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This way of thinking is best summed up by the following comment; I already owe $27500 so whats another $500. It takes my debt to a nice round figure $28000. Thats a dangerous way to think. From bitter personal experience, I know what its like. You try to limit your debt to a certain amount, such as perhaps $10000. But that limit comes and goes. Your debt creeps up above that amount. But youre enjoying yourself, so you carry on spending. You reach $13500, but you dont want to stop, so you readjust your limit, thinking Ill go up to $20000, but Im not going a penny higher. So you carry on spending and your debts hit the $20000 barrierand then go slightly beyond. Then what happens? Correct! You increase your self-imposed limit to the next psychological barrier. Perhaps $22000 this time! And then you carry on spending. Eventually, after many more final limits have come and gone, your debt stands at $27500. And then you see a rather nice 7 day package holiday advertised as a special, once in a lifetime, never to be repeated offer. $500 first come, first served! Your reasoning goes something like this. Thats a great offer. Ive not had a holiday for two years, and I could do with some sun before the winter sets in. Ive already borrowed quite a lot. But its a special offer, and I couldnt normally afford that type of holiday. I know its kind of expensive, but I already owe $27500, so whats another $500. It hardly makes a difference. And Ill worry about paying it back when I get home. Youve reached another of your preset limits. But is doesnt stop there, oh no. After all, what about a new wardrobe of clothes to take on holiday! And you couldnt possibly go away without some spending money. You just wouldnt enjoy yourself otherwise. And so the $28000 mark is broken. Next stop $30000, or will it be $35000? But as I said earlier, every extra dollar that you borrow restricts your freedom even further. Every dollar that you owe will cost perhaps $2 to repay after interest. It could take you half an hour (after tax) to earn that amount. $1 borrowed, half an hour of your precious, non-renewable life. Gone! Never to be replaced! Wasted! Now half an hour may not seem like much. But what if its multiplied by five hundred? Thats 250 hours of your life. Thats almost six full working weeks! And once your debt reaches $28000, what is there to stop you from thinking its only another $2000. It will take my debts to a nice round $30000 when you see a leather sofa/laptop/hi-fi that attracts your attention? Bang goes another 1000 hours of your life. Thats another six months of eight hour shifts to look forward to! When will it end? When your life runs out of time or the bank manager says no more? Round figures arent nice! Especially when it means that your debts are even bigger than before. When you owe money, every penny counts! I cant stress how important this is! This rounding up attitude is very subtle, thats why its so dangerous. It draws you in. And the more you owe, the larger these whats another [insert sum of money] thoughts become. If you owe $9200, whats another $800. That takes you to $10000. But if you already owe $92000, this whats another attitude could cost you $8000. That will take you up to a nice round $100000. Dont mentally round up the amount of your borrowing, in order to justify spending even more. Every dollar you owe = less freedom. by Stuart Laing Copyright (c) Get Out Of Debt |
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