One of the major enemies of savings is in fact carrying a heavy debt load. It’s not worth the time looking at various savings programs, or for that matter, even ways to budget if you don’t deal with the underlying problems of why you’re continually under a heavy debt load.

Now I know there are certain types of debt that are good debt, although it is still debt that must be taken care of, but I’m talking about lifestyle practices which can be brought under discipline, and which needs to be identified and dealt with by you.

Before we get into that though, recognize that one of the best ways to grow your savings and ultimately to build wealth is to free up your capital in order to create a savings and investment plan. The way to do that is by eliminating or significantly reducing your debt.

It’s surprising once you’re out from under the burden of debt the ideas that come to you concerning how to better invest your money. As a matter of fact, many times simple ways of investing are clouded because debt can do that to us, as it seems to separate us from clarity concerning the matter.

The bottom line is, if you don’t have money to invest or put away, you’re never going to be free to do what you want when you want, as debt keeps you a servant until you’re released from it.

I’ve been out of complete debt for well over a decade, and the time and money I have to put away for whatever I want is always there, even if my income may be cut back at times, or I’d rather spend time doing something else, rather than spending all my time only making money or investing.

We’ll get a little more into freeing yourself from debt in the articles ahead, but for now, understand that it’s not perfecting some type of budget plan which will deliver you from debt, that’s the secondary practical step to take.

What needs to be done first is to admit to what it is that debt really is, and that is you spend more each month than you take in. Simple to understand but difficult to deal with if you’ve become addicted to debt in a way that you have problems stopping spending.

I know we’re getting a little into the psychological side of debt here, but this is really where it all starts, and there are many reasons why it could be happening in your life on an ongoing basis.

With that in mind, you should take an honest evaluation of yourself to see why it is you spend how you do, and from there look at the best way to develop that dreaded word and practice: budgeting.

Budgeting works, but not if you don’t face the reasons why you’re overspending. Once you identify the why and where, then developing a budget makes sense. If you don’t what will happen is you’ll do the same thing many people do when losing weight. They’ll start the usual idea of diet and exercise, but because they haven’t dealt with the underlying reasons of why they’re overeating, they fail time after time until they completely give up on attempting to lose weight, because they believe the diet is the key, rather than looking at the reasoning behind it all.

That’s the same with budgeting. You can develop a budget, but if the reasoning behind why you’re continually spending isn’t faced, you’ll do the same as a diet, and go through budget after budget with a few changes for each one, and eventually just go back to your spending practices again.

Having said that, a budget is the answer in the sense of practically taking care of the issue, but if you continue on in your ways, in many cases lying to yourself, you’ll find that even though you think you’re adhering to your budget, you’re in reality pretty much spending as you always have.

The reason for all of this isn’t to just get rid of debt though, as that’s only a first step. You’re doing this so you can get more money to put away and build up your wealth. Just like weight loss, it’s not enough to just cut back on something, as that will never carry you through. Thinking on things like the benefits of a longer life and feeling physically better on a daily basis is a part of the overall success of those that faithfully adhere to dieting.

Budgeting is the same thing, as it’s essentially dieting your money in order to protect yourself financially over the long term, and eventually to get everything you want without the weight of a debt load you’re not able to carry.

If you live in the United Kingdom, a great option to help you get out of debt might be an IVA. An IVA is an individual voluntary arrangement, a great alternative option to bankruptcy for those who want to pay off their debts.

In the end, why pay your money out for things you can temporarily do without, in order to be able to buy whatever you want in the future without adding the stress of too much debt to your life?

This is why so many Americans are starting to pay down their debt now, as the recession and difficult financial circumstances have woken them up to the reality they can’t afford to live this way.

Now once that debt is paid down, we can then start to put more money into our savings and ultimately building up our personal wealthy at a much faster and higher rate than we ever have before.