Break free from debt, doesn’t that sound nice? I have been working with clients for 22 years and the first thing you need to break free from is yourself. That’s right; you are the biggest problem in the way. No one held a gun to your head to make you go department store shopping. And there are no emergencies at the Mall. Not what you wanted to hear? Sorry it is the truth and we can work together on ways to help you control yourself.

Honesty is the best policy First off let’s take an honest look at all those bills that are causing you problems. You made the decision to make the purchase. That is the key to the problem, you making decisions without planning. Most likely it was an impulse decision. Meaning you did not have a plan to make the purchase and you did not think about it first. You probably were bored and went shopping and picked up a few things.

What you are starting to see is that those few things add up fast. Now you owe thousands of dollars for things that you probably do not even have anymore; but you still have the debt. Don’t worry you are not alone. Millions of American’s are in the same boat and are sinking under the weight of debt and the compounding effect of interest.

Remove Emotions Now that we know who is spending the money, let’s help. In order to be successful in managing your money you must remove emotions from the way you make decisions. That mean you can’t buy the puppy dog that they are selling outside the grocery story just because it is “cute”. You went to the grocery store to buy grocery and you need to stick to a spending plan.

A spending plan is a very important took to help keep your purchases on track. Think about what you need, write it down, take the time to review it and then make your purchases. Sure you might forget something small but for the most you will have a good outline to follow. And you need to stick to the plan. You don’t have a plan, well it is no wonder you are having trouble. Ask yourself a few simple questions. If I do not have a plan, how much can I spend and still pay my other bills? If I do not know how much I can spend, what am I doing at the store?

Fail to Plan and Plan to Fail Planning is the backbone of a successful budget and helps in so many ways. It will remove impulse buying. Impulse buying is not on the “plan” and needs to be eliminated,

to break free from debt. Taking the time to think about the items you are buying is another way to curb impulse buying.

If you are bored and want to go shopping leave your credit cards at home. If you truly find an item that you need you can always go back the next day. This gives you time to cool off and think about “your decision to purchase”. Most people who are impulse buyers suffer with buyer’s remorse also. Not only are the in debt, they get home and regret the purchase after the fact.

Most of us are living on basically fixed incomes where we make a set amount of money each payday. Most people in debt are spending more that they make. It is that simple and they “borrow” the money from their credit cards to make ends meet. When you take the time to sit down a review the purchases, without emotion, you will find that a great deal of the purchases were wasteful. And that hurts because we all want to feel we are in total control of our money and we are not.

Put it into action By following these few steps and setting budgeting guidelines for spending, you can break free from debt. Remember you are making the purchases and you are the only one who can stop it. There are many credit counseling companies that can help you if you do not understand or lack the ability to control yourself. It is a problem that we all have and is nothing to be embarrassed about. The credit card companies and department stores want you in debt and are selling you the “image” of a free spending lifestyle that you can’t afford. Take control; you are in charge. Once you break free from debt you will have more money to spend on the things you need.