Your instincts during a crisis trigger the fight or flight response. However, which do you embrace when it comes to your financial situation? Do you avoid phone calls, fearing debt collectors. Do you dodge the mailman to put off dealing with past due bills, taxes or debt? Today, let’s work on taking you from flight mode to fighting for your financial independence.

To get a better understanding, recently I asked a question on Facebook whether people saw debt as just a normal part of life or was is it even possible to live without it? “What hinders you from getting out of debt and what causes you to live paycheck-to-paycheck?” The responses blew me away and I just have to share them with you!

One woman sent me a comment saying, “As long as we are taxed, we’ll always have debt.” WHAT? I was totally shocked by how quickly this woman jumped to blame someone else for her debt, as if she has no control over her personal finances whatsoever! Because we’re taxed? Plenty of countries have taxes and are not at anywhere near the debt levels of our country.

The issue here is not taxes, it’s you! No matter who you try to blame for your debt, the ultimate and final responsibility rests with you. Sometimes it’s simply a lack of knowledge; honestly, it’s not like you had a lot of training growing up. There really aren’t that many good examples of financially-independent, debt-free people out there, after all. Most people who make a lot of money, also have a lot of debt.

And it isn’t because of taxes. As a businesswoman, I am taxed far more than when I first entered the workforce. And guess what? I don’t have all that debt!

Our entire society is built around the mindset that the more you make, the more you need to spend. That mentality doesn’t generate wealth, financial independence or wise spending patterns.

If you want to score a big financial win, you have to sow into financially-wise decisions! CareerBuilder.com states 6 out of 10 people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Of that 60% of the population, a full 40% are reliant on their credit cards. Wow!! If you do the math, that means a full one-quarter of our entire population uses their credit cards just to make ends meet! Do you see this as a financially-wise decision?

You know, 50-60 years ago people didn’t go into debt to buy a car. Or buy clothes or groceries. It was an embarrassment to go into debt! Now, we pull out a credit card for a stick of gum and it’s a prideful thing. Benjamin Franklin summed up what used to be the traditional mindset toward debt: “Better to go to bed hungry than wake up in debt.” It’s funny how different our founding fathers saw finances then, versus the fast-forward to where our country is now.

The sales pitches for credit cards, credit reports, and debt altogether, is a huge marketing LIE. They’re making money off of you. When I first started making a lot of money, my real estate agent told me I could afford a million-dollar home. Originally I was looking for a home with a MUCH smaller price tag. But somehow, I let him talk me into that huge million-dollar house, not even realizing he was doubling, tripling or even quadrupling his commission off of my stupid financial decision!

Don’t you think it’s about time to take responsibility and take control of your personal finances? Don’t believe the marketing, throw away those credit card applications and ask yourself if these purchases are wise or just adding to your stress!

In great faith,

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