Wow, time is flying by. Paying off debt has never been so hard has it? Would you agree that it is much easier to accumulate that get rid off? It is time to stay the course and make sure that we are committed to paying it off!
You are now well underway or should be. If you are not, lets go back to that first email and start moving forward. Getting out of debt, as we have mentioned, is not something that we can easily go about. We must attack it just like we would a serious illness.
Are you moving as fast as you could and should be?
Today I want to share something with you that can, if you try it, will ignite your debt reduction plan. Most people overlook this because of attachment, but when applied it will get your plan moving faster.
Have you ever been on a diet? I have and, in fact, as I write this I am one one. Most people go on a diet to lose some pounds and they fail to realize that changing their behavior will help keep off the additional pounds in the future.
Most doctors and physiologists will tell you this – to spark your weight loss you MUST add some exercise to your daily routine. This exercise will help use up what you have eaten and will increase your metabolism to help ongoing processing of the right foods we eat.
Really? You mean of I go on a diet and add exercise it will help me get rid of the pounds I have faster and help me keep it off in the future. Yes, that is what I mean. Have you ever really tried it. I mean really – on a plan? If so, you know it works.
Your debt is no different. Paying it off needs a boost and I have a trick for you.
When I ask clients what their debt has been spent on, almost always I hear “… we really do not know…”. That is a very correct statement. You have gone so far into debt you have no idea what it was spent on. Oh yea, you can name a few things that stand out when you think about it or go grab some paperwork, but overall you have no idea. Some will say, “… some of that is living expenses like food, etc…”. How unfortunate that our debt payments have required us to put some of our daily needs on credit.
In order to get this going, here is your first task. If you are married, grab your spouse. If you have teenage children, grab them. Lets all sit around a table, with some paper and pens, and collectively write down everything that your debt has been spent on. Lets include everything we can remember. Groceries, clothes, weddings, gas and parts for the boat, birthday and Christmas gifts, home remodeling items – everything thing you can think of that went into your debt. Regardless of whether you think you have paid it off or not – put it on the list.
Once you have compiled the list, lets put a “best guess” estimate of how much the item was. This “best guess” column will be hard to complete because 1) you do not really know what you charged and 2) you really do not want to admit what you charged. Go ahead, write them all down.
Now we have a list. This is not a perfect list and should not be treated so. It is a WIP – Work in Progress. If you learn things as you move forward – update the list.
Next step is to identify what on the list can be sold. No need to back up, you read it right – SOLD! If you want to ignite your plan, what can be sold.
Here is where most stop and never restart their plan. They are too emotionally attached to sell. If this is where you stop, your debt will still be here next year and for years after that. Are you committed to move forward?
Many have started their diet’s with each new year to have been defeated within the first two weeks. When it comes to defeating your debt – is that you or are you committed to paying it off?
If you are committed, lets take the list and start getting things together. Whether a garage sale, Craigslist, eBay or whatever you choice – lets get things sold. It is time to clean it up, take a picture and get it sold. Do not let anything get on your emotional side!
There may be somethings that can not sold. Maybe it is the paint on the wall, the food you have eaten or the deck you put on the house. Regardless, get everything else that is not tied down and sell it. You may not believe this, but it is Biblical. Selling things to pay off debt is in the Bible. You may not read the Bible, but read this passage and you will see that what I want you to do was done centuries ago and it still works!! Read II Kings chapter 4.
Every dollar that comes in should be directly paid to debt – no if ands or buts. To make your igniter work – it has to be exclusively for debt pay down.
Paying down debt is one thing, adding an igniter by selling some of our possessions will get it moving rapidly.
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