It is vital to get rid of debt while things are going well. Just the opposite is usually the
case. Human nature is such that when we
find ourselves living in good times, we let
down our defenses. We make our worst
decisions when our lives seem to be going
great.

It is not hard to understand why this
happens. We believe things will always be
better in the future. When Im done with
school. When I get a better paying job. Im
sure I will get that promotion.

With this type of attitude that extra lump
sum of money that comes your way or the
raise at work is used as a springboard to
increase your personal debt. After all you
can now afford bigger this, better that.
You assume in your linear view of life
that tomorrow will take care of everything.
You dont become concerned with your
debt load until you are no longer able to
make the payments.

When you begin to feel the squeeze of
debt you want some quick fix to get you
out of trouble. Unfortunately there are no
quick fixes for debt that will leave you (or
your credit report) unscarred.

But why should it be any different than
other areas of your life? If you know a
food will give you heartburn you take a
pill and ,presto you are able to eat any
thing you like. If you cant find time to
exercise, just take a pill and watch those
pounds melt away.

The economy is built on the same I want
it now principle. If you want an item you
just whip out the plastic. You just had to
have it now. You will figure out later how
to pay for it. When you have used your
plastic too much, you want out of debt in
an easy way. You begin looking for the
magic pill. Unfortunately this is where it
comes to a screeching halt.

A woman, who I know casually, had no
problem with taking on more debt because
she saw herself able to handle the extra
payments. She reasoned, if everything
remained the same she could handle the
drain on her income. So she bought some
expensive gift items on her cards and
began making the monthly payments.

However things never remain the same and
she found out rather quickly, she could not
see into the future very well. Her car gave
out on her. The repairs exceeded the value
of the car. She needed one for work, so
she bought another one.

The new payment wiped out the tiny
cushion she had each month and also made
it impossible to pay on her credit cards and
store accounts. Today she finds herself
hounded by her creditors and unable to
pay them anything.

What she should have done, and what you
should do, is pay off your debt while you
can and not take on any more. Whatever
extra you have each month should be
applied towards getting out of debt in a
systematic way. Until you are debt free
you should order your life to make it a top
priority.

Lifes pressures are more easily handled
without money worries dogging you. Then
when those big promotions, with those big
raises come along, you will be trained to
put some aside. And without debt to take
care of, you can. The goods times then,
truly will be the good times.

Copyright 2004 www.debtattack.com