I Am In Financial Trouble And Don’t Know What I’m Going To Do.
Does that sound familiar? The best way to recognize financial difficulties is before they get to the boiling point.
Rushing out to earn more money will only band-aid financial difficulties that can literally take over your life.
In other words, it buys you time until it happens again and it very well could be the next month.
The amount of stress it can cause to a person that will eventually take its toll on health is overwhelming.
Another fun fact: Hitting it big with a huge Salary Increase, Lottery Win or Inheritance is not a pass for financial freedom.
Becoming rich will temporarily fix financial difficulties but it won’t solve the problem until the person fixes themselves.
Money Does NOT fix Financial Difficulties
In fact, you and I both know that the odds of winning the lottery are so slim that the only way to fix financial difficulties is to;
Understand why you have financial difficulties. Fix your money mindset. I was reading a Facebook post from The Salvation Army Canada and stumbled upon something that caught my attention. Ilya Kourzakov Life isn’t expensive at all if you live smart. – Facebook Comment
Life IS expensive but if you LIVE SMART it can help you to overcome the financial difficulties that many people face.
Financial Difficulties Are Everywhere
Depending on where you live rent costs are skyrocketing and even if you move to a smaller town, jobs are scarce.
This forces people to move to larger cities or surrounding areas in hopes of earning a living to feed their families and pay the bills.
I also know that no matter how much money you earn financial difficulties can creep up.
However, there are warning signs all around us when financial difficulties are looming. This is where YOU have to take control of the wheel.
The problem is that many people choose to ignore or don’t know what financial difficulties look like.
These types of warning bells should be concerning not when you are broke but at ALL times.
What’s alarming is that the people who come to me for support during times of financial difficulties is that they wait until the bomb goes off.
In other words, they fail to recognize the danger signs ahead of time and they have no financial plan in place.
Like I mentioned above it doesn’t matter if you win the lottery or are successful because if you can’t manage money, IT will manage YOU.
Let’s have a look at some of the most obvious signs that you are struggling with financial difficulties.
Late Bill Payments
Paying your bills late every month can simply be laziness or lack of attention to finances.
For most people, a late bill payment happens because there isn’t enough money to pay the bill by the due date.
Juggling and prioritizing which bills to pay on time and which to let slide is a HUGE indication of financial difficulties.
Just because you make it work doesn’t mean it’s working.
Minimum Bill Payments
Unless you have a financial plan in places like the snowball method of paying back credit card debts and loans paying only the minimum is a huge mistake.
If all you can afford is the minimum payment on your credit card statement yet continue to spend money on the card you have financial difficulties.
Financial Excuses
No one wants to hear about your money excuses because no one really cares and those who do listen likely are profiting from your mistakes.
If you find yourself coming up with excuses as to why you’re late paying bills, not paying bills in full you have financial difficulties.
I know what you’re thinking, “Of course I know I have financial difficulties”. Here’s the thing I always ask, What are you doing about it?
If you can’t tell me what you are doing about it then don’t complain about it.
I too believe that being smart with your money will be the best option for Canadians to stay on track.
If that trail of financial success doesn’t suit you then take it to the next level.
You can be as successful as you want to be with your life and when you factor in financial smarts, you’re winning.
Ignoring Debt
Perhaps you have a stack of mail on the table you don’t open or throw in the garbage.
The phone is ringing and it’s credit companies trying to get you to pay your bad debt.
If you are ignoring debt it won’t be long before creditors pull out all the stops and you may need to seek consumer protection.
You want to avoid bankruptcy and debt protection at all costs but for those of you who are left with no other option, you’re too late.
Debt Awareness
Do you even know how much debt you owe?
I mean every single dollar.
There’s no room for guessing games when playing with your money so if you don’t know, start documenting your debt.
4 Key Areas To Explore When Budgeting
Money does come and go however if you know how to manage it well you can be successful at limiting or eliminating financial difficulties.
Think about that for a moment, having little to no stress about money.
How would that make you feel? Relieved I bet.
Although most people will stress about money for the rest of their lives it doesn’t have to consume your life.
Ideally, you need to find that happy spot when it comes to living comfortably with little to no consumer debt, savings, and investments.
If you’re not someone taking the time to understand, document and budget any of the below 4 expenses, financial difficulties loom.
Personal Expenses Daily Expenses Monthly Expenses Yearly Expenses
You need to know where your money is coming from, where it’s going, who’s spending it and how much of it you have.
Related: How to calculate your net worth
For those of you who are successful and earn an income that you’re happy with, imagine how much more money you can save if you were tracking it.
Related: How to calculate your debt to income ratio
Rich or successful doesn’t equal freedom from money disasters, it just lengthens the timeframe of going broke.
If you truly want to be free from financial difficulties it’s your move, so take your steps seriously.
Discussion: CBB Posts You May Have Missed
The Best Keto Chaffle Waffle On The Planet How I Paid Off My Mortgage Before I Turned 40 10 Common Mistakes Consumers Make At Second Hand Stores The Best Fluffy Eggless Pancakes The Ultimate Back To School Budget Supplies Guide For Kindergarten Why Financial Security Should Be Priority How To Handle A Late Rent Payment 5 Simple Rules To Get You Retirement Ready Mr. CBB’s Motivational Corner
Often we forget that we have to make ourselves smile while taking care of life.
Before you jump out and act like a clown, tell a joke or help someone take a look in the mirror before you start your day and smile.
At the end of the day do the same thing because by motivating yourself to be the best you can help build a stronger world.
Frugal Recipe Find
With a recipe name like Blueberry Yum Yum and a photo that made me drool my attention was captured.
What I love about this recipe is how light and airy it seems and of course the use of gorgeous blueberries.
I would personally make my own homemade blueberry filling as it’s simple to do but buying it in a can is optional.
I’m still laughing over the name, haha!!
Garage Sale Finds
Hey there!
I’ve been away and missed a few weeks of garage sales but we’re back and there were lots of sales today!
Here are today’s garage sale deals:
Suitcase $4 (asking was $5) Three dog toys and a dog Christmas stocking $8 (asking was $9.75) Two boxes of 200 sandwich bags, 6 bottles of Purell, two small foaming hand sanitizer $11 (asking was $19) Wooden serving boards $5 (asking was $10) Two t-shirts – Free! Ladies leggings $2 Girls bathing suit cover-up and sports bra (Justice brand) $2 (asking was $4)
Forgot to put in picture 4 stress balls that were $.25 each=$1
Total spent $33
Thanks,
Jen 🙂
Home and Blog Update
On the blog, we are working to make things run smoothly on a consistent basis and we continue to do so.
It has been a crazy summer so any type of blog schedule that I did have was always modified.
That’s just another way to say that life happens and family comes first.
At home, I’m almost done the bathroom renovation apart from buying new light fixtures, shower curtains, towel bars, and a toilet paper roll holder.
I can’t believe the prices for bathroom accessories however I’m not shocked because everything costs money.
What I don’t like to do is buy things twice so I don’t aim for the cheapest I opt for quality but on sale if I can find it.
We’ve hopped on Wayfair Canada and are amazed at how many products they offer for the home.
Other than that the garden is thriving as we’ve enjoyed fresh tomato salads with green peppers, basil and lots of homegrown herbs.
Although summer is not quite over until the end of September I’ll start my Fall clean-up duties ahead of time.
My plan is to tackle the herbs first so we can puree them for use over the winter.
We’ve done minced garlic so far and plan on doing a chutney with basil, chives, mint, and parsley.
Oh, and our crab apple tree is LOADED with gorgeous red apples that are perfect for apple butter, crab apple jelly and for eating.
Labour Day 2019 Canada
Another summer has come and gone as we head into Fall and back to school for the kids on Tuesday.
It has certainly been a busy summer for our family from road trips to dealing with family health issues.
What I learned from our summer holidays is that you have the power to make the best of your life.
You don’t have to be financially successful to be a good person, help others and smile.
Happy Labour Day 2019 Canada.
Have fun and stay safe!
Mr.CBB
Saturday Search Term Giggles
Every week I get tens of thousands of people who visit Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog.
Yes, I can see your search terms and sometimes they are funny.
My homemade sponge cake is flat as a pancake– It happens to the best of us but we keep on trying. Add some baking powder. Who published the first chaffle recipe?- One of the most popular recipe’s on CBB! The easiest way to win money fast in Canada– If we knew we’d all be rich! How much does it cost to make a muffin– Yes, one muffin. It seems so random. Canadian Budget FINDER– Haha, find me a budget. Actually not far off as you get a FREE budget at CBB.
If you see the acronym (SIC) next to a word that means I’ve copied the text exactly as it was typed in Google and it has spelling errors
That’s all for this week my friends, see you again in 2 weeks for the next Saturday Weekend Review!
Mr.CBB
The post How To Spot Warning Signs Of Financial Difficulties Ahead : The Saturday Weekend Review #286 appeared first on Canadian Budget Binder.
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