Debt Sucks!
Debt can make you like awake at night feeling like you have a weight on your chest.
It can be hard to breathe.
It can wreck your health and your marriage.
And it snowballs. Not the good, Dave Ramsey kind of snowball, where you pay off one little debt, then a bigger one and a bigger one. It’s the one where your debt gets bigger and bigger until it rolls right over you.
Paying Off Debt Sucks Too
You have to make choices you don’t want to, tighten belts you’d prefer stay loose.
Yeah, I write a frugal family blog. But guess what? I suck at budgeting, I suck at curbing spending and I have debt. My name’s Tracy and I have a problem.
But here’s a few ways I’m working to make it not suck so bad:
A few ways I'm working to make debt payoff suck a little less.Click To TweetVisualize Your Goal
If you have your heart set on a family cruise or international trip, print a beautiful picture of the cruise ship or the destination and put it on your fridge and make it your cell phone wallpaper. That might make you put things in a bit different perspective. You might decide not to buy another handbag or pair of shoes because it’s not as important to you as your big goal.
Visualize Your Debt
I love those debt payoff charts where you color in a new line each time you pay off another chunk of debt. You should also put that on the fridge and take a pic of it to use as your cell phone wallpaper. Debt is ugly and uncomfortable and forcing yourself to look at it every day might be the catalyst you need to make it a priority.
And the more you color that chart with pretty colors, the better.
Talk About It
I think one of the biggest problems is keeping your debt a secret. From yourself and your spouse. The payoff chart will help bring it out in the open. Talking about it will too. If you don’t acknowledge and talk about it, you can almost convince yourself it doesn’t exist or it’s not as important or bad as it really is. Talking about it brings it out in the open and makes it real and something you can tackle.
Get An Ally
Talking about your debt with your loved one or a friend can also give you an ally. If you can’t stop yourself from buying that sweatshirt in the middle of summer because ‘it’s just so perfect’ and ‘a great deal’ your partner-in-debt can help be your conscience, your willpower. I’m trying to make it a point to talk to my husband about nearly every purchase, big and small. I’m not asking for permission. I’m asking for help.
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