Do you remember the story of the frog?….

Put a frog in a pot, full of water and start warming up the water. As the water temperature begins to rise, the frog adjusts its body temperature accordingly. The Frog continues to adjust its body temperature with the increasing temperature of the water. Just when the water is about to reach the boiling point, the frog can’t adjust anymore. Right now, the frog decides to jump.

The Frog tries to jump but is not able to do so because he has lost all his strength by adjusting with the temperature of the rising water. Very soon the frog dies.

What killed the frog?

Think about it!

I know many of us are going to say the boiling water. But the truth about what killed the frog was his own inability to decide when to jump.

We all have to adjust to people and situations, but we have to be safe and sure when we have to adjust and when to move on.

This was me!

The only difference is it wasn’t water, it was DEBT! By the time I realized what was happening it was too late. I was literally going under, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

So why am I telling you this? I don’t want you to have to pull yourself up out of a hole like I did. You can make a change and it’s important to change before it’s too late.

Take it from me, I learned the hard way!!!!

So here is where I started– My Spending!

I made small adjustments to how I would spend and save money. You can curb your spending too! Here are some simple strategies that helped me to spend less on a daily basis.

How long do you have to work to afford that item – if you make $10/hr and you wish to buy something that cost $20, then you would have to do 2 hours of work to afford that item. In the grand scheme of things is it worth 2 hours of labor?

Can you buy it twice? – I learned this from my father. He says if you can’t buy it twice then you can’t truly afford it. This one is super simple.

Is it a want or need? – Do you need this? Focus on necessities first, and if there is money available after all the priorities have been handled then you can spend additional dollars on wants. A pro tip is to add a miscellaneous category to your budget and when that money is gone, IT’S GONE!

Keep a money diary – Every time you spend money write it down. This can be a little shocking when you see what you truly spend money on. But, it helps you see the areas where you can make improvements

It’s always a good time to start making changes to work towards a better situation…. the important part is not to be like the frog and wait until it’s too late.

Keep up with Kai on her two blogs here and here. and come back next week for more finance tips.