Fact: We are a nation heading into severe financial hardship, some of you reading this may feel like you are already there.

Fact: We are also a nation of spenders, not savers.

Fact: We want everything today and are not prepared to save up for it; instead we would rather just put it onto our every growing credit card debt.

Fact: Most of us aren’t even able to pay the credit card off every month and can barely make the minimum monthly payment. I would also hazard a guess that many are using funds from one credit card to pay for the minimum monthly of another.

Fact: This obsessive compulsive spending is causing major financial stress for individuals and families and is seeing a rise in not only health issues, but in divorce for families today.

Fact: There should be a balance in a person’s life, but the reality today is this over spending on credit cards, out of control mortgage repayments and the increase in household debt is causing a lot of stress for families.

Think about this for a moment, if you are looking at a credit card balance of $5,000 (which seems to be the average these days) that has an interest rate of say18% and you are paying just the minimum payment per month, it would take over 20 years to pay down this debt. So that $40 dinner you just went out and enjoyed the other night will now cost you over $200 for privilege of using your credit card!

80% of us are doing things out of habit and do not really know how money works. We have to get back to basics again and learn to work your money to your advantage, not the banks or financial institutions.

There is a light at the end of this gloomy debt tunnel and it requires you to use a little common sense and discipline

These 6 simple tips that I am going to share with you are what you already know, but may not be applying them into your daily method of money management.

So let’s get into it……..

1. Write down everything you spend throughout the week. This way you will actually see what you are spending and you may find that you are buying items that you don’t really need or want. (email me for a great budget tool to help you do this accurately).
2. Learn how you can live on CASH through a planned spending system. Many people think that having a bunch of credit cards in their wallet means they have money to spend, when in fact they don’t they just have a lot of debt. Having cash in your wallet means you can negotiate better deals on certain items and retailers will gladly accept cash over credit any time.
3. Learn how paying your bills via an automation process will save you 1,000’s of dollars. This will prioritise and rank the most efficient ways your debts are to be paid off, saving you the maximum amount of interest that will lead you to building wealth and equity in your name and not your bank or financial institution’s.
4. The 10% rule. Save 10% of everything you earn. This known gem has been around for centuries and in fact, I remember my Grandmother sharing this money tip with me when I first started working. She said putting 10% away every pay packet will mean that you will always have money for “just in case”. I would go further on this wonderful piece of advice and say that there is something in the sub-conscious mind that when you have money stashed away for a “rainy day” you end up feeling like you are in abundance and somehow the universe just keeps giving you more. Putting away 10% for even the smallest amounts doesn’t take long to build a healthy wad of cash. (Email me for this FREE fantastic book “The richest man in Babylon” where this and several other simple wealth tips are revealed).
5. Live within your means and don’t try and keep up with the Jones’s as they say, because at the end of the day following these tips will allow you to own your own home sooner and you may find that you can then afford to buy theirs!
6. Start tapping into a financial education and knowledge program or utilise a financial coach that will keep you on track and help you achieve a stress free financial life.

By following these simple tips it forces you into good habits and teaches you better money management, resulting in less stress and a happy family.

Want to know more? Why not drop Karen a line at Karen@wealthcreation888.com.au and find out how you too can start to beat debt today!

Get the balance back in your life and you will have more fun, more enjoyment with family and friends and your business and/or work will become easier, because you now have past expenditures under control using these 6 simple principals.