The debt lifestyle is all around us. Debt is insidious, precisely because it is everywhere. In a way debt is like air — we don’t even think about air anymore. We take using it for granted as a normal part of life, until we have difficulty breathing. But unlike air, debt isn’t something we actually need.
In fact, debt can be bad for us. Having debt-related difficulties can be a huge wake-up call that results in an improved lifestyle.
Recognizing the extent that debt is intertwined with your life (and the effect that it really has on you) is the first step.
Start with something obvious, like how you feel when you get the mail. I remember hating to get those credit card bills. It’d seem like I’d just paid one when another one would appear. Sometimes a bunch would come at once. Opening them was worse, because there were the fights afterward — the accusations, the blame, the frustration at not having enough money to pay off the cards (or even to stay out of the red in the checking account). All of those things take an emotional toll on a person.
Identifying the day-to-day habits that result in debt is also critical. Make a mental note of every. single. time. you pull out a credit card or hear an advertisement for credit that tempts you. Focus on identifying WHEN you are using credit, HOW you get sucked in, and WHAT credit really is: debt.
Those ads for 90 days same as cash? Debt. Home equity loans to pay off credit cards or add a pool? Debt. Overdraft lines? Potential debt. Car payments? Debt. Swiping your VISA credit card at McDonald’s? Debt. Sticking a plane ticket on your American Express because you’ll have the money to pay for it before the bill is due? Debt. Accepting an invitation to an event when you don’t have the money saved up, right now to pay for the tickets? Debt.
Debt means an obligation. A mortgage on your future. The inability to really enjoy the here-and-now. Worry, stress, and frustration. Guilt. Being unable to quit a job you hate unless you can find a better one. Spending 2 hours a day in your car so that you can commute to the job that pays for it. Missing out on time with your family, etc.
Turn all those thoughts of debt into “I don’t want that.” And then focus on what you DO want instead: to be debt free.
Boy you said it. Debt has and is doing all of those things to me. But I am trying to get out and making good progress. Some times I back slide, I still have unexpected emergencies, but I am learning. I just wish I had started down this path years ago. What is it that makes one stop and say I have had enough?
What did make you stop and say you had enough? :)
For me I think I just hit a tipping point.
Fear, illness, age, wisdom,guilt. The realization that we made good money now and we could not enjoy it. I was always waiting to make a decent living. Yes, we work very hard, very long hours but we were also pulling in a good amount of money every month. Now a lot of our debt is business start up debt and doctor bills but much of it is not. I think I just got tired of working so hard and watching essentially $5000.00 a month give or take go down the drain with no end in sight. If we continued our habits we would never be out. What was your tipping point if you don’t mind my asking?
You know, I don’t remember exactly what led up to it. All I remember is that I was sitting on the kitchen counter looking at (I think) a credit card statement, and I had just had enough. I decided right then that I was done.