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Many years ago, when I was struggling to even come up with enough grocery money to splurge once a week on a 99 cent 2-liter bottle of Coke, I read something that changed my life:

An emergency is just something you haven’t prepared well enough for.*

That statement was especially striking to me because I’d been working hard to reduce my hated credit card debt, and it seemed like every time I sent in a payment something would happen and I would “have” to use the credit card. For example, I needed a new clutch on my newer 4-door Dodge Colt. There went $400 (or whatever it was) onto my credit card, when I’d only sent in a $50 payment. I felt like I could never get ahead — that there would always be some emergency “keeping” me down.

But when I thought about the idea of an emergency being something that I hadn’t prepared well enough for, I realized that I certainly didn’t have  to use my credit card to do it. I was choosing to use my credit card. I didn’t “have” to get my car repaired at all. What I needed to do instead was either prepare better for unexpected expenses or be willing to suffer the consequences of not preparing enough. In other words, if I planned for car repairs, I’d have the money for them, and wouldn’t need to use the credit card. And, if I chose not to prepare adequately for car repairs, I still  didn’t need to use the credit card. (I actually drove my car in the only two gears that worked – 1st & 2nd – for several months once because I didn’t have the cash for yet another clutch repair.)

Let’s face it, if you own a car, you know that it WILL break down at some point or another. Cars are mechanical things, and mechanical things ALL eventually have issues of one type or another. So a car breakdown is not an emergency — it’s an eventuality. There are a whole lot of things that frequently get lumped into the “emergency” category that really are not. Eventualities should be planned for. The more likely an event is to occur, the more thoroughly you should plan for it. Realizing this was one of the single biggest factors for me in getting out of debt.

*I wish I could find the source of this statement to give credit for it here, but a google search turned up nothing. I suspect it was from a book, but it’s been so long that I don’t remember. If anyone knows, please let me know!

As babies or sometimes as toddlers, we scream & cry when we want something. We want it NOW, as if our life depended on it. Our want is our entire world. As little kids, we tug on our parents or relatives, pointing, whining and urging them to give us what we want. As teenagers, we wheedle, cajole and negotiate.

These methods of getting what we want are pretty effective when the things we want are to be fed or for our diaper to be changed, but as we get older we start hearing “no”. No, we can’t have the hot pan on the stove. No, we can’t have a $12 balloon that we’ll let go of in 3 seconds. No, we’re not getting a Hummer for our sixteenth birthday.

But what about as adults? There’s no one to tell us “no” except the law, really. So we have to learn to tell ourselves no.

Sometimes it’s harder to do so than others. You see, deep down inside somewhere, we’re all still the screaming toddler who wants something and wants it NOW. But we have to be the adult too, and fill the “no” role, or the “no, not right now” role.

The only real way that I know of to learn to deal with the “I wants” is to practice — and to use our inner toddler to our advantage. You see, toddlers are also easily distracted. What they want with their very being changes from moment to moment. They don’t want anything for very long.

And neither do we, much of the time.

So don’t say no, exactly. Say “ok, maybe later”. And then write down what you want on a list somewhere and move on. Chances are pretty good that you’ll have forgotten all about it in an hour or a few days. But if you find yourself writing down the same thing over and over again, it’s probably not just a fleeting want. You might actually want to get or do whatever it is on a deeper level.

In that case, start mapping out a plan. What will it take for you to be able to do or buy the thing you want? How can you make it happen? What will doing so impact? What will you have to change? Is it worth it to you?

Then take your time, and do what it takes to get there. This way your fleeting impulses won’t prevent you from meeting your deeper wants and needs.

This is a guest post.

Money is necessary for just about everything we do these days, from parking the car to literally, spending a penny. If things were free, then we could have what we wanted when we wanted it, without having to worry about costs. But society does not work in that way. Some people always want more than they should and others never get enough – and that’s where the problem lies.

Why do people get into debt problems? For every person there is a unique reason but at the end of the day, the basic facts are simply that the amount of money coming in (income) is less than the money going out. This results in a negative balance. Credit card companies use a nice little trick of avoiding the negative sign on our credit card statements but if we owe money to them, we should mentally picture it as being in red and with a big minus sign.

With the existence of money came two things that were almost guaranteed to follow: taxes and debt. Taxes are inevitable but debts are a matter of circumstance. People should not have to continually have problems with money. Avoiding over spending requires requires some willpower, but good financial planning is always a sensible solution.

Looking for good debt help once you have overspent or become overdrawn is often the last thing many people think about. Many turn a blind eye to their financial problems. Later, those problems can become dire. Ignoring and not realizing you have a debt problem will result in poor credit scores. Once that happens, obtaining cheap credit to “pay off” loans or credit cards will become harder to obtain.

There are many adverts that can help with debt consolidation at a much cheaper price. These rely on headline figures to attract new, but in-debt customers. If one actually looks at the total cost of the whole loan, then some companies are charging a small fortune. It is no wonder that those in debt are encouraged by the initial interest rates but then quickly become discouraged when they realize the debt will take another 5 or 10 years to pay off.

This poor financial planning can be avoided by following a strict plan to get out of debt and asking for debt help from a qualified financial advisor. Borrowing more than you can afford has always been the root cause to debt problems. The pressure of having something now and paying it off later, even if you don’t have the means, has been the expected norm of the 2000′s, but times have to change.

Car insurance costs make up a large portion of the average household’s monthly bills, and as customers frequently select “basic” insurance policies from insurance providers they often miss out on easy ways to reduce monthly bills. This article will explore five easy tricks to bring down your insurance premiums.

Tip #1: Disclosing the purpose and circumstances of use for your car can significantly decrease your monthly car insurance bill. Insurance agencies are more frequently offering lower monthly premiums for low-use drivers, experienced drivers and those who only use their vehicle in certain areas of for certain errands. Pay-as-you-drive insurance is a new product offered by most insurance agencies that allow you to pay a monthly insurance bill which varies depending on how many kilometres you drive. It pays to speak to your insurance provider and outline exactly how much you use your car, and for what purposes.

Tip #2: Keeping your car underground, or in a secure covered parking space can save you hundreds off your annual insurance costs. If you live in a residential areas where you have access to a closed garage, or underground parking lot, inform your insurance agency that your car is kept in a secure location, away from potential dangers car such as weather or busy roads. Your car insurance provider determines your monthly premium based on the likelihood of damage to your car, and vehicles kept in secure locations are significantly less likely to encounter third-party damage. If you are unable to park your car underground or in a secure parking spot, ask your insurance provider if covering the car in a protective cover when it is not in use will lower your premium.

Tip #3: Completing a professional driving course at your local licensing facility can often also result in lower monthly insurance premiums. Advanced safe driving courses teach students how to proactively avoid accidents while driving by understanding which hazards to look out for and which circumstances are high-risk for accidents. Insurance providers recognize many advanced driving courses, and will calculate that you are less likely to be in an accident that is your fault, and will lower your monthly insurance bill accordingly.

Tip #4: Combining all your insurance policies with one provider can also reduce your monthly bill as part of a loyalty program many providers offer. Combining your home, car, life and travel insurance with one insurance provider can often lead to a 10-20% discount.

Tip #5: Sell your beefed-up supercar. Powerful cars attract higher premiums as statistics show that more powerful cars are likely to be in more motor vehicle accidents. Often those with muscle cars tract the higher premium rates, even in circumstances where they have a clean record and significant driving experience. Ditching your v8 for a more economical car will also save your money on fuel!

Hopefully these tips will help you save money on your car insurance bills. Remember to drive carefully during this holiday season, and to always be mindful of others on the road.

This is a sponsored post written by a representative of Allianz Australia.