Ben Franklin on Debt… Learning from Legends

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Debt is absolutely the most destructive force in personal finance. Carrying too much debt makes saving for retirement, education or other goals almost impossible and can eventually lead to bankruptcy. Ben Franklin understood how dangerous debt could be and felt that he would rather sacrifice, i.e. go to bed hungry, thereby cutting his expenses, than buy what he couldn’t afford and be in debt.

This is obviously an extreme example for most but the concept is important, especially for those that already find themselves in debt. At some point we must learn to make sacrifices and live within our means, that means different things for different people. Based on the amount of debt you are in it could mean not taking family vacations or not eating out for years. For others it could simply mean buying less, or cutting back on little things like a Starbucks coffee everyday. While any change/sacrifice will be hard and seem extremely difficult to give up at the time, the payoff of the feeling you get being debt-free will be worth it.

If you haven’t recently reviewed your financial plan you should contact your CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioner.

If you aren’t currently working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioner you can find one HERE.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]