When a person thinks of living debt free, what they usually think of is the process of eliminating the balance on their credit cards. That’s certainly an important part of what it means to be “debt free,” and with a little planning and some good solid financial advice, we can all get there. However, there’s more to living debt free than just paying off the credit cards. It’s more of a philosophy of lifestyle and a series of beliefs that you need to bring into the core of your being.
The reality is that even if you pay the credit card off, if you’re still feeling as though you need to run it back up again in order to fulfill a need inside of you, you’ll end up still feeling as though you’re “owned by stuff.” That feeling? It’s almost the same feeling as being in debt. Think about the way that being in debt makes you feel: Stressed, owned by a force greater than your own choices, dependent on finding ways to combat the “stuff situation.” That’s the same way you’ll feel if you get the credit cards paid off but don’t change the mindset that originally got you into debt to begin with.
Think of it this way: Even if you pay the credit cards off, if you’re sad every day that you’re not out there buying stuff to run them back up again, then you haven’t improved the quality of your life. You’ve only improved the quality of your finances. However, the end goal really needs to be about finding a way to make your life something that satisfies you. Living every day wishing that you were running the plastic through the scanner at your local department store is not a way to live a happy life, even if it’s a happy life without a minimum monthly payment each month!
