Many of us have gotten so deeply into messy debt situations that we have come to believe that it is impossible to get out. In this category are those of us who have reconciled themselves to the ‘reality’ that a third of our monthly income has to go into servicing debt. In this category, too, are those of us who have reconciled themselves to the ‘fact’ that we have to borrow to survive, and (conversely) that there is no way we can ‘survive’ without borrowing.

Yet the truth of the matter is that with the right effort, we can get ourselves out of the debt situations we get ourselves into – and stay out of them completely. After all, they are not situations we are born into, but rather situations we get ourselves into.

Now the key to getting out of debt – and staying out forever – is simply living within your means. The common thread in the lives of the people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, with most of their money going towards debt repayment is a desire, often unconscious, to live beyond one’s means. Of course, when we talk about living beyond one’s means in this context, we not only refer to the situation where one spends more money than they earn (some of the people in messy debt situation’s don’t), but also a situation where one makes ‘investments’ they can barely afford, like where one ‘invests’ in a house they can barely afford, just because they are allowed to get it on a loan or mortgage.

There are a number of aids one can use towards living within their means, with an aim to get out of debt once and for all. One such aid to living within one’s means with an aim to get out of debt is a personal financial plan, based on careful means assessment. Now it is the lack of this personal financial plan (which is typically based on based on a medium to long term perspective) which is responsible to the situation where people make ‘investments’ like the beyond-means house mentioned above – typically on credit – leading to a situation where more than a half of one’s income goes towards servicing the debt.

Budgeting is the other aid towards living within one’s means, with an aim to get out of debt once and for all. Of course, if your budget is to be useful as an aid to living within your means and ultimately getting out of debt, you need to ensure that it is realistic debt – and then cultivate the discipline to adhere to it religiously.

You can learn more about debt management at Lesserdebt.com