The first step to start getting out of debt…….is to WANT TO GET OUT OF DEBT BAD ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Are you saying “Duh?”
A few years ago I would have. I was in debt and wanted to get out of debt – or so I said. I didn’t want the debt I had, but I wasn’t willing to do anything about it.
All I did was pay it lip service.
I hated the credit card bills and tearfully promised my husband nearly every month that I would stop using credit cards and would stop overspending.
But then I would be at a store and see a “great deal” on a pair of sneakers that I justified buying because they would motivate me to get out and walk more often because my feet would be comfortable.
Or…I saw “buy one get one free” on down pillows and I always wanted down pillows and they would help me sleep better and prevent me from getting a sore neck.
Or….I saw the cutest shirt on clearance ( marked down 90% to only $5!) and I couldn’t pass up such a great deal.
Or…..I would see a present that I was sure one of my kids would love for Christmas (it would only be March) and it was on sale so I would buy it and then be unable to wait to give it them so I gave it to them early (really early, like the next week – because they deserved a treat, right?). Then at Christmas I still spent the same amount on them that I always did because that present I gave them early really hadn’t been a Christmas present.
Do you get where I’m going with this? I was great at coming up with reasons why I just had to buy one more thing with my credit card…….in a never ending cycle of promising to stop spending and then going out and doing it anyway.
I said I wanted to get out of debt but my actions spoke a whole lot louder than my words.
Stopping the cycle of overspending and paying off debt is hard. A person has to be willing to work very hard, make sacrifices, and go without things they want, and often postpone purchasing needed items.
My husband and I have cut our debt in half in the last 2 1/2 years which feels great and makes me proud of myself for finally taking responsibility for myself.
But it sure hasn’t been easy. I still find myself in a section of the department store I have no need to be in and picking up things that I really want; only to have walk back to the shelf and replace the items after I regain control of myself and shake off that “gotta have it mindset” I get in, and remember that I want to get out of debt more than I want that pretty, shiny, bright new item.
To be successful at stopping the cycle of overspending and getting out of debt requires intense concentration, a lot of personal fortitude and tons of determination.
I’m not trying to talk anyone out of making the effort to get out of debt. I hope everyone who is reading this and who has debt will work on paying it off. It’s just that I think a lot of experts downplay how hard it is and say to “just do it.” That’s all fine and great but “just doing it” isn’t always so easy. A person has to truly be ready to do it and be aware that it may be the hardest thing they ever do.
The reward is truly worth it though. Ask anyone who is debt free and they will tell you. My brother and sister-in-law paid off the last of their debt in 2008. They don’t owe anybody any money – not even on their house. My sister-in-law said it’s a feeling that is really hard to describe and that she never realized how great of a feeling it is. She said it’s a huge weight off her shoulders and makes her happier than she ever thought possible.
I’m so anxious to experience that feeling for myself….and I will. You can too.
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