An Overlooked Secret To Getting Permanently Out Of Middle Class Debt

Think About Your Money In A New Way To Get Out of Debt!

You don’t have to wake up at night in a cold sweat, no matter what your financial situation currently is. Even in tough times real change is possible.

You have probably heard this before. Everyone has heard that to get out of debt they need to earn more and spend less, and keep earning more and spending less as a permanent life style.

The first step in really breaking the cycle is to stop blaming yourself and admit that earning more and spending less is much trickier than some experts like to make it sound. If you doubt that it is tricky, ask yourself why is it that millions of people who are making middle class incomes cannot seem to get and stay out of debt? Sure, the recent challenges in our economy are not helping, but we all know the truth that the problem started before the economy got bad. In fact our collective struggle with debt is part of why the economy has struggled so much in the last year.

The problem is that the idea "earn more and spend less" is just not good advice. It is not that it is wrong, it is indisputably true. The problem is that “just spend less and earn more” advice both blames the victim and does not give much useful information about how to start earning more and spending less on a consistent basis.

Get Rich Quick schemes may help us feel hopeful for a short time, but tend to fail over time. And the “diet” mentality of just spending less and cutting back tends to lead to frustration and feelings of being deprived that can trigger over-spending in the future.

So what is the key? Why is it that some people are able to do break free from debt while others struggle, vowing year after year that this year things will be different without ever actually managing to make a meaningful change in their financial situation?

They key to financial freedom lies as much in how we think and feel about money as in how we spend it or earn it.

Getting out of debt and generating wealth permanently requires completely changing our way of thinking about money. The first change we need to make is to think about money in terms of energy and value instead of in terms of hard work and effort.

Hard Work Won’t Get You Out Of Debt

Many people, especially creative people and social mavericks have a strong association between money and hard work. The sad fact however is that they are always working hard and rarely getting ahead. This feeling of working hard for little reward can also lead to overspending and an attitude of mindless consumerism that has us always reaching to buy the latest toy, but never feeling satisfied for long when we get it.

The combination of exhaustion from overwork and the vague dissatisfaction with our lives that comes from chasing a lifestyle that does not truly feed our souls results in diminished personal energy and creativity. Low energy keeps the cycle of debt going. We have less spark and value to offer the world, and we have less creative vision to see opportunities when they are presented to us. In addition we begin to spend more than we really can afford and drain our precious recourses into “little treats” to try to replenish ourselves.

Thinking About Money In Terms of Energyand Value Reduces Debt

To break the cycle we need to understand and act on the fact that money truly follows energy not effort. Or, put another way it is the value we share or receive that sets the monetary price of our earning and spending. For example, one painting may be considered a masterpiece and could easily sell for millions while another painting can hardly sell for $10.00. This is not necessarily because one artist worked harder to paint the painting than the other, but because the people purchasing the paintings get more enjoyment, value and energy out of one than the other. Simply put one is more exciting to look at in the opinion of the people doing the purchasing.

In terms of spending, this principle is even more helpful when trying to get out of debt. When we need to cut back expenses, most people start with internal judgments about what they “should” be spending or not spending. This is a process that in and of itself tends to drain personal energy and make following through on any debt reduction plan more difficult. A better way is to ask yourself if you are really getting the right amount of energy and value out of your purchases.

Get More Value

Perhaps you stopped for a $5.00 coffee this morning and it really picked you up and made your day. If so, telling yourself to cut back your spending by not getting coffee in the mornings may work for a few days but in a few weeks your subconscious will kick in with resistance and you will be buying as much, if not more expensive coffee. Denying yourself honest value is not a good way to cut back spending. However, a close examination of your spending will turn up things that you spend money on that don’t actually bring you that much personal value.

Start your spending reduction with the things you purchase out of habit, obligation, laziness, or avoidance, that do not in fact give you as much or more energy back as you put into them with your purchase. Maybe it is the morning coffee, maybe it is an expensive gift for your brother in law every year, and maybe it is your car payment. It is not important is not what it is. It is important to really look at what is giving you the most value and focus your spending based on that.

While it might not seem like it at first, if you think about the concept of value and energy, you will start to see places in your own budget where you can make significant spending changes without feeling too deprived. (For more ideas on how to do this check out the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominquez or visit www.authenticprosperityclub.com.)

Preserve Your Energy

When we start thinking of money as energy we realize that it cannot be either created or destroyed, but it can be harnessed, directed, misused, misdirected, or drained. When we use our energy wisely we attract more energy to ourselves. It allows us to start asking ourselves how we can harness and direct our own personal energy and get rid of our own personal energy drains. This allows us to provide more value to your employers or customers with less effort. What this means is we start attracting more opportunities for easily and ethically earning more money. It will also allow you to more quickly see if you are getting the true value out of your spending. So in fact we do start earning more and spending less, but we do so naturally and without self discipline or self deprivation.

Experiment with a More Profitable Way of Thinking

Try these ideas out, even if they seem like wishful thinking or metaphysical mumbo jumbo to you right now. You will find yourself making changes in your spending and savings, as well as asking for raises and/or finding better work arrangements without extra stress or effort. It will naturally and easily flow out of the fact that you are now looking at the world of money with fresh eyes. You will find that it is fun and easy, and most importantly for staying out of debt: more profitable.

Please feel free to write us with any questions, and stay tuned for our upcoming articles on Getting Rid of Your Personal Debt Magnets and The Four Questions To Ask Whenever You Spend Money where we will take the ideas introduced in this article as step farther.

By: Mari from Authentic Prosperity

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Mari Geasair helps entrepreneurs and creative visionaries create with more joy and less stress! She has owned five successful businesses of her own and worked as a hands-on partner with hundreds of self-employed individuals. She specializes in helping people radically change their relationship to money. Visit her site at www.authenticprosperityclub.com/articles for a FREE audio and written Prosperity lesson.