| The first rule of finance is to live within your
means by spending no more than 80% of your take-home pay. If you take home $100
per week, spend no more than $ 80. But ever look at what people spend their money on? I have relatives and friends deeply in debt, spending $12 for every $10 they earn instead of the $ 8 you know they should be spending. When I see them, they're proud of their new whatever. "What do you think of my new truck?" asked one from the driver's seat. "Do you like my new shoes?" asked another on high heels. "Check out my new big screen," said a third while holding the remote in his living room. We've all heard people fishing for compliments on their new toys. Every one of them was proud of what they'd financed. They seem to have bought it for the purpose of being proud, of showing off, of keeping up with the Joneses. "Look at my new..." is everybody's favorite phrase, even when the object in question isn't theirs at all and won't be new when they've finally paid for it, if they ever do. They're proud of being stupid. They think it's cool to drive the financed car, wear the financed shoes, and watch the financed TV, but to smart people, whose opinions are the only ones we should respect, these people look dumb as rocks. The Joneses, nine times out of 10, are financially stupid. That's why they have all that stuff, on borrowed money, why try to copy them? Worse, why try to impress them? Copy and impress smart people, the ones who own their stuff. If you want to impress smart people, debt is the last way to go about it. Trying to impress a money-smart person by going into debt is like trying to impress Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps by drowning in a pool. Michael Phelps is impressed by good swimming, and a money-smart person by good money management. |