Have you found yourself in a financial hole lately? Are you doing anything about it?
Are you actively trying to find a way to climb out, or are you waiting for someone (or something) to rescue you out of your financial hole?
Today I have for you another of my famed “dumb criminal” stories.
Somehow, I'll once again figure out a way to relate the stupidity of this criminal to common financial issues.
Hang on, here we go:
Panic at the Hardware Store
Seems there was a guy attempting to rob a hardware store after closing time one dark evening. He stealthily scaled the back wall, gained access to the roof, and cut a large hole in it.
Then he dropped down into the store, gathered his coveted loot together, then discovered a major problem. He couldn't get back up to the hole he had cut into the roof.
After much harried pacing and fretting, trying to figure out a solution to his unforeseen problem, he came to the realization that he was trapped.
He panicked.
He called 9-1-1.
When the police arrived, they just couldn't understand why the burglar didn't use one of the many ladders for sale in the store to climb out the same way he came in.
Obviously the few neurons this guy had in his cranium weren't firing on all cylinders (thus the moniker “dumb criminal”).
Digging a Financial Hole
This story reminded me of how it's so easy for you to dig yourself into a financial hole.
When you finally realize that there is a serious problem and you're in over your head financially, you get stupid. You panic, you don't know what to do, so you take the easy way out.
You're in desperation mode so you take out payday loans, extremely high interest loans, borrow money from friends and family, or even declare bankruptcy.
But all this just digs your financial hole deeper and causes more problems.
You Know How to Fill the Financial Hole
When you're having financial problems, it's easy to lose your brain and make bad decisions, when all along you knew what you needed to do.
- You know that spending more than you make and using credit to finance your life is killing you financially.
- Instead of resorting to desperation and digging a deeper hole, you know deep down that you need to change your habits.
- You know that you need to keep track of your spending so that you have more month than money.
- Understand that there may be some sacrifice involved to change, and that taking the easy way out usually ends up compounding your problems.
- You know deep down that making a solid plan to pay off your debt and sticking to it is what will solve the problem permanently.
You know what to do.
I can help you with that…
Fill the Financial Hole With These Resources
You can click over to my bookstore or to my Personal Finance Books Pinterest board and check out all the books I've used to get out of debt and change my financial life.
You can check out my short, easy to read book on how to make a budget (it's only .99 cents).
You can even sign up for my Celebrating Financial Freedom online get out of debt course.
Whether you use my resources or someone else's, don't resort to panic and desperation.
Use the amazing brain and common sense that God provided you with and do what, deep down, you know will work.
You know what to do…
Question: Have you ever “lost your brain” and done something unwise out of desperation?
Tell me about it in the comments.
Resources:
Living Paycheck to Paycheck? How to Get Ahead
Western Sky Personal Loans- Don't Let the Sky Fall on You
Is It Wise to Loan Money To Family and Friends?
[…] Credit cards are so easy to use you can run up a huge pile of debt in a short time. Be very careful about relying on them to get by during a job loss. You don’t want to start your next job trying to dig yourself out of a deep hole of credit card debt. […]