“Luggage forward NOW!!” the pilot screamed from the front as the plane bounced down the runway struggling to get into the air. The end of the runway and disaster were quickly approaching. Stewards ran to the back of the small plane and began tossing luggage bags into the aisle while passengers quickly passed them forward. The tail became lighter. The bouncing plane leveled off and lifted smoothly into the air. The wheels tapped the top of a tree and the plane was flying!
Most single parents are barely scraping by. We use credit cards, car loans, rent to own or pawn shops to try to manage day by day. This means we pay big interest to banks, credit card companies and payday loan companies. We are trapped living day by day or week by week. Our debt luggage is all in the tail of our financial plane. We are flying toward disaster.
Money is about our attitudes, and personal character choices as much as how much is coming in and going out. There are choices, and some are better than others.
Lets get real. When we pay interest, we are giving our hard-earned energy, time, and effort to others. They are giving us the gift of time, but the cost is high. Many credit cards charge 25% per year. The more we use these systems the more we are paying. If we are living from day to day, we are giving our money away! These are funds that could put food on the table, gas in the car, or cloths on our kids.
How do we shift our luggage? Learn to save in advance for as much as we can. It’s about changing the balance of our spending from debt to savings. It is starting to use TIME to our advantage. Being paid for our money rather than paying others for theirs.
In 2021 25% of families did not have any emergency savings at all. Unless we use our own money for expenses we are slaves paying others to live. We can move debt luggage by beginning to save some money to use in the short-term future. The first step in breaking free is to learn to save $100 for emergencies. I suggest using cash for this step. Begin by saving just $10 at a time. The key is not the amount at first but the self-discipline of saving money every week. After you reach $100, save the funds for at least one month and keep adding to it. Use the $100 for something that you would have used a credit card to purchase. Save the next $100! Continue to save larger amounts each month. Continue to replace debt with your own savings. Each time you do this you are earning the cost of the debt – 25%. The more you save the more you are free!
It is possible to pay for a car and continue to make payments to save the funds to pay for the next vehicle. It is possible to purchase a car from the funds you have on hand. Live without debt! It is possible to move the luggage to the front and fly free!
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