How Do I Get Serious About Paying Off Debt? How To Earn More

Getting into debt is a serious problem and it’s so much easier than getting out of it. There are interest payments and escalating costs.

It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. For every debt you have, there will be someone willing to help you to pay them back. It may be a lower sum initially but it will quickly pass and before you know it you can eliminate those pesky debts once and for all.

So how do you get serious about paying off debt? Being honest with yourself and recognizing there is a problem is step one. If you are able to lie to yourself then lying to others will be even easier. Contacting your creditors and being honest with them is the next step. Most, if not all, will try to help you get their debt paid in the best way possible.

Being honest with yourself (and everyone else)

One of the biggest ways you can get and stay in debt is by lying, not only to yourself but to those around you.

You may feel that omitting the truth is not a lie but it is really if you spend money on something you cannot afford like a luxury holiday instead of telling those you are going with you simply cannot afford it.

Big-ticket items such as cars, jewelry, and holidays are some of the main ways people can get into serious debt. Imagine paying for 2 or 3 holidays 10 years after you have taken them?

This kind of spending habit can get you into a lot of trouble, especially if you are in debt already. I know it’s hard to say no to the [insert amazingly fun thing ever here] you have always dreamed of.

There are things, for example, that has been on my bucket list for over 20 years, such as traveling around Japan. I just simply cannot afford the amount of money I would need to live in Japan for a year.

I have been honest with myself and rather than take out a massive loan I have waited patiently for the time to come where I can finally visit the land of the rising sun.

Spend less

This one should be a no-brainer but I feel the need to repeat this one as often as possible to get my message across.

A simple equation of ‘if money in is less than money out’ then you will run out of money. This is the most fundamental rule you need to abide by and that is to spend less than you earn.

I know there are many people out there who are not in the situation where they have the luxury of ‘spare money’ so you need to address this now. Waiting will only make things worse.

Good news though, most of us can actually reduce our spending by 30% without even batting an eyelid. It’s easy when you know how, but it’s not easy changing and accepting you are doing things wrong.

Let go of your pride and suck it up. At the end of the day, how do you want to be known? The careful spender who is debt-free and lives a stress-free life doing what he/she wants or the most fun and fashionable bankrupt who you should avoid as they are always scrounging as they never have any money?

Let go of those fashion brands, stop buying expensive lattes every day. Cut some coupons and be humble too. Knowing you are digging your way out of debt is a good and rewarding lesson that will stand you in good stead for those times when money isn’t tight.

Earn more

Now there are limits to how much you can save, eventually, you will be at a level where you cannot save any more money as you have trimmed everything down to the bone.

So what now? Now it’s time to get busy. If you find yourself a few dollars short each month then cutting back may solve this problem and get you back out of the red and into the black.

But what if it doesn’t? Then you need to find work or do something that can bring in extra cash. If your problem is short-term then you could try selling some of your things. I now have little more than a cabin-approved carry-on backpack and I have everything I need.

I made some cash selling things but it was mainly to give me the freedom to live in a part of the world that costs a fraction of where I came from.

If you need extra cash for a longer period then another job may be needed, Or even a change of job to a better paying one. This is not easy I know as jobs are hard to find, hard to get, and despite the best will in the world, not 100% guaranteed.

Starting something online can be a good option too if you have the drive and determination to see it through.

If you are willing to trade hours for money then you have a lot of scopes. There are sites like Odesk and Fiverr that pay you for doing small jobs. If you have any kind of talent then you can turn it into a profit online. Even things like internet searching or impressions of silly stuff can earn you a few dollars here and there and can make all the difference.

If you need money for a long period and are willing to work now and see the benefits later then check out these articles below. They will show you how to set up an easy online business that in time can increase and ultimately replace your income.

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Goals

Know you have a problem is the first step, cutting your spending and increasing your earning potential if possible is there too, so what’s next?

Next is to have a goal, if you aim at nothing you will hit it. Having a series of smaller goals will help you keep focused without looking at your debt like a mountain that needs to be scaled.

As well as goals you can also set yourself a small reward for each goal attained. Something small like a trip to a movie or a coffee and cake trip to your favorite coffee shop (as a one-off of course)

By dividing up a problem into a smaller series of goals you will feel much better as psychologically you will feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement when you reach each of the goals you have set for yourself.

After you have hit your first target you will feel stronger and more positive, more in control of your life, which in fact, you are.

Dedication

This is the hardest part. Staying on and not falling off the wagon. When you first set out with your newly created plan and goal it will feel awful and difficult because you are used to just ignoring your problem and sweeping it under the carpet.

The good news is that we, as humans are very adaptable. Think about a time where something changed and you felt awkward or nervous about it. How about now?

I bet for every change in your life you felt the initial strangeness and then it became the norm. This is what we do, we change, we accept and we adapt. Things are always changing and so are we.

Use this understanding of change to bring about change in your life too. If you can understand the anxiousness about the changes you have made will be short-lived then it will make the act of making the changes easier to cope with.

Once you have made the changes to your life then you should try to keep as many of these behaviors going as much as possible after your debts have been cleared.

It’s all too easy to fall into the same trap after you have spent so much of your time and hard work to get yourself in the clear. The last thing you need is to take a ride down that slippery slope once more.

In conclusion

Being honest and serious about your life is an important and valuable step to take. There are many ways you can address this problem but it’s extremely important to use this as a lesson you can not only learn from but a lesson that you can be humble enough to share with others to inspire then to follow in your footsteps.