PLEASE HELP Write a 500-word essay on why it is important to live within your means. In your essay, be sure to include why you think people live beyond their means and what ways media plays into this. please don't copy and paste from articles or anything. my teacher is very specific about that kind of stuff.

Being financially responsible is important for your health and your financial life. To "live within your means" means that what you spend each month is less than or at least equal to the amount of money you bring in each month. For many people, it’s a lot easier said than done.

Credit cards, loans, savings, and even emergency funds allow you to buy more things than your income would ordinarily allow. Unfortunately, that kind of lifestyle isn’t sustainable and, at some point, reckless spending will catch up to you. Learning to live below your means will help you avoid financial ruin and find the peace that comes with financial freedom.Using credit cards to pay bills or cover other living expenses is not a way to live below your means. When you plan your budget, completely rule out credit cards as a way to make ends meet. Once you know how much you make, you can focus on reducing your spending to fit your income. If you don’t have one already, create a budget to plan your expenses and use it to keep your spending on track. If you’ve already tried budgeting and it didn’t work, try it again. Often you just need to make some minor changes to your budget to get it to be effective.

If you want to keep the process simple, try a method called "backward budgeting." Write down your income, then start subtracting each expense you pay each month. If you get to a negative number, then you're spending too much and need to cut back.

Explanation:

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