Are you tired of living a life of debt? Back several years ago I went though a life-changing event right before Christmas. I too was living paycheck to paycheck at that time then something happened, my water softener went out. It was going to cost me $1000 dollars to fix it.
I was able to cover the cost but it was going to leave me short on cash for Christmas. That year my wife and I struggled with our finances and that’s when I decided I didn’t want to live a life going from one paycheck to the next but rather to living a debt-free life once and for all.
The Challenges I Faced
From then on my goal was to persevere but there were challenges, the first being knowledge. At that time I knew nothing about how money worked or even the best way to pay off debt. In fact, the extent of my knowledge was only good enough to get me by and that was it.
For example, I knew that if I would make my monthly debt payments I could get by but what I didn’t know was that if I would have arranged those debts in the right order and paid them off in a certain way I could have gotten out of debt a lot faster.
The second challenge I faced was my beliefs. If I was going to pay off even just my immediate debts I was going to have to change the way I thought about money. At that time my belief was that I was always going to earn around the same type of income and never earn any more because I didn’t believe I could earn anymore.
Face it, if you can’t see yourself earning more than your current income then how are you going to ever earn more? A lot of people believe you need some big education or to land the right job to make it successful. I know a lot of people who are too smart and still poor and a few people who are not so smart and very well off, so if these people can do it I can too.
Finally, the last challenge I face and still face to this day changes. That might sound odd but it’s true. If you’re doing something that isn’t the same thing that everyone else is doing people will tend to look differently at you and even criticize you.
For example, most people do about the same things, we typically have about the same type of house, drive the same type of car, have the same types of jobs, and even eat the same kinds of foods.
However, when you start doing things that deviate from the norm people tend to look at you in a different way. In fact, some people I know criticized me for the changes I have made in my life to become more successful. The reality is that if you can’t accept change as a part of your life you will never get out of debt or become successful for that fact.
What You Can Do To Live A Debt-Free Life
So now that we know the challenges involved in how to live a debt-free life you might be wondering what is the next step. So in this section, I’m going to show you a few things I’ve done to rid myself of debt and save more money.
The first thing I’ve done is learn more about how to manage my finances and put a plan together.
The second thing I did was embraced the situation. My goal was not to just put my finances in order and forget about them but rather attack my problems head-on. By doing this I was able to cut down the majority of my debt in a few short years and build up very nice savings as a result.
How did I do this?
I started my own business, this website. I knew if I could supplement my income it would speed up the process and get me out of debt faster. This is where I believe my plan separates me from others. For most of us, we tend to do the first option taking care of our finances but then once we get things in order we tend to slack off and before we know it we’re back where we started.
Instead, look at supplementing your income. In my case, I earn extra income from the internet because it allows me to work from home and do it in my spare time for now. However, you don’t have to do what I’ve necessarily done, it can be anything.
Call To Action
Today I’m much better off as a result. My finances are in order, my immediate debt is paid in full, and I have a very healthy savings plan in place. If you want to fix your debt problems click here to learn about help.
Finally, what are you doing to live a debt-free life? Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, and questions below. Also don’t forget to tweet, share this with others, and spread the word.
Do you think debt snowball is a better approach than the debt stacking method?
Kevin, that is a great question. I have always been a big fan of the debt snowball plan were you pay down the debt with the smallest balance first. The reason I like this plan the best because it shows the quickest results.
When someone is deep in debt and finally pays off that first debt it gives them that feeling and a sense of accomplishment that says they can do this. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.
Welcome to the community.