http://www.debt4dummies.com/debt/debt-free/debt-free-living/ Debt free living is an elusive concept to most of us. It takes restraint and self-control. And no matter how in control we think we are, most of us have a weakness or two when it comes to spending money. Learn how to excel at debt free living here. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 Most of us aren't independently wealthy. In fact, when you're first starting out in the world on your own, you usually start out in debt. But you can control it, and even learn how to be debt free. Learn how to achieve debt free living here. The Keys to Debt Free Living Ideally, when you graduate from college and get your first apartment, you would have all new furniture, dishes, rugs, towels, etc. and it would all be paid for. A lot of people will buy used furniture or accept hand-me-downs from family members, and that's fine as long as you don't care about developing your personal style yet. Many times, you can't care about your personal style at that point without going into debt. And think about it--your parents can't give you everything you need to furnish your first apartment. We take so many things for granted, and when we are faced with an empty apartment, we have nothing to move into it and a job that doesn't pay enough for us to furnish it entirely, going into debt seems to be the only option. After all, most furniture stores have those "no payment until next year" plans. Some electronics stores do too. So you get your living room and bedroom furnished that way, you get a t.v. and maybe even a DVD player. They're cheap enough these days, right? Then you have to buy bedding and towels. Then you go in the kitchen and see you have nothing to cook with, which is okay because you have nothing eat off of. Sure, you could go with paper plates and plastic utensils, but you were hoping for something a little more...grown up now that you're "grown up," right? If you start out in your first place with absolutely nothing it will take, at minimum, $3000 to furnish your new place. And that's a conservative estimate with only bare-bones minimums. No fancy kitchen appliances like a mixer, a coffee pot or even cookie sheets or cake pans. This is the basics on dishes and utensils, a kitchen set from Target, a bed-in-a-bag set, only two sets of towels, etc. Facing that, most of us go into debt right out of college. It's the start of a downward spiral. How can you be expected to know about debt free living when you have to go in debt to get started in life? Now, maybe our example is a bit extreme. Few of us have to buy everything new. Most of us have roommates or furniture, dishes, etc. left from college. You don't get "the good stuff" until you get married. Hopefully by that time, you will experience debt free living first-hand (or at the very least, marry someone who can teach you about debt free living in a positive way). Let's say you just finished paying off your debts. Here are some keys to debt free living that will help you stay out of debt: Debt free living means only using your credit cards for emergencies If you use your credit card, pay it off in full each month. Don't carry balances over. Debt free living means living within your means Have part of your paycheck go directly into a savings account and part of it go directly in a retirement account Use cash when you shop. If you use a credit card, you're likely to spend 30% more. This sounds like basic, common-sense advice, but surprisingly, most of us don't live that way. We hope you take our advice and enjoy debt free living for yourself. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT