Very Strict Budgeting Can Help You Avoid a Bankruptcy Filing

In today’s economy, most Americans are struggling to make ends meet. For the lucky individuals that are still employed, sometimes it’s as simple as budgeting to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Over the last 20 years most Americans live paycheck to paycheck and have no savings. In fact it is so bad that most Americans consider available credit as a life preserver. In the past, most experts believed that a family should have enough money in their savings account to survive for at least six months. This was true until the 70s came around with the credit card boom. Most Americans today are paying their credit card payment just to keep their account open. In today’s society there is this fear that people can’t make it in the world without credit. Living with this theology is a dangerous lifestyle that is one small disaster away from filing for bankruptcy. There are ways to curb the costs and allow a person to get out of debt.

First of all, if you don’t want to file for bankruptcy, consider eating at home. Eating out at restaurants can be very expensive and most people don’t realize it will start adding up how much they actually spend each month. This can include making your own lunch and taking it to work with you. Even fast food can be expensive when it’s every day. On the average it could cost an individual eating lunch out about $10 a day. This converts to $200 month and $2400 a year. When we add it up you can see it’s a substantial amount of cash over a period of time.

To cut costs around the house and avoid a bankruptcy filing might include canceling unnecessary subscriptions like newspapers and magazines and also cut back on the cable bill. Many people don’t even realize what’s on their cable bill. Sometimes, the company will offer a one month for free package deal. They count on most people that accept the package will never cancel it. Usually, they just forget about it and continue paying the bill each month.

The bottom line is most of us spend way too much money on unnecessary luxuries. I know it’s cool to have a smart phone, but do we really need it. People see it as it’s only 50 bucks a month but when you add that up times 20, it’s a lot of money especially if you don’t make that much. I remember as a child learning the importance of saving and not buying something you couldn’t afford. I myself am guilty of trying to impress the Joneses. The older I get and more Americans I see using a bankruptcy filing as their only way out, I remember the lessons I learned as a child.