Stressed and embarrassed about your debt? You aren’t alone. Despite it being normalized in our culture, it’s anything but. Carrying debt can leave you feeling chained, because you essentially are. According to Scripture (Proverbs 22:7) “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” You may be having trouble sleeping at night, because you’re a slave. In order to get out of debt and free yourself, you’ll need to be warrior.
At it’s highest point, my husband I owed more than $98,000. We had every type of debt imaginable. Neither one of us had been taught about money, or had bothered to stop and consider the consequences of our stupid spending habits. Because that’s what they were – stupid! We had student loans, car payments, credit cards, furniture loans, medical debt, and 401k loans. It was crushing. Spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and intellectually. I had trouble breathing at times. Here’s how we went about the business of freeing ourselves.
How to Get Out of Debt
Before you even begin, you have to admit that you’ve screwed up. Just like with any self destructive behavior, before any healing can begin, you must admit that you have a problem.
You messed up, financially? Who hasn’t? It’s what you do now that matters. It’s time to clean this mess up, once and for all.
1. Make a List of Your Debts
First of all, in order to get out of debt, you need to know how much debt you’re in. Warrior rule #1 is to know your enemy. How can you prepare to attack, if you don’t know who your opponent is?
If you’ve been putting off opening your mail, it’s time to face the music. Open ALL those bills you’ve got laying around. Set them in a pile, and go about the business of making a list.
Be like Santa, even if you feel as grumpy as the Grinch, and make a list. List ALL your debt on paper, or in a spreadsheet. If you aren’t sure of all your debts, that’s okay. Write down what you know. You can add to the list as bills come in.
2. STOP Borrowing Money
Above all, you’ve got to STOP borrowing money. You can’t possibly get out of debt, if you keep going into debt. Duh!
Cut up your credit cards, cancel activities and/or memberships that you can’t afford to pay for with cash, and do NOT even think about beginning to start looking for reasons why you deserve a new car. It’s time to change your behaviors. So far your spending habits haven’t done you any favors. If they had, you wouldn’t be reading this right now.
3. Have a Plan
When troops go into battle, they have a war plan. Otherwise, I’d imagine, it’s just mass chaos with no chance of survival. It’s the same with paying off debt. Your old ways haven’t worked, so it’s time to try something new. Pick a debt reduction plan and submit yourself to the process completely. Seriously! Have a game plan, and commit to it.
Certainly David had a plan when he took on Goliath. So too, must you.
Debt Payoff Plans of Attack
- The Debt Snowball – List your debts from smallest to largest balance, and pay minimum payments on everything but the smallest. Pay as much extra money as you can on the smallest balance until it’s paid off, and then move down to the next one. Paying your highest balance off last.
- The Debt Avalanche – List your debts in order of interest rate, from highest to lowest. Pay minimum payments on everything but the debt with the largest interest rate. Pay as much extra money as you can on the debt with the highest interest rate until it’s paid off, and then move down to the next one. Paying your lowest interest rate debt last.
There are other debt payoff plans out there, such as balance transfers, debt settlements, and bankruptcy. However, I don’t recommend them. I wouldn’t exactly even call them “payoff” plans. All they do is move your debt around, as opposed to really freeing you. Therefore, they have no real place in the “Warrior’s” Guide.
4. Get Angry
Being in debt is emotional. Likewise, in order to get out of debt, you need to BE emotional. If you don’t feel mad at your debt, it’s just going to stick around. Think about all the choices that’ve been taken from you, as a result of the debt, and get angry about it.
For me, when we started having our babies, I desperately wanted to stay home with my children. However, because we had so many payments to make each month, I had to return to work. My income was simply too much for us to walk away from. We would have had to move in with family to make that work, and that wasn’t an option for us. I cried for several months, but I did what I had to. It made me so ANGRY when I realized that our debt had taken the choice to stay home with my babies from me.
Let your anger fuel your drive to win, each and every day. Just like in the movie Braveheart, freedom is won with intense emotion.
5. Start
Yes, this is a step. It’s certainly possible to list your debts, have a plan, get angry, and then…. do nothing. Maybe it all feels overwhelming, and impossible to tackle. Remember, it’ll NEVER go away if you don’t START to pay it off aggressively.
Put your foot on the path TODAY, and stick to it. Not tomorrow – today. Eventually you’ll make it to the top of that mountain. But, if you never start, you’ll never get there.
6. Get a Side Hustle
My own personal side hustle, YouTube, has turned into one of the greatest joys in my life. I love it! When I first started it, uploading Cloth Diapering tutorial videos, we were battling our mountain of debt. I was hoping it’d help us earn a few extra dollars, and although it didn’t start earning me much money for years to come – it helped me feel a sense of hope.
Increasing your household income will help you get out of debt faster. Not only that, it’ll help you feel a sense of empowerment. There’s dignity in work, and if you’re drowning in debt, working extra will likely help you feel better just knowing you’re doing all you can do to CRUSH it.
7. Cut, CUT, Cut – Expenses
Look for ways to lower your expenses. Why? So that you can put as much money as possible towards your debt, and get it OUT of your life. A true warrior will make the necessary sacrifices to win the war. Once you’ve paid off all your debt, you’ll be free to do more things. It’s worth it.
8. Focus on Your “Why”
In every great quest, there are moments where you’ll feel like quitting. In order to keep motivation up, focus on the reason why you’re doing it.
Why do you want to get out of debt?
- To change your family tree.
- Build wealth.
- Leave a legacy.
- Give generously.
- Travel the world.
- Retire with dignity.
- Be a stay at home mom.
- Live your dream.
Keep your reason front and center. Post it in your house, or write it on a card and carry it around with you. Look at it often. Remind yourself on a daily basis why you’re working so hard.
9. Don’t STOP (Never Give Up!)
Even if it seems to be taking longer than you think it should, just keep going. If you stop, you won’t ever get there. Trust me, it’s worth the fight to the finish.
Be brave, like a warrior.
They’ll be times throughout your process that outside forces will attempt to pull, push, punch or drag you off your path. Don’t let them! Even if you need to crawl, just keep going.
It takes courage to dare to be different, and to say “no” to loved ones.
Family members will tease or tempt you to go out to dinner, take vacations or go shopping with them. They may mean well – but NOTHING should deter you from your goal of getting out of debt, as fast as you possibly can.
10. Find Ways to Stay Motivated
The current culture supports carrying debt. Credit cards are the most heavily marketed product in history. We’ve all been essentially brain washed into believing they’re good for us.
How many people do you know who brag about their credit score? They’re bragging about the fact that they’ve borrowed enough money to give them a high score, which awards them the ability to do what? Borrow more money!! How is this a good thing? Do we seriously all want to live our lives as slaves to our debtors?
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have MONEY, than a high credit score, and debt payments are robbing you of your ability to build wealth.
Look for other “weird” people who are breaking FREE from debt to help keep you both accountable and motivated to continue. Find an online community by searching #DebtFreeCommunity on any of the social media sites. There may even be some support groups within your community. It might feel like you’re alone in your debt free journey, but trust me, you aren’t.
