The Secret to Getting Out of Debt

The secret to getting out of debt is deceptively simple: It’s commitment to making a permanent change in how you handle your money.

Of course, if you came here hoping to find a magic trick that will get you out of debt in 5 seconds flat, that probably wasn’t what you wanted to hear.

But it IS what works.

No easy shortcuts

When it comes to debt, the “quick and easy” shortcuts usually…aren’t. That’s because no program or method is going to change the choices you make. You have to do that. And some methods (such as debt consolidation) can actually enable you to continue doing the things you’ve always done.

It takes time and conscious effort to change. But we’re all human, which means we’re all used to doing things a certain way without putting a lot of thought into most of what we do.

You probably do the same thing right when you get out of bed each morning, take the same route to work, leave at about the same time each day, etc. Those kind of automatic actions help us get along so that we can focus on things that we aren’t used to doing.

But have you ever tried to permanently change the route you take for work? Chances are, even if you intend to go a different way, you’ll end up on the same old route without even realizing it — at least a few times, and especially at first.

What it takes

To make a permanent change, you have to be committed to doing so. You have to try again if you slip up. You have to keep at it, even if roadblocks get thrown in your way.

In the change-your-route-to-work example, if you took the old route by mistake one day, you wouldn’t give up and tell yourself that you’ll never get off the road. You wouldn’t resign yourself to it.

Instead, you’d try harder the next day. Maybe you’d put a stickie note on your door, or ask your spouse to remind you of your goal. Maybe you’d chat with your coworkers about the routes they usually take to work to see if there’s a route you’re overlooking.

It’s the same way with getting out of debt. You decide on the change you want to make (going from a borrowing mentality to a self-funded mentality), focus each day on your target, and then get right back on the desired path if you go astray.