This ” The Secret Keys To Becoming Debt-Free Fast ” discusses the virtues in life that are critical to solving debt problems. Of course, money is key to becoming debt free fast but mindset and attitude as important as money in dealing with debt. This post contains affiliate links/ads. See disclosure policy.
Ever since I published the “How I Paid Off $40K Of Debt and Saved $70K in 2.5 Years“, a lot of people have contacted me and congratulating me for accomplishing such challenging event in my life, well, my family’s life. In addition, a lot of people have asked me what I think are the keys to becoming debt-free aside from having the money to pay off the debt.
It has almost been 3 months since I published the article but up to now I have been getting emails from a lot of people. It feels good that readers find value in my story. The truth is I didn’t want to share my story at first because I felt like my story was ordinary but I was compelled to share it because of the lessons I learned in the process.
Actually, I have found myself writing the same responses to the questions people ask me. So, I decided to post my responses to them as my blog post for today.
Tackling a mountain of debt on one income is difficult especially when you take into account the family that you are supporting. I have to say the road to becoming debt-free fast was full of challenges… a ton of them. There were times that I thought our suffering would never end. Having said these, I employed what I called the best defenses I could afford to use at that time.
Keys To Becoming Debt-Free Fast
1. Budgeting
In all things you do that are finance-related in nature, you always need to start a working budget. Without a budget, you won’t know where you are overspending or underspending and everything in between.
In order household, we use the Budget Binder Printables to help us effectively budget and manage our money.
These printables has continuously helped our family get our budget in control and save a ton of money even on a single income. We paid off our $40K debt and, at the same time, saved at least $70K in 2.5 years with the help of these printables (click here for the full story). It’s currently on sale for just $14.99. That’s 50% off the regular price of $29.99. Plus, you get both the family budget calculator and loans calculator for FREE.
2. Willingness
2. WillingnessOne of the things I put into action during that dark time was the willingness to come out successful from that situation. The truth is it is easier to say you are more than willing to do whatever it takes to solve a problem than it is to do it. It may sound cliché but I felt that feeling back then.
As I said, there were times I thought we wouldn’t come up successful. But because I was willing to have a better life for me and my family, I kept my faith and stuck my gun in what I was doing even when the actions I was executing felt like they weren’t making the situation the better. Little by little, I was able to see the light at the end of tunnel and dealing with the problem became easier.
Read more 5 Clever Saving Techniques To Trick Yourself Into Saving
3. Inspiration
In general, I like accomplishing tasks or responsibilities when I have inspiration tied to them. The same attitude applies to solving my debt problem and to becoming debt-free fast.
My wife and my soon-to-be born daughter (back then) were my moving forces to address the problem. I did not want for them to experience the repercussions of my mistakes. In the first place, I created the problem and didn’t want them to be dragged into it.
I knew that my family’s situation would be different personally, emotionally, and financially. I did what I could to make the situation better even when I was taking baby steps at a time. Though I didn’t pay off all of my debt before my daughter was born, I had drastically paid off a big chunk of it.
They were my inspiration and they were the reason that it was much easier for me to face the problem.
4. Sacrifice
Living on one income and paying off debt meant sacrificing a lot of needs and wants. It also meant that I needed to be more creative and use my time effectively and efficiently.
My wife and I decided to live below our means. I decided to find ways to earn additional income. I tutored, re-finished wood products and sold them for profit, helped people get their belongings out of or bring them in their apartments, among others. My wife learned to slash our grocery bills down to a minimum without sacrificing the meal quality, found other uses for products designed only for specific uses, among others.
I could only stretch myself so much and my wife couldn’t work because she was pregnant during that time and we didn’t want to risk her pregnancy. When the baby was born, my wife and I decided that she stayed home to take care of the baby.
We sacrificed a lot of things because we wanted to have a better life and we achieved that, eventually.
Read more at Budgeting For Students: Step-by-Step Guideline
5. Consistency
Consistency was one of the key elements in becoming debt-free fast. Even when we could afford a little bit of extra leisure than what we already had, we remained consistent in our strategies and plan.
We checked our budget, followed it faithfully, and remained committed to our payment arrangements with the creditors. Our consistency helped us completely eliminate our debt and saved at least $70k at the same in 2.5 years.
In general, it is tempting to spend more when you have more money than what you had before. We were in that situation. Month after month, our debt decreased. We were tempted to spend a little more but we held back until we paid off every single cent. After all, we got used to what we had and what we did back then.
Read more at You’re Debt Free, What’s Next?
6. Acceptance
Accepting that I was in deep debt was the first step I had to accomplish before I moved on to the next phase of dealing with debt. I didn’t sugarcoat my situation. I didn’t make excuses to myself or to others. I flat out accepted the situation, my mistakes, and moved on from there.
When somebody asked me what was going on with me, I would tell them my situation. I wasn’t asking for sympathy or help, I was just telling the truth. Though I knew I didn’t have to tell them anything, it felt good knowing that somebody listened to me.
Telling the truth to myself was a challenge. It was hard but it was what I needed to start moving to a better position in life.
Read more at 11 Ways To Pay Off Multiple Debts Fast
Conclusion:
Of course, money is key to becoming debt-free because you can’t just use your mindset and attitude to pay the debt. But mindset and attitude are as important as money. For us, dealing with debt and completely eliminating it became easier as time went by because of what we did.
It’s one thing to make money. It’s another to not spend it.
Looks like you were able to do that very well and you have benefitted from your discipline.
Nice work!
Oh, thank you so much.
I’ve worked my way through willingness and inspiration, now it’s time to stay consistent with the sacrifice. It’s one of the harder parts, but I have no doubt that being debt free will be much more rewarding than the effort it takes to keep it up until the finish line. This is good stuff and very inspiring, Allan!
Thanks, Latoya. I’ve been in situations where consistency and sacrifice were something that were really hard to accomplish. Little by little I was able to learn about them and things got better.
What a powerful example you set. The key to most of our difficulties seems to lie in being able to accept where we are and then finding courage to move forward to course correct. Bravo to you!
Congrats on paying off that amount of debt! I love all your tips as my family to has paid off all debt except for our mortgage which we are currently working on. I think sacrifice and willingness are the two big points that come with changing your path to financial freedom. In today’s culture we are throwin with you need bigger better now and you have to sacrifice the wants for the needs. Willingness because you can only change if you want to change. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Thank you. I truly believe that sacrifice and willingness go hand in hand in getting rid of debt, of course aside from money. Without these two, it would be difficult to even start or finish taking care of debt because your mindset is not into what you are doing.
Consistency!
Great advice, it is easy to do something once, but if you are consistent over time you can take down any debt pile!
That is true. If you are consistent, then, you can surely take down any debt pile.
I love how each of the keys to becoming debt-free are so behavior based. That’s absolutely the way to start that journey – by changing your behavior. I always thought I’d have a car payment. I always thought I’d struggle with saving. Once I changed my mindset, the numbers began to shift and now I’ve been debt-free for 4 years, paying cash for things like cars and I have an emergency savings fund. If someone sloppy like me can do it, so can others!
Yes. Money is important and so do behavior and mindset. It’s much easier to tackle debt problems when your mind is into it.
Wow! This is a really helpful post! Good job! Would lo to read more about money! 🙂 – BALDYOSA ❤️
Thanks. I’ve got a lot of other posts in my blog related to money.
I’ve currently been working towards getting debt free. It is so hard! One minute I’m getting close to my goal and bam, my transmission goes out. There goes my emergency and everything with it. It’s easy to get discouraged after that. I know the end will be worth it though.
Life happens. Things happens I believe that as long as we are consistent and focused, things will get better with time.
Great tips! Sacrifice is a good one to mention. It really does take sacrificing the things you don’t really need and just focusing on needs over wants.
Great list, so many people are more than willing to get into debt not seeing the big picture of “somday I’ll have to pay this off”. I really like the list especially reasons 1 &2.
Ah sacrifice one word most people do not want to hear.
Yes. I believe that sacrifice for them equals to hardship when it really isn’t always the case.
I have never been in debt and hope to avoid it but these are great things to keep in mind. I am very good at being frugal and saving so i hope that continues to help me.
That is really goo to know that you’ve never been in debt and that you are frugal. You are probably one of the few people I know who’s debt-free.
Wonderful tips Allan. It’s so important to get things going and stick to it. Consistency is key and you really have to sacrifice. If you’re used to being able to spend money of frivolous things you are going to have to give it up, give up nights at the bar, give up that Starbucks. Great tips!
You are so right Dia. Sacrifice is sometimes necessary especially when you aren’t able to cover all your expenses and you need to save at the same time.
Wow! That’s very impressive! Good work.
Thanks.
This really resonated with me, especially the inspiration – my family’s financial security is what is motivating me, and the consistency – not point in saving aggressively one month if you just blow it the next.
Yes. Inspiration and consistency are truly keys to becoming debt-free.
Great tips! You explain a difficult task in a very easy to understand manner. Nice job.
Thanks. I believe that money is important but attitude and behavior as just as important.
We are debt free and it’s such an amazing feeling!!!! Love all of your tips!
Nice to know that you guys are debt free. Yes, I agree that being debt-free is such an amazing feeling and something that you should always be proud of.
Accepting then situation is the hardest for some as human nature is to avoid problems. We like to just push it away and deal with it when convenient. You were very humble about this part. Great tips for people with large loads of debt. It is definitely possible but it comes down to if the person wants it or not.
Yes. It truly comes down what the person wants and I believe that’s what willingness is all about.
Living debt free is a choice that will reap long term rewards. To me, it is important to creating a well-lived life.
Yes, it is truly a choice.
Great list! Many people struggle with Sacrifice, but it’s key. Finding ways you can sacrifice in life without totally changing the balance is a great way to start.
The Green Swan
Yes. That is true. Sacrifice is something that a lot of people struggle with. But sacrifice doesn’t mean going out of balance. There are still ways where you can sacrifice and still have a good life.