Can I get rid of my debt ceiling too?  

The AP reports that House Democrats are pushing legislation in an attempt to rescind the debt ceiling for the federal government.  They contend that the borrowing limit has no real-world purpose and has become a tool used only for political maneuvering and that it can have a devastating economic effect.

What!  Are you kidding me?  Just do away with a limit on debt?  I want to do it!  I wonder if I sent a letter to MasterCard and told them that I will no longer have a limit on much debt I will run up on my card, if they would have a problem with that.  After all, having a limit on my MasterCard has a devastating effect on my personal economics.

It gets better, an excerpt of a letter from Harry Reid and other Democrats to the White House suggests to President Obama that if House Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling to pay the nation’s bills, Obama should circumvent Congress and raise the ceiling himself, adding to his history of skirting Congress.

Obama insists he won’t negotiate with Republicans because the US is obligated to pay its bills.

The government doesn’t have the money to pay their bills; the national deficit is over $16 trillion as it is.  So if you are the government and you don’t have the money to pay your bills, what do you do?  Easy, you borrow it from China.

Ok, so if I use the government as my personal finance model, my mentor if you will, I can borrow money (from wherever I can), spend that money like crazy, a lot of it on ridiculous things that have no positive impact on my life or returns any monetary benefit, then promise to make payments for all of the money I have borrowed.  I’ll even give a bunch of money to my friends and even to non-friends.  I’ll do all of this without a spending or debt limit.  Oh yeah, I’m not going to do a budget either.

How do you figure that would work out?  I figure I would be straddled with so much debt I would never be able to pay it off in my lifetime (Much like the government has done).  What I would have to do is create a debt plan than would get rid of my debt in a reasonable amount of time and not leave me eating Ramen Noodles until I retire.  …Something the government can’t seem to figure out.

Just like there are many things in the government that can be cut to curtail spending, my and your spending could use a tune-up to get on the road to being debt free.  Without going into great detail, the following are a few things to do to get your finances back in order.

Compare your income to your expenses.  This is simple but can be scary for many in the end.  Write down your monthly income; now deduct all of your monthly expenses.  All of them, eating out, coffee at Starbucks, cigarettes, that everyday Snickers bar, fast-food, you get it, everything.  Is there money left?  For a lot of us there isn’t.

Take control right now.  Take control of your spending immediately, especially if there is no money left after your math exercise.  There are things that you can do right now, without any help from anyone, and that is stop your spending on those little things that add up quickly.  McDonalds, Starbucks, weekly movie, impulse buys at the gas station, all of this stuff you can stop.  You will be surprised to see just how much money you can save.

Budget for the future.  The future is your goal.  To be debt free or almost there is a feeling so few people these days gets to experience it’s a shame.  …Plan ahead for your financial future.

Seek the advice of a financial planner or personal debt professional and don’t be like the government, have a budget, have a debt ceiling and spending limits.  Plan for your financial future and be financially responsible.