What Benefits You Get By Living Below Your Means

If you think living below your means is only for low income, let me tell you are wrong

There are so many people with high income who are living below their means not because they are stingy

They have a deep reasons behind that, they believe in building wealth and not debt

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Living beyond your means requires few sacrifices at the start

But when you get used to that, it can become your norm

I will list below the benefits you get if you live below your means so I will begin with

Living below your means leads to being debt free

Living below your means results in being debt free

I can never think of someone who is living below his means and accumulating debt

This only happens if you decide to live below your means

After losing control of your financial position and you decided to get rid of your debt

It is always the other way around

You take a decision to live beyond your means and that leads to always look for the basic necessary needs

No luxury cars just workable ones, no big purchases but only reasonable ones

You experience less anxiety and stress

I mentioned before I experienced insomnia when I started saving money

I had few dollars in my account and I was worried about not being able to make it

The only way to relieve you from anxiety and stress is to avoid buying new things that put you in debt

By the way, you buy big purchases either on credit card or line of credit

It can be installment with the vendor or you pay it from your saving – the latter is the wisest option

Ignoring what others say about you

I love Dave Ramsey’s quote that says

Although he exaggerated when he said impress people we don’t like but I agree with him on the first part

Yes we buy things we don’t need

That is usually because we saw it at someone’s house or a friend or family told us about it

Also with money we don’t have is true as you can walk in a car dealership to buy a brand new car with 4-5 years credit and finish the process in less than 10 minutes

You spend 10 minutes but you suffer 5 years

Maybe you end up selling the car which will not cover the credit amount, you end up paying debt

Living below your means gives you self confidence to overcome what relatives and friends think about you

At least you are living your live the way you want it

You start building wealth

I had to list this point after ignoring what others have to say about you

Can you imagine how great you have done by living beyond your means?

First thing, you will start thinking about future and retirement, saving money and building wealth

If you follow the above quote from Dave Ramsey

Then you will find that you have set yourself apart from your surroundings

You are living debt free and saving for retirement while others struggling in debt

But showing that they are living a luxurious life

You get better credit score

If you are living below your means, you actually don’t care about credit score

You don’t need credit score to apply for a loan or a credit card

Let me tell you this, live below your means and credit score will improve tremendously as you are listed as someone who has no debt

How to start living below your means

There are certain steps to follow to live below your means

But before you start make sure you are going through some sacrifices

It is not hard as you can practice step by step living beyond your means

You can start by believing that driving a used car and ignoring what people say

Excusing extra hang out if it is out of your budget with your friends and family

I know they can give you hard time but don’t make excuses, be transparent and tell them upfront that you only hang out once a week or whatever you decide

Anyway follow the steps below to live beyond your means

Pay yourself first

This terms means to deduct on every paycheck a specific amount or percentage to your saving to build your retirement plan or kids education

Build your budget

The only way to manage and understand where every dollar of your income goes is by building a family budget

You will understand where you spend your income

Also you will be able to see which expenses you can cut or reduce

Hold on for 30 days

Before splurging on luxurious item, hold yourself on for 30 days

If you still feel like you want to buy it then go ahead

The idea behind the 30 days lies in waiting this long period will kill your desire to own this item

Consider used over new items

It becomes very natural to look for used items instead of buying something new

You start with buying used cars

If you need to buy furniture, shop around and look for places that sell used items like Facebook Marketplace

Donate to charities

You have to put yourself in place for those who are needy

If you live your life without helping poor people then you will never be able to experience austerity

Nobody can ever express the feeling you get when you help the poor

It is something you have to experience yourself