The following is part of a blog swap guest post by Andrea at So Over Debt.
Since I made the decision to blog about my finances, I’m continually amazed that people read my posts about getting out of debt. After all, I’m in some serious debt myself (to the tune of $60,000) and I don’t even have a huge income to help me pay it off. How can I talk about something I know nothing about? Well, I may not be out of debt just yet, but I sure know all about getting into debt in the first place, and I know what changed in my life to stop the madness.
Getting In To Debt
If you want to get into debt, you need to be willing to put forth a lot of effort. It’s not enough to go buy groceries with a credit card every now and then. You have to be firmly committed to the idea that you need lots of things regardless of whether you have the money to buy them. You have to be willing to ask your parents or other family members to loan you money “just until I get paid.” It wouldn’t hurt to take out a payday loan or two as well. Most of all, getting into debt requires ignoring your commitments, like mortgage payments and utilities, and justifying your new debt payments (minimum payments only!) by saying, I can pay that! I waste more than that buying fast food in a month. Oh, and you need to continue wasting money buying fast food every month.
Doesn’t sound too smart, does it? I agree! Yet that’s exactly the way I lived my life for the last ten years. I was an absolute idiot, throwing money down the toilet left and right. It’s easy to see how dumb debt can be when you’re reading something like this. What’s not so easy, though, is seeing it when you’re actually making those choices. You’re living one poor decision at a time, and it’s not until much later that you’re able to look back at what happened while trying to cope with the sum of all those mistakes.
I know a ton of people who are still doing all those things while asking themselves, How in the world am I going to get out of this mess? Like I said, I know because I’ve been there. At the beginning of 2010, I found myself divorced with a ton of debt. I had four maxed out credit cards, a high-interest car loan, and a ton of student loans. I didn’t know how in the world I could stop the cycle of spending, running out of money, and borrowing from my parents.
Getting Out of Debt
I’m not going to tell you to quit buying coffee or go sell everything you own. Not that those are bad ideas, but you can read about that stuff on any number of websites. Plus, if you are stuck in a debt-filled existence, you aren’t ready to use those tips anyway.
The way to get out of debt is simple: You have to be truly tired of being in debt.
You can’t just be a little annoyed by your debt. You can’t simply wish it would go away. You have to reach your absolute breaking point, where it is simply unacceptable to keep living a debt-filled life. You have to want something bigger and better for yourself.
You’ll know when you’re ready to change. It’s one of those frustrating things where no one can tell you when or how; you’ll just know. You will find yourself taking steps that seemed impossible before. The financial advice that used to make you roll your eyes will suddenly interest you. You will be willing to do whatever it takes to stop the cycle of being broke. As I say on my website, you’ll be over your debt.
I got over my debt in December 2010. Since then, I’ve changed all kinds of bad habits. I now have over $1500 in savings – the first time I’ve had savings in my adult life. I’ve paid off all but $760 of my credit card debt. I’m saving for retirement, tracking my spending, and saving for the things I want instead of borrowing to pay for them. Everything I never thought I could do became possible in one tiny moment, with no parades or fanfare. I’m not saying it’s easy – I still mess up from time to time – but I know I will never again find myself buried under a pile of bills and credit card statements.
Conclusion
Are you over your debt yet, or are you still in spending mode? What will it take for you to make changes?
Visit Andrea at So Over Debt to follow her efforts to get her finances under control.
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Chris Thomas, owner of the online freelance writing and web-copy company, FreelancePF. Chris's interest in personal finance stems from leaving grad school with six figures in student loan debt.
I am “so over debt” and have twice cleared my credit cards and loans in the past five years since I started blogging. This time for good! The tediousness of the slog (the day to day dealing with debit) can be really hard but if you stick at it you find that is starts to become a way of life and you just find your life slips in around it. A bit like long distance running, you start and all is well but after a while it becomes really hard but if you press on you break through the barrier and it becomes easier. You will be debt free!
Thanks for the encouragement, Lisa, and congrats on making it out of debt x2! You’re right that it gets a little boring/discouraging at times, but I try to stay motivated by celebrating even the smallest victories. Hopefully someday I’ll join the privileged club of the debt-free!
I’ve gone up and down in the debt building/debt eliminating game. Sometimes saving a ton, then spending a ton. Now we’re finally on an even keel. Still working on pounding down our student loans, car loan, and home equity, but we’re not adding anything more to it. I think it’s just like anything. 1. You need to find the motivation to make it stick, and 2. You need to make changes that you manage long term. Thanks for sharing your story!
I think you nailed it when you said you have to get to the breaking point. It’s just like losing weight (I lost 100+ a few years ago). For years and years I said I wanted to lose weight, but I just sort of picked at diets and sorta exercised and really didn’t do anything. It wasn’t until I got to the point that I was totally over being fat – that I hit my breaking point – that I actually knuckled down and did it.
Getting in financial shape has been just the same for me. I coasted along for a long while and then it hit me that I was DONE. I was going to get my act together because I was over the stress and drama of always being broke.
Just like learning to eat differently and exercise, learning to spend differently and save has meant changing my mindset about things. It’s not a quick fix and it’s not always fun … but it pays off in the long run!
kh:
I just want to add in that I too lost 100+ pounds a few years ago (that college weight had to go). I too had that moment of just being really sick of being overweight. Now I’m definitely there when it comes to debt, just like So Over Debt and you. It’s a good feeling–and hopefully one that will be productive.
Congrats on the weight loss! That’s my next goal, once all the debt is gone: Getting over this extra 30 pounds. Haven’t hit my breaking point with that one yet. Or smoking. Or keeping my house clean. Okay, so it looks like I’ve got a lifetime of goals ahead of me! At least I’ll never get bored..
Andrea:
Everyone says that smoking helps you lose weight, but I was not successful losing weight until I quit smoking. It allowed me to have enough lung to start exercising again. I quit smoking and threw myself into exercise to get it done.