Chasing the Bull

According the the latest edition of SmartMoney magazine, Americans now spend an average of 22 hours each year simply sorting through their bills, statements, and other paperwork. It goes on to state that that the average household has 14 credit cards.

Can that be correct? 14 credit cards! I knew that Americans loved their credit cards, but 14 of them? Is it any wonder that we are drowning in debt? Is this any way to teach our children the value of money? Over at MyInvestingBlog, Hank posted a funny clip that talks about what you should do if you do not have the money to buy the stuff you want.

I’ll give you a hint - Don’t buy it! Or better yet, save up for it and buy it with cash.

My spending philosophy has changed over the past few months. We are simplifying our lives, which includes buying less stuff (and getting rid of the extra crap we have around the house). We developed a budget. We cut up our credit cards (we kept one until our emergency fund is fully funded) and we buy groceries, gas, clothing, and entertainment items with cash. It hurts more this way and according to SmartMoney, we should be 39 percent more wealthy than our less organized peers.

So why do I feel so poor?

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