How did you do it?
That’s THE question I get when people find out I dug myself out of 6-figure debt. For a long time I didn’t know how to get in the green, and out of red – until I made the decision to change my life and figure it out.
Like many, I had used the excuse that if only I made more money I would be able to pay off my debt. Truth is, I didn’t have an income problem. I just didn’t know how to create a budget (and too embarrassed to ask anyone) to make progress on the mountain of debt, so I started to read books on the topic. With that I learned, tested, failed, succeeded, and ultimately created my own system that made sense to me.
Be your own Boss
Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, but if you decide to take the leap of faith, not having debt, and instead having a buffer (savings you can live on until your business takes off) makes that decision a lot less stressful.
I admit, at first I went back to my old ways. I would make progress my debt and then simply give up. But because I was a big believer in ‘minds’ and goal-setting, I knew I had to do some work on WHY I wanted to start my own business and what kind of life I wanted. This helped me stay on track. Changing your habits doesn’t happen overnight but having strong motivation as to why you want to change something is key. You need something to work towards that gives you extra fuel when your motivation is low.
Patience is a Virtue.
It’s not easy getting out of debt and guess what? It takes time. It’s also not fun. It requires saying NO to a lot of things but I’m telling you – it is so worth it! A few years of hard work for a lifetime of freedom. Because ultimately isn’t freedom what we all want? The freedom to do the things we want to do and experience on our terms?
Change is Hard
Change is hard but not living your life the way you want to is even harder. The number one regret of dying people is that they didn’t pursue their dreams. That’s a horrible regret to have. Debt kills dreams. So go kill that debt so you can pursue your dreams. Tally up how much money you send out the door each month to creditors and then visualize that money going into your freedom account instead. Imagine your life with money in the bank and all the things you will be able to do.
But how did you do it Camilla?
Simply put – you need a strategy. Spend less than you make, say NO to a lot – make cutbacks where you need to and again, most importantly map out how much you can allocate to pay down your debt each month, where you can cut spending and then throw together a timeline. The timeline will show you just how long it will take you to get in the green.
As an Accountability Coach who teaches people how to work smarter instead of harder so that they can work less and play more, I’ve helped many women put together a plan of action. From time management, productivity, mindset, success habits, sales & business growth strategies – I love helping women realize it’s not as tough as it looks.
You can connect with me at No More Hamster Wheel to learn more.
