Cash Only

Long ago, my mom taught me a super valuable financial lesson. She taught me that if I didn't have the cash for something I wanted, then I shouldn't buy it. "You never want to be in debt," she'd say. Credit cards are the worst. She's right. They sure are. Moms are always right. 

When I was about 8, she took me with her to buy herself a used car (for a long time we never got anything new, not even clothes). 

She explained to me on the way to the dealership that she had saved x amount of dollars, in cash, to pay for her car. She said, "never take out a loan on anything but a house." She was a boss.

Budgeting Tip #1- don't get trapped in the comparison game. Don't look at others on your block, in your workspace, or on social media and think they're so much better off than you because they have x, y, z. Instead, go all in on the "pay off your debt as fast as you can" race. You know what the most freeing feeling is? Never having to worry about paying another bill again. 

So, pay those suckers off!