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How Debt Makes Slaves out of Consumers
Debt Survivor Reveals Journey Back From Being Broke
| Source: Michael Mihalik
SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - September 28, 2009) - Like millions of credit card users, Michael
Mihalik didn't see it coming.
It started when he was in college. He didn't buy a lot of stuff, but he did
charge a few things here and there -- some meals, a few books, some clothes
over the years -- without realizing that meeting his minimum payments on
his cards only paid the interest on his balance.
Mihalik, author of "Debt is Slavery and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had
Taught Me About Money" (www.debtisslavery.com), started using credit cards
when he was 18. By the time he was 24, he discovered that credit card debt
had crept up on him and he found himself so deeply in debt that he was
working 50 hours each week just to service his minimum payments. Barely two
years later, he worked himself out of debt. Now, Mihalik wants everyone to
learn from his experience.
"When I was trying to pay off my debt, I certainly felt like a slave to my
credit cards," Mihalik said. "For more than a year, every penny I earned
went to loan payments. I worked 50-plus hours a week and the beneficiary
of my labor wasn't me but the banks and credit card companies. Then I
discovered that before I could change how I handled my finances, I had to
change the way I thought about money."
Once he changed his attitude, he realized his first step toward personal
economic recovery was to stop accumulating debt.
"You can't get out of debt by simply changing the way you handle your
money, or making a savings plan or hiring a credit counselor," he said. "In
order for any tactic for getting out of debt to work, you must first change
the way you regard money, and understand how to be its master, as opposed
to allowing debt to master you."
About Michael Mihalik
Michael Mihalik, author of "Debt is Slavery and 9 Other Things I Wish My
Dad Had Taught Me About Money" from October Mist Publishing
(www.debtisslavery.com), is a successful mechanical engineer who got deep
into debt during his college years. Michael has since refined his
philosophy about money. He has created a set of ideas and rules for
financial security that can be applied at any income level.