixed every month, it would be wise to have an untouched balance to assure you that your bills get paid on time even though your paycheck gets delayed.

What about you? Got any interesting stories to say? Comments and suggestions are also welcome.

After reading through Nicole’s post “Prepare Your Finances For Vacation” at Rainy Day Saver, it gave me a good idea on being prepared with our finances. Most of the time we are compelled to travel and just get away from it all, but the moment that we return, we face headaches and forgotten bills that had already accumulated unwanted interest.

Though it is true that we do need to refresh ourselves and have a free-our-mind reboot from reality, planning our pre-trip finances should be on top of our list. If you know that you would not be back on time to pay for your bills, you could pay for them in advance if possible, or arrange for them to be paid by check. You could also check the resort or travel destination to see if they provide an internet connection, if they do you could also pay your bills online provided that the company has an online entity.

When you have checked your list of bills of which ones needs to be paid first and you are most certainly sure that you would not face any problems when you come back, then it’s time to move on to your traveling budget. Having an allotted amount of cash for spending is good and makes sure that your monthly budget is not affected. And if you also have a traveling fund saved, then you are ready and setup to go for a great time.

Once you have completed your preparations, all you need now to do is go ahead and enjoy yourself. Remember that all work without play, makes a person dull. So have a break and happy spending.