In the beginning of 2016, I found myself in debt again. It was a suffocating feeling because small debts had grown large. It had not grown large enough to warrant selling anything to stay afloat but I knew it could get there. I was looking for a way out of debt and was searching online for ways to deal with it. It was during this search that I found Dave Ramsey and his Baby Steps.
Ramsey suggests that the way to stay out of debt (and this includes using your credit card), is a behavioral change. And the person whose behavior is to be changed is yours and not anyone else’s. Understanding and getting behind this idea is critical to permanent change. Ramsey says that getting out of debt and staying on a written budget gets us to a point where we can harness our greatest wealth building tool – our income – and use the money saved to invest and to give.
While his ideas seems to be tailored for US audiences, I think his message is useful to us in India and to me personally.
Ergo I still have to work hard to keep me from using my credit card, I have tremendously improved in knowing that I own the credit card and it will not own me. Ramsey suggests plastic surgery – cutting up your credit cards with scissors and shutting it down.
If you think you’re at that stage in life where you’re feeling overwhelmed and need space to breathe – watch the Dave Ramsey Show on YouTube if you like to watch stuff or read his book, The Total Money Makeover. It is one of the several ways to get back financial peace.
Parallel Spirals 