Financial freedom starts when you balance your checkbook.
If you want financial freedom, you need to pay off your debts as quickly as you can. This may sound obvious, but if it were so obvious, why are so many of us in debt to begin with?
This means what goes into your checking account must be greater than (or at least equal to) what comes out. If what comes out of your checking account exceeds what goes into it, you’re living with a deficit.
What Is Deficit Financing?
Deficit financing means you buy things on credit, either by using credit cards or by taking out loans. Any way you slice it, you’re taking on more debt.
If you make the minimum monthly payment on a credit card, it could take 30 years to pay off the debt. At the end of all this, you’ll pay much more for the product or service than the original price tag, even though you got more time to pay off the bill.
Deficit financing – spending more than you make – can be a short-term solution in tough times, but in the long-run, it will never bring you the financial freedom you need.
There is no such thing as free money; you either have to borrow it and pay it back with interest, you have to earn it, or you have to make it.
* You earn money by working for somebody else
* You make money by running your own business and providing goods or services that are needed by others
* You borrow it by using credit cards, loans, and lines of credit.
How To Balance Your Checkbook
Balancing your checkbook is all about getting and staying out of debt.
It all begins with tracking every financial transaction: cash, credit, or debit.
* You should keep all of your receipts. This includes whenever you pull out money from an ATM or use your debit card to pay a bill.
* Keep all of your canceled checks in a safe place. At least once a month, check your existing checking account balance according to your calculations against your bank statement. This is much easier to do these days than it used to be thanks to the Internet, so you should be checking fairly frequently.
* List every bank fee in your checkbook register, including overdrafts, returned check fees, or late fees from your creditors. Schedule electronic payments for your bills to eliminate late fees and balance your checkbook regularly to eliminate other bank fees.
Become Money Conscious
Only you have control over becoming debt-free and wealthy.
Learning smart money management tips will put you on the path to financial freedom.
* Make a household budget with all your monthly expenses and compare it to your checkbook and bill schedule.
* Seek advice from trusted experts about ways to cut down your monthly expenses to eliminate the reliance on credit cards and loans.
Your objective is to pay out less from your account than you are putting into it.
If you aren’t doing this, you’ll need to figure out how you can cut expenses as soon as possible to reach financial freedom.
