Do you live above your means? Do you spend more money than you make?

I got sick of trying to just live within my means. I felt like i was always just paying bills and really had nothing to show for all the hard work I had done. I was always using my credit cards. Then I met my fiancee. She is a single mom who never spent money that she didn't have. She doesn't have credit cards, if there is something that she can't pay for out right then she waits till she has enough money to buy it. She explains to her children when she doesn't have the money to buy something that they want. She has shown them the importance of making sure that you are getting your moneys worth when you buy something. She has really taught me these lessons as well. There isn't that much stuff that is sacrificed to do things her way. She isn't in debt except for her home mortgage I wish I could say the same thing. She is helping me to change my ways so that I can get back out of debt and straighten out my credit.

the best thing to do is have NO credit cards! I just use my debit card and check book for bills I have to mail off.or call in and use echecks most places dont charge me for echecks and if they do I mail it in. We try not to live beyound our means but when one gets layed off and only 2 of us it is hard not to get behind on some of the bills but we try to catch up when she gets back to work

We live within our means. It is very difficult, but the credit card plastic can really make a mess of your life. I've been there. Now I am paying off a $30,000 personal loan for the next 5 years because of the credit card.

We do everything that we can in cash. That can be a problem at some places. They seem to think it is better to charge stuff. Credit cards are basically slavery in disguise. Unless you pay a good amount more than the minimum it is very hard to pay them off. We have one credit card and we keep the limit low. Life does tend to throw curves at us and at times we much charge things if no payments can be worked out. Good luck getting a handle on this. I hope it does not get a handle on you.

I have no debts .. and cannot afford to get into debt .. I couldn't ever pay it off as I am on really low disability money ... If I ever decide to go into debt it will be for mega amounts .. I'd spend £50-100k .. and then go bankrupt .. and in a couple of years I'd be debt free again ... hehe

You are getting into a debt-trap. Is your family expecting some chunk of money from somewhere in future? It is no good getting into such a situation of being in debt and remaining there for long. They charge too much money by way of interest/ financing charges. I got rid of my credit cards very soon. I realised they were not of any use to me. They were only constant source of irritation due to wrong billing.

I don't believe in debt. I believe in living within your means. If I can't afford something, I don't buy it.

I do not advocate spending future money. I spend within my means. And I plan my purchases. I buy on credit instead of cash so that the cash can be used to roll in some interest. And I too plan which card to use depending on the date of purchase. This is to ensure I get the longest credit term possible. As if the interest I am geting is a lot. lol.

We do not live above our means. We budget every penny that we make and make it work. I also charge everything, but when I do this I take the money and set it aside so I will have the money when the bill comes. I like to charge because I get cash back on my discover card and this is money we use when we go on vacation. I never carry a balance on my credit cards because then I would get further and further behind. When I am ready to retire, I will have a great pension, my house will be paid off and I won't have to worry about huge credit card bills. It is hard to stick to the budget at times, but I feel that we are teaching our children an important lesson regarding the value of hard work.

We do not live above our means, miamilady, nor do we spend money more than we can make. I have learnt from my early childhood to keep myself within the limits of spend ability. In fact, seeing my parents poor made me understand the value of means available and I learnt how to use them intelligently and efficiently. We live a relatively very simple life. We don't own a car, no air conditioning, no extravagant expenses etc. We also buy from sales or promotions helping us save money or spend less on the items who would have cost much higher otherwise. Our expenditures are well below our income. But, we are not misers. My account balance is normally close to 0. The extra money that we have from our routine expenses, we use it for others who are less privileged and are in need, both in our extended families and others. I know that we are happy with our life style and have a blissful life, no worries as such and contentment of heart. I wish you best of luck in overcoming your financial problems:-)

yeah my family is the same way and now i'm 30,000 dollars in debt because of it . i'm trying to pay these bills off because i want to have another baby and i want another car but first i want to further my career and go back to school to make life better for my family.

I'm not a very good budgeter i guess... I always tend to spend more than what is necessary and to the point that i'll spend everything that's inside my pocket... I haven't got credit cards yet! i applied for three cards all at the same time lol i hope i won't over spend as much when i have them...

I live within my limit. We do have credit card, but we live within our budget. Over the last 2 years, I have not purchase a single cloth for myself. We will buy for the children as they out grown fast and we also take the old clothing worn by their cousin.

At first I was doing so well with saving money and having some for me to spend, then I lost my job and I had a lot of bills to pay, I maxed out my credit cards and now I'm in debt. But I just recently got a new job. Hopefully I'll be able to pay off all my debt and get back on track. This time I plan on saving way more money, and canceling a credit card once I'm able to. Credit cards are nice, but if you don't have a lot of money, or even enough, they can get you into trouble.

i am very careful to not live above my means. i make sure i don't spend more than i get and i alway have money in both my checking and my saving account. It's just a smarter way for me to live.

The thing about plastic is that it is readily available in your purse and the temptation is so great to use it especially if you are out shopping just for the fun of it. I used to be a plastic addict but I have managed to overcome it now. It's pointless spending without thinking and I feel really stupid not being able to pay off those chunky credit card bills.... I have the tendency to shop when I am depress.... Now, rather than shop when I am down, I go for runs...... Lucky thing, I have fully paid all the bad debts and pay things in cash. If I have none, I don't get those stuffs...............

I am a firm believer in only spending money in which I have. I carry a mortgage on my house and that is the only debt I currently have. There are some months that this is harder to do then others but I feel that this is the best way to do things. My father use to over spend and when he past away unexpectedly he left my mother a large amount of debt. She lost the house and everything. I would never want to do something like this to my partner or my children. Yes, it would be nice to have a few more nice things but its even nicer to know that if I were to die today that my family would be financially OK.

i experienced this before, 4 years ago spending money in recreation, installment appliances, books, anything which is no longer needed.me & my husband were looking for loans in order to pay our bills.i borrowed money from my parents, sister and friends. i was hopeless at that time and tired of hearing credits/loans with interest.for almost 2 years we sacrificed of having a very2 simple life just to pay our loans. thank God with the help of our parents and with the encouragement of my husband we were able to stand again. we started a new simple lifestyle and promised to my husband of not buying anything and start saving for the rainy days.

I don't know how I do it since I'm on a small fixed income but I always seem to manage to spend more than I have. I also use plastic much more than money. For one thing it's easier and another is my cash usually goes into my debit accounts.

since i m a student there is no question of my i have just started using this website since two days. ya i do ask more money for my clothes from dada and i need more and more.