An alternative title for this post could be 'why saving money saves me money'. Quite simply - not having an allowance, or not giving myself any money at all for discretionary spending, means EVERY spare cent can be transferred to my debts. Once the bills are paid, the car is filled with gas and the groceries are bought, that's it. Anything left over goes on the debt. Anything additional that comes in goes on the debt. Nothing is held back for 'something I might need'.
'Ooh I'm about to drive past McDonalds and I'm hungry - should I get something?' NO. 'Shall we get ice-cream after we go for a walk on the beach?' NO. 'Just Jeans has a sale rack out front - shall I look through it?' NO. I don't have to worry about impulse purchases throwing the budget out, I don't need to do mental maths to make sure I've got enough allowance left to cover it, I don't need to feel guilty about wasting money. I quite simply don't spend any money, and to the fleeting thoughts I get, the answer is always the same - NO. In some ways not having an allowance gives me freedom - I never have to weigh up the pros and cons or worry that I'll feel guilty about something later. I can just relax and know that I've already made the decision for myself. It's given me a definite sense of peace.
For those who say they could never do that, that they simply must have money for x, y or z - to you I say sorry, you can't want it badly enough. You can't really want to make it through this bad patch, you can't really want to be debt free, you can't really want that dream holiday.
Having goals and sacrificing to get there is a humbling, rewarding, satisfying experience, not the restrictive, deprived process people seem to think it is. It's all in the mindset. I challenge you to strive to achieve what you never thought possible!
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