Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Here’s my little Happy New Year gift to you. Each day in January, I’ll bring you a simple, concrete and easy to put in place tip to fuel your efforts to Save Money, Pay Off Debt, and Be Awesome this year. Looking for a quick plan? Well this might not to be the right place for you. Most things down well take time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t begin to implement systems in your life that will help you achieve your goals. I’ve said it many, many times before. Paying off debt isn’t complex. It’s just not easy. You have to punch the clock daily and do the hard work. Here’s another way to make that happen
Day 20: STOP FREAKING OUT
I’m not so good under pressure. I would have made a lousy spy or bomb defuser. In fact, sometimes when under great pressure, I literally run around in circles. Not even joking at all.
For instance, let’s just say for pure demonstration sake that I would, oh I don’t know, set the oven on fire. Ironically, I’m not a bad cook but this has happened *cough* more than once *cough* in our house before. Someone who is good under pressure (the King of Free) would calmly assess the situation and either close the door and let it burn out or throw baking soda on the flames to extinguish it. Side note: we now keep baking soda on the stove’s top ledge since I have a wee bit of a pyromania-ish. Anywho, the first time this happened yours truly instead fled from the small kitchen of our then apartment, pacing rapidly with her hands up in the air saying, “What should we do?! What should we do?!” Thank the good Lord that my husband is cool and collected in times of stress because our poor family would have been burnt to the ground in more than one way, more than one time.
So here’s what I know about debt (having and then having paid off $127K makes me know one or two things), it can cause some of us to FREAK OUT, throwing our hands in the air, pacing in circles, yelling “What should we do?! What should we do?!” Freaking out doesn’t put out fires and freaking out doesn’t help you Kick Debt in the Teeth, either. Calmly assessing the situation and creating a plan of action and then of course actually putting the plan in place allows you to kick debt in the teeth. Freaking out? That usually just results in more debt.
Have you been freaking out about your debt load? Pause for a moment with me. Take a deep breath. Blow it back out. LISTEN TO ME. It’s going to be ok. There is a way out. It’s not easy but you CAN do it. Chasing yourself around in circles and wildly flailing your arms financially is not a plan. Such behavior will only burn you down to the ground.
Here’s what I know about you. You are smart. You can obviously read and navigate the internet or you wouldn’t still be hanging with me here. Check. You want to get out of debt. You wouldn’t have clicked if you weren’t at least a little bit intrigued, interested, or maybe even desperate. Check and check. You are patient. Listening to me ramble on about stories of nearly burning down my house clearly demonstrates your ability to endure difficult situations. Check, check, and check.
Stop freaking out and channel your energies toward something productive. Total your debt and have an honest hard look in the mirror. Set an audacious goal of paying everything off by a certain date. Crack open the classifieds and begin to look for extra work. Plan your meals for the week and make a grocery list for only the things you truly need. Print out a budget form and begin the process of being more intentional with your dollars.
You got this. I’m going to cheer for you every step of the way (and hang onto the baking soda just in case I need to put out a freak out).
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I’m so looking forward to sharing this month of challenge and inspiration with you. Together, we can show debt who’s boss and give it a swift kick in the teeth this January and throughout the year in 2016. Away we go!
Miss the previous posts? Check out:
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: BELIEVE
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: STOP IT
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: SELL, BABY, SELL
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in The Teeth: USE CASH
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: PLAN YOUR MEALS
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT BUDGETING
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: READ A BOOK
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: QUIT RESTAURANTS
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: DREAM ON!
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: SET LIMITS
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR SPOUSE
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: MOVE IT
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: WORK IT
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: LEARN TO COUPON
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: VISUALIZE VICTORY
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: CHOOSE GREAT FRIENDS
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: CLEAN YOUR ROOM
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: EMERGENCY FUNDS
- 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth: QUIT FUNDRAISERS
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
