Become Debt Free in 2017

/

I help women understand money so they experience the benefits of having 6-figure net worth or more in their lifetime.

 

Have you ever wondered how much money it takes to get and remain debt free?

Do you feel like the more you make the more you spend and the bigger your debt gets?

 

Is retail therapy your default method of making yourself feel better? Does it feel like all you have to show for this is a bunch of stuff that you sometimes look at and think “Why was a so anxious to have these $300 boots that I’m now giving away?”

 

Trust me I’ve been there.

 

In fact I had a serious problem spending money on throw away clothing and fashion that I would tire of after a few wears.

 

Especially living in a city like NYC which at times can feel like a giant mall.

 

In the early days of my business I wish I could say I kept a tight rein on this tendency but in fact it became worse. And to top it off I was $8,000 in debt.

 

I knew I had to get my spending under control and pay down my debt.

 

The first thing I did was get my attitude right. I had to find a way to simultaneously be grateful for my credit card debt and satisfied with what I already had.

 

One technique that helped me get into the right headspace is creating “radical gratitude”

 

Clink this link to view a description of radical gratitude.

 

The next steps were:

  1. STOPPED USING CREDIT CARDS. Seriously I cut cards up, kept them in ice etc to keep me from using them.

  2. Keeping a notebook of everything I spent each day

  3. Monitoring my expenses on mint

  4. Creating a spending plan based on my values (this was the key to not feeling deprived)

  5. Indulge my retail therapy urges but on a much smaller scale you'd be surprised how much a dollar rock tee at a thrift store or a new lip gloss from sephora can do the trick without blowing your budget

  6. Used the extra money I was saving to pay my smallest balances first. This was key because I needed to be able to see results.

 

I thought I would feel deprived or strictly budgeted doing this but instead I learned to rewire my brain

 

I began to feel happy with one new necklace instead of three.

 

Two years later I had paid off all my credit cards and got into the habit of not carry a balance.

 

 

During this process here’s what I found out

  1. It's not what you make, it's what you keep. Trite, but definitely true.

  2. Forget about interest rates. If you were really afraid of interests rates you wouldn't carry a balance at all. Pay the smallest balances first. It gives you the satisfaction to keep going. Remember when we feel good we do good

  3. Six figures will not save you. You have to learn good spending and saving habits no matter what you make or you will always live beyond your means (yep, even if you win the lottery)