It took me years, loss of dollars, and budget shortfalls to learn, I was causing my own pain. Granted, I was doing what I was taught, what we were all taught. But, regardless, it wasn't working in my favor. I had nice things, and what looked like from the outside a nice life, but I was struggling. Finally, I admitted that my finances were a mess and I went looking for help.
Through research, classes, conversations, and more research I found answers. But the thing that was staring me right in the face was Math. How many times do we need something, want something, buy something without doing the math? It blew my mind how much money I was giving away for things I didn't need to survive. How much did my house really cost me, my car, those designer clothes, or just regular clothes bought with a credit card? Most people don't realize that they are giving away 35 cents of every dollar in interest payments alone. For instance, I was giving away $700. That’s 35% of the $2000 I had spent.
If you start doing the math before you spend money, I know things will change! That is just one of the eye-opening facts I learned just by going beyond what we are taught.
(Lesson learned, Just Do the math)