The audible four principles of a debt-free life
In January 2016, we ran a four-month series called “Four Principles for Living a Debt-Free Life”! We’ve covered each of the four principles we wrote about in our book: 4: The four principles of a debt-free life. This article is a summary of the entire series Information about our book can be found conveniently in one place.
The 4 principles of a debt-free life at a glance
4 is about what we’ve learned personally and professionally about how to get out of and stay out of debt after paying off $51,000 in credit card debt. To save you the hassle of reading, each week of the series we’ve discussed highlights of that week’s principle and provided you with free tools to help you master each of the four principles.
This will be quicker for you, but if you prefer to read, 4: The four principles of a debt-free life, You can get it by clicking here.
1. Debt Free Principle 1: Be Money Conscious
This principle is uniquely interesting because when we wrote 4, We thought we had coined that term. For us, this initially meant that we should be aware of how much money we earn, save and spend. When we needed more money, we learned how to make more money. It meant understanding economics and how the local, national and global economy affects us.
It wasn’t until after we published it 4 and read Napoleon Hills, Think and get richthat we have learned that we are not special. In his book, Hill talks about money consciousness on a metaphysical level. The results on a practical and metaphysical level are the same, as Hill says: “Only those who become conscious of money ever accumulate great wealth.”
Find out how to become money conscious here Queer money®:
2. Debt-free principle 2: Live below your means
Living below your means may sound outdated, but it is crucial to getting out of and avoiding debt and achieving financial success. In addition Queer money® we talked about how this principle affects everyone – rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, and everyone in between.
Living below your means is such a powerful principle that it brings down many seemingly successful people. We’ve shared examples of celebrities who famously lost all their wealth because they weren’t living below their means.
We exchanged keys on how to live below our means while paying off our $51,000 in credit card debt. We’ve discussed some tricks to help you live below your means and improve your means.
Only when we respected this principle did we change our financial lives. This is an ugly story You can read all about it by clicking here.
Get more tips for living below your means Queer money®:
3. Debt-Free Principle 3: Cash is King
In the week we covered Cash is King, we talked about the benefits of switching to a cash-only lifestyle and how it can give you a 20 percent raise. The Cash is King principle offers practical advantages. Studies show that people who only use cash tend to spend less cash and pay less interest.
When we had $51,000 in credit card debt, we were paying $10,000 a year in interest payments. That’s the cost of a few nice vacations or a contribution toward the down payment on a house. When we paid off $51,000 in credit card debt, we gave ourselves a $10,000 raise. This increase has dramatically improved our quality of life. Then we turned our attention increase our cash flow because having more cash makes it easier to handle cash.
One way to manage our “all-cash lifestyle” has been to use the traditional envelope system, as we discuss in more detail in Section 4: The Four Principles of a Debt-Free Life.
Find out here why cash is king and what you can do about it Queer money®:
4. Debt-Free Principle 4: Have a Financial Plan
Just like you can’t drive from New York City to Los Angeles without directions, you also can’t achieve financial goals without a financial plan. This includes knowing the starting point of your financial situation and the end goal of your financial situation.
In addition Queer money® we talked about how we created a financial plan and why we have it. We’ve discussed the benefits and risks of not having one. In addition to this week’s free tool, we also covered other tools like investment accounts and ways to increase your income to create and improve your financial plan.
We report that it wasn’t until we knew what direction we wanted to take with our financial life that we were able to go from a negative net worth of $10,000 to a positive net worth of nearly $700,000. So you need a financial plan.
To help you master this principle, get your copy of 4: The Four Principles of a Debt-Free Life by clicking this link Here.
Find out how to create your financial plan here Queer money®:
That’s all Four principles of a debt-free life Series. We had a great time and hope you did too.
To dive deeper into all of these principles so you too can live a debt-free life, Click here to get your copy 4: The four principles of a debt-free life.
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