By: A Sunny Side Up Life

Paying off debt is no easy task! You sacrifice and do without, you get discouraged, and sometimes you even want to give up. It’s hard! I’ve been there! But you know what? If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Statistics tell us that 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. What if we could change that number? What if all you really needed to not become just another statistic was a little bit of motivation?

Dave Ramsey preaches that money habits are 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge. With that being said we know that we need to change our behavior, cut back our lifestyle, and find some extra money in order to get our debt paid off. The problem is keeping that new behavior up and staying motivated while we work on this debt free plan that can sometimes take several years.

SO, HERE’S A FEW TIPS ON HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED WHILE PAYING OFF DEBT:

1. Find your “why”

The first, and foremost important thing in any life changing effort to figure out why you’re doing it. Why do you want your life to be different? Why do you need to change? What do you want your future to look like?

Once you figure out why you want to get out of debt, then all you have to do is continue to focus on that reason. That reason is what will get you through the hardest days. You have to stay focused on the bigger picture and the ultimate outcome. For us, our “why” has been to live a life of less stress, pay for our kids to go college, and to allow my husband to retire at a young age from his job that keeps him gone half of the year. Anytime we get discouraged we refocus on these reasons, and we realize that retirement is more important than dinner at a restaurant or new clothes.

So what’s your why?

2. Establish a plan and stick to it

We followed Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps and we were able to cash flow through $40,000 worth of debt in a year and a half, and ditch another $68,000 through the sale of a piece of real estate, giving us a total of $108,000 paid off in less than two years.

In Dave’s plan he recommends lining up all of your debt from smallest to largest, throwing all of your extra money at your smallest debt first, then once it’s paid off applying all or your extra money towards the next smallest, and continuing until it’s all paid off. This process is called a “debt snowball”, and what makes it so successful is that it builds momentum like crazy. Once you see that smallest debt disappear you’ll get a rush and a sense of accomplishment, that feeling is what will keep you hanging on throughout the rest of the process. Stick to this plan! It works!

3. Work towards your debt free goals every day

It’s hard to get off course when it’s all you’re thinking about. When you’re working towards your goal every single day you have no choice but to keep it in the front of your mind. You have to become obsessed with it. Your whole life has to revolve around this now!

It kept me motivated to do something every day that moved us closer to our goals. I’m not one to just sit and wait, I felt much more motivated when I was being active. As a stay at home mom that usually meant clipping coupons, staying within budget on every purchase, working on our budget frequently throughout the month, finding things to sell, making craft items to sell, babysitting, and finding side jobs for a few hours here and there; anything to help me feel like I was actively working towards our goal.

4. Use visuals

Keeping your eye on the prize will definitely keep you motivated, so take advantage of visuals.

HERE’S A FEW VISUAL IDEAS:

Make a Goals Sheet. Create a list of a few short term and long term goals, a date you want to accomplish them, and how much money they’ll take. Writing them down will help you commit to actually accomplishing them.

Look at your debt total each day. I’ve even heard of people writing their debt total on their daily “to do” list or hanging it on their refrigerator so they’ll be reminded of their goal throughout their day.

Fill jars. Use two Mason Jars and fill them with something small like rocks, pieces of paper, beads, or pennies. One jar represents what you still owe and the other jar represents what you’ve already paid off. Transfer the rocks from one jar to the other as you pay down the debt. Each rock could symbolize $50, $100, $1,000, or whatever amount you choose.

Get creative and make your own visuals. I’ve seen so many great ideas on Google and Pinterest throughout the years. Have fun with it and use a visual motivator that will work best for you.

5. Celebrate the small wins

Remember to celebrate often throughout the journey. Each debt payoff, even if it’s only $100, is exciting! Keep yourself motivated by embracing the headway that you’re making as you go. These celebrations don’t have to be expensive, but they can still be fun. Splurge for a bottle of wine or steaks for dinner instead of your usual rice and beans when you pay off a credit card. Treat yourself to a date night or rent a movie instead of watching one from your own collection. Be proud of yourself each time you hit another milestone! Little wins add up to big wins, and big wins are what will change your life!

6. Realize that time will pass one way or the other

In 3 years you could be free or you could still be right where you are now. Time doesn’t care what you do, it’s going to pass one way or the other, so you might as well do something productive with that time.

7. Realize that it’s not a punishment

Don’t look at this time as a prison sentence, look at it as a journey. Don’t focus on what you’re giving up, focus on what you’re gaining. It’s all about your mindset towards it.

8. Surround yourself with motivation

Find like minded people to share your journey with, read books and blogs, watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts, and join Facebook groups. One of my favorite things to do is to listen to The Dave Ramsey Show and hear all of the debt free screams. I love hearing other people tell their stories and hear about everything that they have overcome. Nothing is more motivating to me than to hear about someone else accomplishing the goals that you want to accomplish. It’s all about being reminded that you’re not alone!

I hope that some of my tips will help you stay motivated on your own debt free journey! Join us over on Facebook or Our Email Community for daily inspiration!

Credit to: http://www.asunnysideuplife.com/blog/how-to-stay-motivated-while-paying-off-debt?utm_content=buffer54fc7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer