Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash
Living the dream might actually be your worst nightmare. The American Dream of many of you young couples is having a house, two cars, two children, and lots of the latest and greatest products. Many of you are trying to achieve this within the first couple of years of your marriage. You are perhaps trying to have your parents’ lifestyles. You forget your parents most likely achieved this lifestyle after years of marriage. Perhaps, you are trying to live like the Joneses.
Don’t you realize that the Joneses are broke and are living in debt? The grass might look greener at the Joneses, but you don’t see their financial picture. What if all they have has been purchased on credit? What if they are borrowing money from one credit card to pay another? Maybe they’re taking out payday loans or title loans. Perhaps they’ve borrowed money from family and friends. You don’t know what is going on in their home just as they don’t know what is going on in your home.
Before you continue to covet what they have, get your own home in order. Stop trying to live like your parents or the Joneses. Begin to tithe. Look at what you owe. Start living below your means. Start saving; start attacking your debt. Before you know it your work years are over and you’ll need to retire. You want to retire without debt. The only way to that is to start right now, right where you are. Remember that no one, aside from God, cares about your family and your finances more than you.
Stop acting like a financial infant and become a wise financial adult. Only you can make the change. There is no one else who is going to pay your debts.
