Like the people you mention, I too, was, you know, caught up in the whole "broke" thing.
But instead of sitting around and whining about what others had that I didn't, I decided to do something about it.
People need to take some personal responsibility for their situation. Still, it is really shocking to hear that half of all Americans have nothing saved for retirement. I refuse to believe all those people are living paycheck to paycheck.
What if we could dig a little deeper into a statistic like that? How many of that 50% could invest if they wanted to, but their lifestyle doesn't allow it?
Sure, when I started to get back on my feet financially, I could have spent all my money every month on "living expenses" and whined about not being able to take advantage of a fabulous economy. Instead, I cut back on my lifestyle, and focused on what's important to me. There's no reason a good chunk of that 50% couldn't do the same thing. Along with getting a dayum second job!
As Dave Ramsey (with whom I do not always agree) says, you go into beans and rice mode when you're getting out of debt. No eating out, no vacations, no fancy cars, no investing for retirement... nothing like that until you're debt free (except for your house.)
Caption this Meme
