Get Yourself Out Of Debt: Step 1: Make the Choice:
Debt Stinks. No doubt about it. It weighs on you, stresses you out, makes you loose sleep and if not reigned in under control will ruin your life.
What can you do about it?
Claim bankruptcy? … no, you’d ruin your credit for at least 7 years and these days you’d be lucky to manage to get rid of half of your debt… in the end more heartache and little salvation. Not the answer.
Debt settlement?… no, this will damage your credit just as bad as bankruptcy and while you’ll probably get your balances reduced some, you won’t be much better off and so many times these practices push the edge of what’s legal and ethical. Destined for more heartache and suffering you are… still not the answer.
Get a loan and consolidate your debt?… maybe, if you were determined enough to not rack everything up again, you’d save your credit, but most people don’t have the willpower to pull it off… thus leading to more heartache and pain. This can be part of the “plan” in order to restructure your debt at a lower APR, but just moving money around alone isn’t the answer.
Ask the Bank of Mommy and Daddy for a bailout? Unless you are a trust fund kid… not likely. Of course, if you were a silver-spoon-fed trust fund kid, why would you even be reading this, lol.
How about getting yourself out of debt? Think about it, it is possible. It is the most logical solution if you quit panicking and looking for an easy way out. Face it, you got yourself into debt… you have to get yourself out of debt. So what can you do? Simple: Cowboy-up (or Cowgirl-up) and get ready for some hard work. You need to re-engineer your life habits.
Can you really get yourself out of debt? YES. With hard work, determination and a plan… you really can get yourself out of debt. We started with over 200k in debt and after only a few years we have paid off over half of it. It is possible if you are willing to accept certain realities.
If you ever want to stand a chance of turning your financial life around, you need to face reality on this with me.
You need to accept a few things if you want to make it:
- You need to stop pretending everything is OK
- You need to stop living beyond your means
- You may need to make some hard choices
- You will need to make sacrifices
- You need to be honest with yourself
- You will need help to get motivated and stay motivated
- Debt freedom doesn’t happen overnight – it takes time
If you can face reality and accept that life is going to take some hard work, sacrifices and determination… you CAN get yourself out of debt.
NEXT: Part 2 – Getting Started
Read on: Our get yourself out of debt series continues….
- Step 1: Get Yourself Out Of Debt – Make The Choice (You are here)
- Step 2: Get Yourself Out Of Debt – Getting Started
- Step 3: Get Yourself Out Of Debt – The Power Of The Snowball
- Step 4: Get Yourself Out Of Debt – Snowflakes From Frugal Living
- Step 5: Get Yourself Out Of Debt – The Motivation Problem
- Step 6: Get Yourself Out Of Debt – Life After Debt
*Note: This article is meant to be a general example of how one would get themselves out of debt and an explanation of how we are getting out of debt. I am not a certified financial planner nor am I a CPA, so this article should not be considered financial advice, but a general guide for inspiration.
Kaycee says
Great tips. Getting out of debt can feel so tedious. Nice to have it broken down!
Brigid OHara Koshko says
Thank you so much for the post. I am proud to say we struggled for years but now we have no credit card debt. And it is a great feeling! I still love to read and gather more information to stay out of debt and live as frugally as we can.