Are you in debt now? Do you feel you can’t do anything about your situation? Do you think there is no hope for you to overcome your debt? Are you currently living from paycheck to paycheck or maybe you already have debts to pay even though you haven’t got your salary yet?
All of these are only in your mind and the right discipline to yourself is all you need. First of all, “mindset is the key to overcome every emotion”. If you set your mind that you think you can’t overcome your debts then you really can’t. Your life will be like a Ferris wheel, you just go round and round and round and nothing changes.
But if you set your mind that you can do something or somehow so that your world will not be in a circle around your debt, for sure you can do it. Our mind sometimes tricks us, we just need a little bit of diversion in the correct direction and right discipline.
Here are 5 ways you can do or think of for you to overcome the world of debt or what they called “rat race world”:
1. Where I Am
The first thing you need to do is you need to know where you are in terms of your financial status and your debts. List all the details of your debts in a clean paper or a notebook or your diary. You can also put it or type it on a computer or laptop if ever you have one so you can easily edit and print it whenever you want to. In this way, you can see clearly how much your debt is and to know how you can find ways to pay them. Listing your debts is a good habit because it organizes everything you do when it comes to your financial status.
2. Stop, Look and Listen
Stop
When you have a debt or deeply in debt, one thing you can do is to stop. Stop in the sense that, you should stop borrowing money. Because when you are in debt and you are not paying or partially you are paying it and then you borrow again money even though you haven’t paid the first debt yet, you are just burying yourself deeper into debt to the point that you cannot recover.
You need to stop borrowing money for now and focus on paying your debt. Another one you need to stop is your bad spending habits. Don’t buy things which you don’t need for now. Just like Warren Buffet had said, “If you buy things you don’t need, soon you will have to sell things you need”.
Patience is a big factor while you are in debt. If you can’t prevent yourself from spending money or buying things which are not useful for now, don’t spend it at all. This is also for you and this is just for the meantime while you still have debt.
Look
Try to look for ways you can do for you to pay your debts. If you’re jobless or just lose your job, you need to find ways for you to have a job. It’s from your job that you get money to pay for your debt. If you don’t have a job and you don’t have earnings then how can you pay your debt? The interest of your debts will just file up if you’re not paying for it or at least even the minimum.
Look for some possible ways where you can earn money or opportunities to add to your income. Try to look if you can sell some of your things in which you will not be affected even if you lose it. There is a site on the internet like Olx.ph, Sulit.ph, Muradito.ph, Buyandsellph.com, etc. wherein you can sell your second-hand items. In this way, you can earn extra income while you’re searching for a job.
You can also try reading some articles about the experience of those who are in debt and how they survive or how they paid their debts. There are so many people in the open nowadays that are sharing their experience while they are in debt and how they overcome it. This way, you can get some tips or strategies on how you can face all your debt. What you are experiencing now, others might have gone through that will be of big help for you. So that you will not be thinking anymore what you should do to pay your debt.
Listen
Listening is one of the best factors in many ways. Sometimes you don’t need to speak and all you need to do is to listen. Listen to the advice of your family, relatives and close friends about your debt or what they have been through that are related to debt. You can also ask them for some suggestions on how to overcome your situation. Sometimes listening is good because it sticks to your mind, all the pieces of advice on what they have experienced. One good thing you can do is listen to your instinct. Sometimes you can feel what is good or bad for you. Each one of us has its instinct that helps us in times we need to decide.
3. The Snow Ball and Debt Stacking Attack
Snow Ball
What is the “Snow Ball” attack in the world of debt? The “Snow Ball” attack is what they call in terms of debt, a way of paying your debts wherein the first you’re paying is the one that has the smallest amount. This is where the importance of what you did a while ago about listing all your debts comes in. List all your debts from the smallest to the highest. You then first pay your debt which has the least amount until you paid it in full then to the next higher amount up to the highest.
The purpose of paying first the smallest amount is to finish it one at a time that is not hard enough for you. When you paid or get over with paying your smallest debt, it gives you self-fulfillment and encouragement that you can overcome your debts. While you’re doing this, you don’t notice that little by little you’re paying your debts one by one until you finished paying them all. This is one good strategy of paying your debt because while you are paying your smallest debt you can have some extra money to pay your other debts so that you can easily finish paying them all.
Debt Stacking
What is “Debt Stacking”? Debt stacking, on the other hand, is the way of paying your debts wherein the first thing you pay is your debt with the highest interest. Unlike Snow Ball, here you will list your debts starting from the one with the highest interest down to the one that has the lowest interest. This is good if your debts came from credit cards you used. The more you pay your debts with the highest interest, the less interest you will pay in your succeeding payments. In this way, you can see what you are paying is getting less compared to that of your previous payments.
4. Change your Lifestyle
Another way you can overcome your debts is you need to change your lifestyle. If before you usually drink coffee at some expensive coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa Coffee or having that habit of eating at an expensive fine dining restaurant, you should change this for now that you are still in debt. This is just for the meantime while you are in debt and you can do this again when you overcome your debts. You can have your coffee in a non-expensive way like the 3 in 1 instant coffee. In terms of food, you should cook at home so you will not spend more than usual. It’s like your thrifty today to pay for your debts and when you finish your debts you can do again things like this because you know you have that extra money.
Don’t be so generous in times when you are in debt as if you won in a lottery and you have so much extra money to spend. Buy here, buy it there. Spend here, spend there. The best thing you can do is to make a budget so that you can track where your money is going. You can write this in a clean paper or like the list you prepared with debts, you can put your budget list in a notebook, diary or on a computer. Here, you can monitor the movement of your money and you can see things you buy which are not required for now. If you have a budget, you can spend your money wisely in the right way. This is a good habit to practice which can help you to discipline yourself with endless spending on those things that are not required.
One thing you can change while you are in debt is the tradition that when there is a party or occasion, we tend to show off even if you don’t have much money or you are in debt. What we do sometimes is we tend to borrow money to have an extravagant party which I think is not right. It is because you are just putting yourself deeper into debt. Your party seems extravagant and you made all your party-goers happy but then after that, you’re facing problems paying for the debts you owe for having that party. After the celebration, people who attended all have fun and are happy but you become sad and deeply in debt. As much as possible try to prevent borrowing money to have an extravagant party. You can do the occasion in a simple way that you don’t have to be in debt.
Always remember life is sweet and happier if you don’t have debts. It is different when you know you owe something or in debt. It adds to stress thinking about your debts and how are you going to pay them, what more if they have an interest and your debts have its due date. It means that day by day, weekly or monthly you are thinking about your debts. Isn’t that makes you stressed? If you can change your lifestyle now you should do it for you to get out of debt. You can see after you have paid all your debts, it will change your perspective in life. You will value every penny you’re earning and you will become more disciplined in which you can bring it in other aspects of your life.
5. Say A Little Prayer
One effective way for you to overcome your debts is by praying. Praying is one of the best weapons for so many things in life. This makes your mind more clear for you to face problems caused by your debts. They say, “Prayers Do Miracles” and this is true in so many instances. When you are praying, you feel much better and you tend to bring out emotions that are hiding inside you. It’s like you are voicing out to God all your problems that’s why you feel better after you prayed.
This will help you to become stronger and gives you a unique feeling that your debts or problems with your debts will have its solution. It is magical and can’t be explained that when we pray it makes us stronger that you can do everything when you know that God is there to guide you. Just trust that all your problems with your debts will have its answer at the right time and you just need to wait and do whatever it takes for you to overcome all the struggles that come to in terms of your debts.
Just always remember, while alive there is hope so just trust in God and yourself. If others can do, why can’t you? If you want it, you can do it!
Life is Beautiful 