Debt is one of those things has become quite ordinary and acceptable in today’s world. Why!?! Why has it become main-stream to continually buy more than you can afford so that you can be forced to work longer and harder in the future to pay it off? I am here to put forth another way to live. I think that leaving behind the credit system could help our entire society.

Buying the next greatest thing certainly is fun, but in the end, is it worth it? I have never met an elderly person who wishes they had had one more TV, or wished they had worked more. This is all that debt does: prolong your working years.

“while you’re working to better their lives, make sure you don’t end up missing them all together.”

Often, parents say that they work so much to give their children more fulfilling lives. Well, while you’re working to better their lives, make sure you don’t end up missing them all together. From my experience, it was always nice to get another toy, but nothing was better than seeing my parents actually at my games, and active in my life. Trust me; a parent being involved in their children’s lives is much more important than what they buy.

I understand that this takes a huge shift in thinking. Our culture today actually treats using credit as a triumph. This is because all of these companies know how much extra money they will make from interest. Don’t let them steal your hard-earned money! Only buy the things you can afford and you will be able to escape the credit trap completely. I know this may be hard, or darn near impossible.

At the very least, use credit responsibly: the more of it that you have, the longer you are trapped into this cycle. Remember this every time you go to swipe a card for something you can’t afford. Wait until you have the money, and if you still want it, by all means buy it if it will bring you more happiness than it costs. Realize that without the huge weight of debt hanging over you, it is so much easier to spend your life fulfilling others!