It’s hard as hell to get ahead when you have to work so hard just to get by. Don’t worry, you are far from being alone – in fact most of your fellow Americans are in the same boat too. For that matter, no matter what country you live in it’s much the same on a relative basis. People spend much of their waking hours working to make money to pay expenses and bills. So much energy and time is expended getting by, and societal conditioning has done such a good job convincing everyone that this is all NORMAL, that few ever seriously question this rat race way of life.

When mortgage or rent payments take up as much as one quarter to one half of total family net income it does not leave much for other things. Then when you add up the costs of credit card debt, student loan payments, car payments, insurance, and monthly utility payments there is very little left. Take away from that food, gas, clothing and everything else then you have – well nothing in so many cases. That is the 40 hour trap. It’s also indentured servitude.

Can you escape from the trap? Yes you can, but a better question is are you willing to actually do it? It may be a trap but it’s comfortable and cozy even, most of the time. It’s all so well known and so expected by everyone. Now, to escape isn’t known. People just don’t do that- it’s not normal. In the end its a choice that must be made by you. I can’t make it for you. All I can do is show you some things you may not have seen before. I can do that, and give you some ideas to consider and to research further if you like, then you can make up your own mind on whether you want to continue being normal and doing what’s expected, or whether to become intentionally abnormal and seek out a new way of life free from the forty hour trap for yourself.

If you want out of the trap the first thing to do is to immediately and totally stop using credit completely. Don’t use another credit card, or sign another loan application of any kind for anything. Then you can start chopping away at the debt you already have. You can do it gradually or you can do it the extreme way. I like the extreme way, sell everything and start over. Gasp! I know, it’s not normal. I also know few people percentage wise will ever do such a thing. Yet that is the fastest way I currently know of to escape the trap. For those who want out but are not willing to go extreme, there is still hope.

Debts can be eliminated systematically over time too. How much time depends on you. There are ways to cut expenses without selling off everything, and there are ways to bring in additional income temporarily to help pay off existing debt sooner. Want to know more? Then keep reading my posts. We will continue to discuss multiple ways to get out of debt and live more independent lives.