This simple, powerful, and often disregarded rule is something that I have adopted in my life.
It has become my underlying financial thought process as I navigate a world in which nearly everyone has become an unthinking consumerism zombie. They moan not "braaains" but "stuuuff" as they feast upon the trap of advertising.
In a world in which the everyday person is being squeezed between barely increasing wages and ever-increasing costs, we need to be even more vigilant to avoid the never-ending cycle of debt. From the ease of Amazon to car dealers to banksters, there is an endless amount of ways to be separated from your hard-earned money.
Don't despair. There is a safe path to follow.
You only need to step off the treadmill of debt and consumption to get your financial house in order. In effect, giving yourself a raise.
Yes, a raise. By avoiding mindless consumerism and reducing expenses you will have more money than before. To me, that is a raise.
It is not even much of a 'hardship' to do in a world overfilled with material wealth. For some reason, quite a few people think that cutting back a purchasing habit is akin to a standard of living from the mid-1800's.
Far from it.
With people routinely 'upgrading' to a newer thing, a person with a frugal mindset has a near unlimited selection of barely used products to choose from. It is not difficult to make big cuts in your spending that result in small, often unnoticed, changes in your life.
While the changes might feel small, they are often magnified in other areas. Freed of the vast majority of debt and financial troubles, a person that used to worry about the future no longer has to concern themselves with such things as they have much more money than bills.
I am proof of such things.
In just three years I have gone from in debt in multiple areas, to only having a small mortgage. Not only that, I have saved over $100,000 for retirement. Together, I have gone from a net worth of $86,000 to over $250,000 in that same time.
All done while supporting a family on my one income that averaged $64,500 per year over that time.
So don't let the naysayers fool you, it can be done. Quite easily if you jump into the mindset in full force.
You can live well on less than you think, and use that increased income to secure your future.
