It's Labor Day Weekend, and all the workers are kicking their feet up with barbecues, football, camping or whatever they want for the three day weekend. By Tuesday, we'll be back to the grind of employment for the final third of the year. Everybody has to work except the top 10 percent of the country, and strangely enough, they work extra hard to make their Scrooge McDuck money pool bigger. The rest of us work to pay off our debts. We are slaves to banks, credit cards, house and car payments. Many people play this game with their finances, but I'm here to tell you there is a better way.

Somewhere in my teenage years, I came up with a simple financial strategy that has never steered me wrong: Never purchase anything you can't cover. It sounds easy. It sounds rational. It sounds Zen. Of course, that means very few Americans adhere to it.

We want everything, and we want it now. The American Dream is traditionally defined as getting the wife, kids, and a big fat house with a picket fence. Throw in a car. No, the big one. The big screen TV. The washer/dryer combo that matches both the carpet and ceiling. Don't have the money? No problem. Everyone has a payment plan. Everyone has a scheme for getting you what you want. All you have to do is be their slave.

Before America was officially America, indentured servants worked for seven years before receiving their freedom. These days, Yeomen Johnsons everywhere work for seven years to pay off their automobile of choice. Incidentally, the car you take years to pay off will break down the moment you make that final payment. Want a house? No problem. Not only will realtors screw you with extra closing costs up front, you will also be a slave to payments for thirty years. How's Massah doin' today?

How about those credit cards? Play the game. Constantly switch balances from one account to another. 18.9 % interest. It's so easy to use the card. Even McDonald's accepts your plastic these days. Living in the red, but look at my nice sofa. No, don't sit on it. It's for the good company.

So what does it mean to accrue sizable debt? It means with all the swell purchases you made, you are a slave to whatever job you have. Can't think about taking chances. Don't want to speak up. Won't get in trouble. There's bills to think about. Got to keep the cash flow flowing. You've reaped the rewards before you earned any of them, and by the time it's all paid off, you'll probably owe money for something else. Working in a coal mine, going down down, working in a coal mine, whup, about to slip down.

There is another way. There is the road less traveled. There is still the simple plan I came up with in my teenage years: Don't buy things you can't afford! Living in the black is so much easier, you have no idea. Living in debt tears families apart. It causes many rifts in family and friends. All because you are beyond broke, and there's nothing you can do about it.

I am not a rich man, but I've always had money in the bank. Sometimes, money gets tight. Sometimes, the money comes easy. I don't own a house and my two cars were cheap. I like to eat and drink well. I splurge on cable TV, movies, rock n' roll, and a nice shirt every now and again. I don't have a powerful computer, cell phone, or stunning piece of furniture. Most importantly, I don't have any debt, and I don't think I'm missing anything. The stuff you own ends up owning you.

We all work for what we have, but we only become slaves by choice. It's a brilliant system the rich have concocted to keep us all in line. The lottery will not save us, faith in a god will not save us, declaring bankruptcy will not save us. The only way to the debt-free life is to earn more than you owe. It's as simple as that. The execution of the plan is not so easy, but it beats being a slave.

Chris Jungle is not a number, he's a free man!