5 Ways to Stay Motivated While Paying Off Debt

How to Stay Motivated While Paying Off Debt

When you are in a deep hole of debt it can feel overwhelming and maybe even hopeless to ever get that debt paid off. But that doesn’t have to derail you from your goal! Here are 5 tips for staying motivated while paying off debt.

1. Know WHY You Want to Get Out Debt

Getting out of debt just for the sake of getting out of debt isn’t very motivating. You have to identify WHY you want to get out of debt!

Are you stressed because you make decent money but still can’t make ends meet?

Do you want to go on a nice vacation but all your extra cash is going towards student loan payments?

Do you have a new passion you want to pursue but you feel stuck in your current job because of the money and benefits?

Are you a mom that wants to be home with your kids but you need a second income to pay the bills?

These are just some examples that you may resonate with. Take some time to think about your personal why and write it down and look at it atleast a few times a week, if not everyday. Studies show that writing things down and reading them often keeps the thoughts at the forefront of your mind.

2. Make a Clear Debt Pay Off Plan

When you are feeling overwhelmed, part of the overwhelm comes from not having a clear action plan. The first part of that plan is having a monthly budget. Living on a budget allows you to see how much money you can put towards your debts each month.

The second part of the plan is using the debt snowball. In the debt snowball method you list all your balances from smallest to largest, regardless of interest rate. Tackle the smallest balance first by making the minimum payment plus any extra money you can put towards it.

While you are making extra payments on that, continue making minimum payments on all the other loans. When the first loan is paid off, use the amount of money you were putting towards the first one and add that as an extra payment to the second.

As you move down your list, adding more money to each loan as you go, you will make greater progress than if you were to make random payments. The debt snowball method helped me pay off my student loans faster than I could have imagined.

3. Track Your Progress

These days everything is on the computer or “in the cloud”. We know the debt is there but we don’t really see the numbers very often. Having a visual reminder or tracker in a place you can see daily is a great way to stay motivated because it shows you the progress you are making. Humans thrive on progress. When we know we are making progress on something it is a natural motivator.

4. Recognize Each Win

As you are tracking your progress, celebrate mini milestones! For example, if you have $30,000 in student loan debt, break that down into mini goals, such as paying off every $5,000. As mentioned above, seeing and recognizing the progress you are making will keep your ambition up.

This is a benefit to using the debt snowball method. By working on your smallest loans first, you receive quicker wins than if you were trying to pay off higher interest rate loans first that may also have a higher balance.

5. Get Support

Being debt free is not normal. Our society is inundated with messages that debt is a part of life.

That is not true!

That being said, when you are on a debt payoff journey you have to find real support. Your friends and family may sound supportive on the surface but they might also think you’re silly for some sacrifices you choose to make along the way.

You need people in your life that really get it. This could be a friend who is or has gone through a debt payoff journey themselves or a financial coach. A financial coach will guide you, support you and celebrate each win with you!

Keep Going!

We often think that motivation is an outside source that needs to happen before we can get started. But it’s actually the other way around.

Steve Backley said, “It is action that creates motivation.”

Knowing your why, creating a clear plan, tracking your progress, celebrating wins, and asking for support are the actions to staying motivated to paying off debt. You may have hard days during your debt payoff journey, but keep pushing forward. It will be worth it in the end!

Quick and free action you can take today – download my free Financial Wellness Checklist! It’s a one-page guide that will give you simple steps to starting a money plan and also a place where you can track your debt payoff progress!