A few years ago, I remember quite vividly looking through my checking account and bill statements and feeling overcome with nausea. The numbers just weren’t adding up. The credit card balances, while not maxed out, were slowly growing each month. I was clearly living beyond my means. It’s an easy trap to fall into, particularly when you live in an expensive city like Los Angeles. My lifestyle inflated to match my growing income, sometimes surpassing that income ever so slightly. I knew I had to do something about it immediately; this couldn’t wait.
In fact, many people I speak with don’t seem very certain about where their monthly paychecks actually go. They know the money disappears, but aren’t really aware how it is spent. This lack of awareness all too often results in the accumulation of debt. And that debt keeps growing until a crisis hits. Maybe it’s reaching the limits of their credit cards and getting rejected for a higher limit. Or, getting slammed with some unforeseen financial emergency that they can’t afford. But, sooner or later, a spending crisis will happen. Continue reading