Living beyond your means?

If you are living beyond your means it will catch up to you! Debt = limited options. Don’t find out the hard way! Being careful now will mean that you have more freedom to follow your dreams in the future.  Here are some signs that you could be living beyond your means.

Your savings won't last 6 months Bad things happen to good people. Having savings for a rainy day is very important.

Your house payment is only affordable on a 30-year term Start with a 15-year term when considering mortgage options. If you can't afford the 15 years term you probably can't afford to buy the house. The difference in monthly payments is only about $400 between that and a higher rate on a 30-year.

Vacationing on credit You deserve it, you really do! But if you cannot pay cash for the vacation - don't do it.   

Stretching the term to afford car payments It is your job to pick a car you can afford. By stretching the terms, the only winner in the formula is the bank.

You pay overdraft frees ‘Nuf said.
You exceeded your credit limit Because a credit score is based largely on debt-to-utilization ratio (the difference in credit available to what you’ve used) your credit score is lowered when your credit balances are high - and it will affect interest rates in the future.

You won’t consider low paying or a second job You need the money. Period. Plus, you never know where the job could lead, or the people you will meet.