Get Out Of Debt: Steps to Change
Getting out of debt is not only making payments. In order to stay out of serious debt, you must change your mentality on spending and learn how to manage your debt behavior.
Take it slow.
Its impossible for you to make all the changes you want to at one time. If you try to take them all on at once, you are bound to fall back into old habits discouraged. Paying off debts is not an instant fix; its a lengthy process towards a new financially stable. Take a few weeks to monitor your spending to find where your habits lie. Take another few weeks to try and curb your spending and form a budget that will benefit your lifestyle. Once everything is in check, then you can take all of your new found knowledge to begin your debt busting regimen.
Don’t forget to be realistic in your thinking.
Short term goals are extremely beneficial. Once you accomplish these you will have new found confidence in yourself and you will push yourself even harder to accomplish your long term goal of paying off all of your debts. Stop accruing debt first and then begin paying it down. Depending on the extent of your debt situation, it could take a few years to be debt free. Reward yourself every time you achieve one of your goals so that you can encourage yourself to continue. How happy will you be when you can open your credit card statements without a shock, or you can answer the phone without wondering who is on the other end of the 800 #?
Create your own method.
Don’t jump on fads or whatever may be popular at the time. Don’t compare your debts to the success or failure of another person’s plan. You are the only one who knows what is best for you and your family. Visualize your debt free future and what you would like to do with all the additional money at the time. Do you want to invest it? Do you want to go on a dream vacation? Do you want to retire early? It’s amazing what you will be able to do with your income once you aren’t stuck paying out to everyone but yourself.
Simplify and replace old habits.
Pay bills by check; pull cash out and leave your debit and credit cards at home; cut back on your spending. It sounds challenging at first, but as I mentioned in another post it takes 21 days for a new habit to form.
Mistakes will happen, we are only human after all. If you fall short or slip occasionally, just pick it back up and do it all over again. Don’t let small hindrances deter you from your ultimate goal! Believe in yourself, you will succeed as long as you put your mind to it and follow your budget plan!
January 5, 2010 - 12:50 pm
I save $300 a year by using a $10 razor and a # 3 setting to do my own haircuts. My wife Amanda then boxes it up with scissors in the back and trims over the ears. Within 10 to 15 minutes, I’m done without hassle, without seaching town for an available barber or beautician on my schedule, without having to wait and read boring magazines.
We also had a freezer in the garage that was hardly being used, wasting power, and so we gave up on it and unplugged it.
Amanda then added her sister on our car insurance, and our insurance cost went down!
Amanda then took one of our old vehicles and gave it to her sister to pick up the payments, saving us $600/mo. The sister will then own the vehicle this year and we’re just going to forget about the equity we had in it.
Amanda then redid our homeowner’s insurance and saved us $400 a year.
To save on doctor bills, she now uses a clinic that’s part of the high school (since she teaches there) and we fix all our cases of sniffles for super cheap. The person is licensed there to give out antibiotics, prescription cold meds, and to determine if something is more serious than we thought. We now only go to doctors every once in a great while.
By living in Johnsonville, we save a ton on vehicle repairs because mechanics are affordable and quite capable here. In one case a mechanic pointed out what part I needed to purchase, where to purchase it, and how to install it myself. I swapped out a stabilizer for my Jeep that way.
Every little bit helps.