Jim Anderson

How To Make The Choice To Live Without Debt



Posted: Sunday, September 20, 2009

by Jim Anderson
Weddings That Last

The debt problem in our society has its roots in a faulty worldview about money. Most of us accept what we are taught about money without question. The ideas are passed down from generation to generation, and with each generation it is slightly modified to become more tolerant of debt. As humans we have a tendency to make poor choices about money. Those of us who knew our grandparents who lived through the Great Depression, we learned from them about the terrible dangers of debt. Our parents were not so alarmed at taking on debt, but were careful. We see how our parents seemed to do okay, so we believe that debt isn't really that bad if you are "responsible" with it. So we become even more tolerant of debt and take more of it on than our parents did.

We have come to a point in our society that we believe that we'll always have a mortgage payment and maybe even a car payment. Only the most conservative seek to pay off their car, but everyone has a mortgage. Conventional wisdom guides us to believe that paying off your mortgage is ill advised. So if you become someone that believes in living debt free, there is tremendous peer pressure to reconsider paying off your mortgage. It is seen as "good debt", as if there was such a thing. All debt is bad because it puts you in a servant position to the bank. Make your payments on time no matter what happens, or else you'll pay consequences. An ancient proverb says, "The borrower is the lender's slave."

So to make the choice to live without debt is difficult for most people. They usually temper the idea with the idea of living with less debt. After all, they believe, you can't totally avoid debt in our society. It is woven into the DNA of our society. That is true; our monetary system is quite simply a debt system. Our money is a "promissory note", a promise to pay. However, that doesn't mean we are doomed to being in debt for life.

Ninety percent of the problem lies in our own behavior around money. Even when we try to stay out of debt, somehow life happens and we find ourselves in debt again and we don't know how that happens. We often blame it on something outside of our control. While all the time our faulty beliefs about money are driving our behavior and trapping us in debt. The real hurdle here is our worldview about the realities of money and debt. Even though most everyone in society holds the common worldview, it has been proven wrong repeatedly throughout history.

So the real secret of getting out of debt and staying out of debt lies in changing your beliefs. It is only by changing your worldview about money and debt that will change your behavior. You can't do it with self-discipline and willpower, which is how we always fail. You have to fundamentally see money and debt differently. Before you can become debt free, you have to decide to learn the truth about money and debt.

To learn the truth about something you have to go to a reliable source for the truth. Despite what you might think, banks and the government are not reliable sources for the truth about this. They are the ones that have propagated the faulty ideas we now subscribe to. It serves them for us to spend regardless of whether or not we can afford it. The best place to find the truth is in the ancient wisdom that has proven itself through the ages. In the ancient book of Proverbs, and in the entire Old and New Testaments, there is a gold mine of wisdom about money and debt. If you can understand these teachings, it helps explain a lot about what is happening in society today and in your own life in terms of money and debt. If you read these truths and take them to heart, they will change your life. When you see the truth, a change in your behavior will follow. You won't struggle so much with it anymore, and you'll even be able to see money problems come before they happen. You'll be able to anticipate the problems that will affect you from the poor fiduciary decisions by our political and business leaders. So the secret to making a successful choice to live without debt is based in changing your worldview about money and debt.

For more discussion to,How To Live Debt Free see my website.
Jim is a personal financial authority and author, an ordained minister, and an independent music artist. He has a Bachelor of Business in Finance, and a Masters of Religious Studies, graduating with honors. Jim has built multiple businesses since 1990. He now owns a financial services business and does premarital counseling and customized wedding ceremonies. For more information see his website www.weddingsthatlast.com

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