Since I joined stacker.news in May, my mindset about money and debt has been changing. I began to see with new eyes what financial freedom really means and how credit can be a silent trap if you don't control it.
For a long time, I was dividing expenses across several cards, believing it was the way to "get organized." In reality, what I was doing was compromising my future and sinking deeper into debt. The chart I'm keeping is clear: in June, I reached a peak of R$5,611.15 in debt, an enormous burden that robbed me of peace. (My mother-in-law was also here at home, and we bought more things for her to take to Cuba.)
But from then on, I decided to make a radical change. I stopped using multiple cards and kept only one that gives cashback in SATs. It's a prepaid card, which means that to use it, I have to load money onto it first. This forces me to pay everything in cash, without financing. It may seem limiting, but it's actually been liberating: if there's no balance, you don't buy, period. And every SAT I accumulate is a reminder that I'm now building, not destroying.
To speed up the process of getting out of debt, I also started generating extra income. On weekends when I can, I accompany a member of my church to sell melons, and that extra money has helped me pay off my debt faster. At the same time, at home, we cut down on unnecessary expenses and learned to live more simply.
What's interesting about the table is how the change in mindset began to be reflected in the numbers. For example, what appears as September's payment actually corresponds to the end of August: there's already a significant drop, going from over R$2,900 in April and almost R$5,600 in June, to R$1,941 in July and R$852 in August/September. And by the end of December, the debts will be, God willing, just R$291.
It hasn't been easy, but with each passing month, I see the fruits of my hard work. Visiting stacker.news here helped me look at things from a different perspective: to stop seeing credit as easy money and start thinking in terms of sovereignty and discipline.
Today, I'm still in the process, but with one certainty: every debt I pay off is a step toward freedom, and every SAT I accumulate is a building block in the future I'm building.
When I was young my Dad told me something that I always think about. The power of being debt free gives you a single word: No.
To the man in debt he must work Sat when the boss asks, he must stay an hour later for work when asked, he must accept the new assignment that is lower pay and more responsibility.
However the man that is not in debt can simply say, No.
Excellent thought.......thanks for sharing it
I really appreciate this. Thank you. Your dad is 100% correct.
I can prove it with an experiment
It’s similar to fuck you money
My recently gained perspective is that when you don't have money, then debt is a trap and you want to get out of debt as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if you actually have enough money and you are "rich", then in the current money system, debt is actually a very good strategy to use. This is of course messed up, but also it's a reality. Bitcoin makes this situation better.
When you talk to people that are very rich, the money works differently for them. Money can essentially be created from nowhere for them. You want 50M USD? Sure, let's round it to 100M because that's a nicer number. The amount truly doesn't matter - what matters is what cashflows it creates.
This. Exactly right. If you don't need a loan in today's fiat world, you should take one.
The best time to get a loan is when you are drowning in cash
I hope to do this in January or earlier or whenever my stupid townhouse closes escrow!
Living on credit is basically spending money you don’t have, and you’ll pay extra for it too. There’s some “good credit,” yeah, but most of the time, it’s smarter to just save up and then buy.
Sometimes it really is "expensive" to have credit, I have good credit and my credit cards have very high limits because I have always paid the monthly payments on time, but enough is enough, I am still paying things from last year, I really looked at myself in the mirror like that clown meme
or
that's how it was hahahahha
Also think about this: to be in (fiat) debt it means somebody will create those money that you do not have (in fact with your own signature) and also they do not have (aka scam) and give it to you with interest.
Explained very nicely in this movie scene (El Concursante)
https://video.nostr.build/90a7faf3075aaac57ba509efeafb584d60595d28640e058c549e0b1d7c767a88.mp4
So by entering in fiat debt, you are literally supporting the scam (creating new money out of thin air). You are supporting your own slavery.
In order to destroy fiat, first we have to get rid of fiat debt.
https://i.postimg.cc/W1RWZRVW/btc-deathstar-logo.jpg
A good read for all fiat loan lovers here: #816795
Excellent video, and best of all it was in Spanish.......so I could understand it 100%!!!
deleted by author
You are not paying attention. You are still part of the problem: creating more fiat from thin air (aka with your signature).
deleted by author
You're not taking advantage, you're dancing on quicksand with the bank owners and politicians on your shoulders.
deleted by author
Not true.
I owe the fiat debt slavery bankers nothing and I can tell them to fuck off - and I do.
If you are in debt you are not free.
Start working toward freedom today or remain a slave to the fiat bankers.
Up to you.
deleted by author
You are contributing to the inflation crushing the poor if you do.
deleted by author
The victim becomes everyone else who doesn't do this
Guessing this is your first four year cycle.
You willingly join in with the central bankers and leverage debt to enrich yourself past the provable work you provided to society?
Fuck that.
deleted by author
Wrong.
It is not getting 'printed' anyway.
Private banks can only create new fiat when you undertake debt obligations to them.
Get it yet???
deleted by author
https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsp5n8dx3l8z04hsmsjnwdy7lmyqeez9jlvqgtydfkxd9szyjkrjxs7v9t77
Well done man! That's the way.
I believe that by using a prepaid credit card, you are masking the problem you are trying to solve. From what I understand, you are financing a company that uses fiat and Visa to the detriment of stimulating a circular economy in Bitcoin. I know it's not simply a matter of leaving the card and using SATs, but validating this when you could simply use Pix and the fiat that is available seems more coherent to me. Congratulations on the reduction in debt.
According to BTCMap, there is nowhere in my city to spend my SATs. I can also spend fiat money or make a Pix to pay for a good and not receive anything for it. I pay with my credit/debit card and receive some cashback sats in return. At least in my opinion, it is more reasonable. I may be wrong, but that is how I understand it.
Until more retailers accept sats it is very difficult to avoid using fiat money.
All we can do is support those few (if any) BTC accepting retailers and continue to use fiat where there is no other option.
IMO getting out of debt is an excellent priority to start with- then at least you are not so much supporting the fiat system.
Breaking the fiat monopoly over MoE/payments is going to be more difficult and will take time...until then getting free of debt is still moving in the right direction.
Thank you, my first priority now is to break that cycle of debt and installments on the credit cards.
Work in make more merchants accept your sats then they can put themselves into btcmap.
My credit card allows me to spread the cost of purchases over 3 monthly payments with 0% interest. If the CAGR of BTC against the fiat currency it's denominated in is 40%, that's effectively 7.26% cashback.