Being in debt can feel so completely overwhelming. You feel guilty for getting yourself into a mess. You know there are countless corrections to be made in the ways you spend money and budget. You wonder how you could possibly reduce your lifestyle any more when it already feels like you are already doing less than anyone else.
These daunting feelings can cause one of two outcomes.
- You go into full on freak out mode and do absolutely nothing.
- You try to do all of the things and in the end do absolutely nothing.
Obviously, neither is helpful. In order to improve your financial situation, you must do something. Something is always better than nothing. But at the same time, you must resist the temptation to take on too much change too quickly. Simply put, you cannot scale back your lifestyle while learning to extreme coupon and freezer cooking in one afternoon. Such change is not sustainable and in the end you’ll plummet into a downward spiral of financial #fail.
Let me provide a little illustration. We have a rather large yard. Said yard is difficult to maintain. We have quite a few flower beds and five square foot gardens. Plus there’s a pond and a woods and about an acre to mow, rake, and trim. There is much to do. Pictured above is my 2nd greatest arch nemesis (my first being the $127K debt dragon that we slayed). These nasty pointy little beasts fall off two trees, one in our front yard, one in the back.
Right now, they are EVERYWHERE.
I actually enjoy push mowing, but mowing over these badboys creates World War Three. They fly everywhere. Oncoming traffic swerves as I shoot them toward the road. They ping off of my legs (that’ll leave a mark). They stick in my hair. They scrape my hands.
I could either A) forget about the nuisance and continue to let them pile up. B) try to pick up every single one in an afternoon.
A) will result in me being continually plagued and no change and since they’re technically seeds, possibly more of these awful trees. B) will cause me to be so sore that I won’t be able to walk for WEEKS.
Instead, I have been picking up a cart full of the these nasty beasts each evening. It’s not the immediate change I long for, but the gradual difference that will add up over time.
Can you smell the budget tip parallel I’m cooking?
If you are to successfully pay off debt, you must make tiny installments over time. Small, sustainable changes to your life and the ways you handle finance. Too much too fast yields a negative result. You cannot and must not attempt to do all of the things. Instead, attempt a small change for thirty days and once it’s firmly in place, take on another small change.
In conclusion, here are 10 small changes you could attempt. REMEMBER: do not do all of these or any two of these if you’re not already engaging in the practice. Instead choose one to endeavor in for the next month.
- Fill out a budget form.
- Meal plan for a month.
- Use cash only for the grocery store.
- Track your spending on an expenditure log.
- Cancel the cable.
- Pack lunches for everyone in your family.
- Make your own laundry detergent.
- Have a weekly budget meeting with your spouse.
- Reduce your utility bills.
- Quit eating at restuarants.
What will be your one thing this month? Comment and make it real!
Gain inspiration to pay off debt! Check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
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