E-bokonsdag: A story of debt

Bild: Images_of_Money

Så här i snåltider kan det vara inspirerande att läsa om hur andra personer löser sina ekonomiska problem.  Bloggen A story of debt handlar om Ashley Riordan, student i Kalifornien, och hennes kamp för att betala av sina kreditkortsskulder på $20,500. I bloggen kan man läsa om allt i från hur hon fick insikten att det var dags att agera, om hennes strategier och vad hon lärde sig av hela historien.

I was always very responsible with my money growing up and all the way through college, but I started accumulating credit card debt the minute I started graduate school.  I was in over my head trying to support myself here in California while living the life of a grad student.  Most of my debt was living expenses from the previous four years, but once I was in debt, I started making stupid decisions and using credit like it was cash.

Det som inspirerade mig var bland annat att hon såg det som en utmaning, men ändå en kul och spännande utmaning:

10. Accept the Challenge. I don’t know quite how to explain this other than to say that getting out of debt can be surprsingly fun.  For so long, money was a dread-filled subject for me.  I would feel the dread in my stomach every time I thought about my debt, so I took to not thinking about it.  But, it should come as no surprise to anyone that succeeding at something is exciting and succeeding at getting out of debt, once you get serious about it, really isn’t that hard.  Your hard work is worth it the moment you see your credit card balances going down.

Jag håller även med henne helt vad gäller att hålla sig borta från frestelser, undvika butiker och hitta billigare nöjen:

3. Don’t Think of What You’re Missing, Because You’re Not Missing Anything. I’ve never been good at window shopping, so it’s best for me to just completely avoid temptation.  It’s really easy to fall into the mind trap of if I’m not spending, then I’m not living.  Spending money is fun, so it seems to follow that not spending money is no fun.  If you think too much about the pretty, shiny things passing you by and the money you’re not spending on that perfect hair cut and the fancy drinks you’re not having out with friends, then it does feel like you’re depriving yourself, but it’s surprising how many of those things you don’t miss and how much cheaper it is to drink at home (still with friends).  I’m going to enjoy nice things when I can afford them, but in the meantime, I don’t pine for nail polish colors I don’t know exist or makeup I haven’t seen in person.  It’s like a sugar addiction where the longer you’re away, the easy it is to stay away and the less you feel like you’re missing out.  If something is truly worth it, I’ll make an exception, but most of it is not worth it.

Vill du läsa historien i ett enklare format kan du göra det här:

PDF (gratis)
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Nook ($.99*)
Kindle ($.99*)