In the last 10 years credit card debt has tripled in the United States. Seventy percent of all U.S. cardholders carry a balance on their credit card averaging $3,900, and about three-fourths of them make only the minimum payment, which would be about $78 each month. At 18 percent interest, it will take them 35 years to pay their debt, and they will pay out over $10,000 in interest before they are done. (Data courtesy of Bankcard Holders of America, Salem, Virginia.)
Debt, no matter how attractively packaged, is a huge trap for many people today. It has proved to be a significant factor in the breakup of many marriages. If couples don’t use their resources wisely, overspending will eventually rob them of their money, time, health, family security, and peace of mind.
Budgeting is a plan that helps people make the best use of their income and savings. Before beginning the budgeting process, it is important to distinguish between wants and needs. Realistic, workable budgets result when couples agree to provide carefully for their needs and to exercise self-discipline and patience as they seek to provide for some of their wants. Begin budgeting by listing all expenditures from several previous months. Determine where the money went and which expenditures were unnecessary and which were necessary.
Once the stranglehold of excessive debt is loosened and eliminated, family members’ outlook on life brightens, homes become more harmonious, more children are taught by example the vital principles of provident living, and families are freed from financial bondage and thus more able to focus on truly important concerns.
Full article found on lds.org
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