You must save yourself before all others.
You will then have the means to save the others. Just like placing the breathing apparatus that drops from the overhead in a plane before helping the person beside you. This also counts in your finances.
If you have any debt at all you shouldn’t be giving money away. This includes giving money to charities, your relatives, your adult children and starving children of the world.
While you are in debt you must learn to say no.
I have witnessed too many of my friends and family members with “adult children” that attempt to take advantage of their parents. They do this for their own monetary gain when the parents themselves are living paycheck to paycheck.
If you are reading this early enough in life and don’t already have “adult children” you may be in luck.
Showing your young children your struggle to get your money issues under control. Taking them along on the journey to be debt free could be the best financial training they ever received.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I think that it is good to be a giving person, just not giving money away while you are in debt to someone else. A better choice for giving would be to give your time.
If someone or some company is willing to lend you money you have an obligation to pay them back as soon as possible.
Yes, I know they said you have 30 years to pay back the money. That doesn’t mean that taking 30 years is in your best interest. You must practice doing what is right for you and paying something off early to save you the interest is right for you. Remember to “Save Yourself”.
If you are debt free and are currently saving towards or have saved enough to meet your future goals, then have at it! Give like it’s Christmas every day. Imagine how much you could give if you didn’t need your income to cover obligations you created years ago.
Before all else, you have what I would consider to be a moral obligation to yourself and those that are in your care. First take care of your “NEED’s”, that precedes any “WANT’s” you may have.
Thanks for reading,
The Retirement Dude
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