You always hear advice from people advocating living below your means. Why, though? Living within your means doesn’t sound like it’ll get you in trouble, you’re not overspending. So why should you pretend you have less money that you actually do? Here are a few reasons why living below your means can make your life much easier:
Debt Elimination – This is an obvious advantage of not spending more than you have and using that excess to pay off what you owe. Debt elimination takes care of the interest that you would have to pay on that debt as well, kind of like saving twice.
Saving for the Future – Where do you want to be in 5 years? What about 10 years? Will you have a nicer home? A luxury car? Maybe you want to take a European Cruise? Money impacts all of these decisions. Putting a bit of money away each month can soon add up to that vacation, down payment, or dream car.
Less Financial Stress – Have you ever lain awake at night worrying about those brown envelopes that never stop coming in the mail? You know they’re there and you don’t know how to make it stop. Living below your means is the first step in changing that process and eliminates that worry.
Ready for Financial Emergencies – What would you do if your car broke down and you needed to repair it TODAY? What if your washing machine broke down? If you’re going paycheque to paycheque, this can mean a major financial burden. If you’ve been living below your means, however, you have an ‘Emergency Fund’ that you can use to take care of those unforeseen emergencies.
Less Worry About Work – Have you ever been in a situation where your workload constantly is increasing at work, but the salary is staying the same? Maybe there’s some downsizing and you need to be a ‘team player’ in order to keep the business afloat? If you’ve been living close to your means, then you possibly don’t have the ability to leave and find a new position because you can’t afford to take the financial hit it may take to work your way up in a new company. Not having to worry immediately about a reduction in income allows you to be freer with your job opportunities, so you don’t have to stick with something you hate.
Living below your means isn’t restricting…it’s actually liberating.