Toni V. Lee

Ever had bills that had to be paid and there was not enough cash or savings to use to pay them?   You have no cash and savings, but you do have a credit card. You pull it out of the sock drawer and use it to pay your bills (mortgage, rent, grocery, power, utilities, etc.). Since you don't have enough cash to pay the credit card balance off every month, the balance grows. You eventually hit your credit limit and your financial situation hasn't changed, so you ask for an increase to your credit limit so you can continue to pay your bills. You get the increase, you continue to pay your bills...and your debt continues to grow. That, my friend, is a very oversimplified explanation of the USA National debt and why the debt ceiling (the amount the government is allowed to borrow to pay its bills) is continuously raised. If the USA defaults (doesn't pay its bills), there are grave economic consequences for the USA and economies around the world could be shaken. Some folk don't ...

Happiness doesn't have to have a big price tag. You can vacation all over the world, and your discontent, anger, resentment, disappointment, problems, etc., will be vacationing right along with you.  What's sad is when the only reason you went on vacation was to be like the Joneses or to show Susie how good you're doing. Why compare yourself to the Joneses in the first place? There may be some messed up stuff going on behind the Joneses smiles. Susie? She may know more than you think she does and is pitying you or is disgusted because she knows you are fronting and will be borrowing to pay your bills when you return from your vacation, eat at an expensive restaurant, go on a shopping spree, etc. Why not do what really makes you happy/content: A walk in the park, marathoning episodes of your favorite TV show, curling up with a good book, gardening, painting, strolling on the beach, cooking, eating your favorite foods, sitting quietly, etc.? None of these are big ticket items...

It's amazing how age changes your perspective. When I was young, getting a new car or house excited me. It gave me the, "See, I'm doing pretty good," feels. You know how folk would prophesy in church that you'd get those things? They had to give me some space because those were dance moments! 😁 Now? A new car...the first word that pops into my head is DEBT.  A new house? A LOT of DEBT. 😁 A prophesy?  I want the particulars because I need clarification: 1. Will the items be at no cost? 2. If they are free, will I have to pay taxes on the gifts? 😁  I won a nice item in the past and was contacted close to tax time with instructions on how to report the gift to the IRS when I filed. 😕So...I need to know.  I'm not saying I'll never buy a new car or house again, but when I do, I'll go about it differently so I won't be burdened with heavy, unwieldy, and unnecessary debt.  In my youth, I didn't really care about debt. I wanted what a wanted and go...