An invitation to live beyond one's means?

To The Eagle:

Back in the old days, when dirt was still hot and dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a kid, if you did not have the money to buy something you wanted you either went without or you got busy and earned the money needed. Or you traded your time or services or something of value you owned for the item you wanted.

That was referred to as "living within your means."

Somewhere along the line someone came up with the idea of "lending" money. This was promoted as a way to get what you want now and pay later. "Just make one ‘small easy payment' each month and this car, house, whatever, can be yours right now!"

If a person has a steady job and makes enough to cover all their cost of living expenses and the "small easy payments," there generally is no problem. It would, however, be wiser to save the amount of that small easy payment until one has the full amount needed to buy whatever it is and pay cash. Bam, you own it! Plus, unless your crystal ball is clearer than mine, your ability to look into the future is foggy at best.

You may not see an illness, loss of job, unexpected child or who knows what all coming until, "Oh my!" Suddenly, that small easy payment is neither small nor easy, and you are in financial trouble!

Through hard work and careful planning, one can get all one's debt paid off. Then refuse to go back in debt! One can save one's money and then buy with cash. Live within one's means! If one wants more than one can afford, realize one must make the extra money needed before one can buy "it." If one chooses to ignore this advice, realize one runs a very big risk of not only losing the thing one could not really afford, but in a lot of cases other things one owns if not everything one owns. Why take the risk?

Don't fall for living beyond your means, pay as you go, own what you have. It is a lot happier and financially safer way to live!

Ben Elkinton

Cathlamet