Debt Free by 33: The Queen of Versailles

One of the major contributing factors to debt is people spending above their means. With credit cards readily available, it is much easier to just charge everything in hopes of paying it later when your paycheck comes in. That usually leads to living paycheck to paycheck, and not saving enough for the future. For those that spend more than their paycheck, there is the unfortunate interest charge and then you are essentially paying for nothing. In the beginning you may be freaked out that you can't keep up with your payments but then, you start paying just the minimum monthly payment since the total amount owed begins to grow to an overwhelming level. One of the more overwhelming thoughts is that you now owe more in interest to the credit card company than you had originally used for whatever it was that you bought. You might as well just hand over a few bills to your closest bum. Now was that purchase worth it? You tell me.

A few days ago one of the radio personalities here in San Diego was talking about this documentary called "The Queen of Versailles". He was saying how he couldn't stop watching it and recommended that people watch it. I am a lover of documentaries so we decided to watch it last night. I would highly recommend this documentary to everyone, especially those who are trying to get their finances straight. It is pretty motivational in that you get to see what happens when the American dream goes awry.

The next time you've got some time to kill, put this documentary on and watch this riches to rags story.