How To Destroy Debt By Giving Yourself No Place To Hide
Completely destroying your debt means that you've got to eliminate all the potential places you've been hiding certain thought patterns and behaviors.
When you've gotten the point (like I did a few years back) where you're just sick and tired of being sick and tired of your debt, you're on the right track.
Once you’ve decided “enough is enough”, you next need a plan and a system to follow that will release you from your shackles.
That part is easy since there are probably a million debt elimination plans out here on the inter-webs. You can access and download them in a second.
In fact, let me offer you (the best) one (mine) right now. :)
Now What?
Okay great, you found your system of choice (hopefully mine:)). You’ve downloaded, you’ve subscribed, you’ve purchased or whatever. What now?
You’ve got a document or a program and maybe you’ve gone as far as to print it out and put it in a binder.
Has the dude/dudette in the mirror gotten the memo about your seriousness?
The really big question you now have to answer is, what about the dude/dudette in the mirror? Have they gotten the memo about this new plan? How serious are THEY about this newfound motivation to get out of debt?
More specifically, what are you going to do when you’re a week, a month or even several months into the process and your years of old habits wrestle your fresh desire to get out of debt to the ground? What then?
Let’s be honest for a second here. You know there’s an enemy inside of you (and me). You KNOW that your pesky, stinky rotten flesh is going to rear it’s ugly head at some point, right? What are you going to do THEN?
Obviously, you can tell by the title of this post that I’m going to encourage you, that if you REALLY want to get out of the mess you’re in, you MUST give yourself no place to hide.
Now let's talk about how to accomplish that.
If you want a free resource to jump start your debt-elimination. Check out our free printable PDF quick start guide. You can get them here: FREE Debt Elimination Quick Start Guide.
Also, check out my totally free 30-day YouTube video course that goes along with this material:
External Accountability Is The Key
It almost goes without saying that anything meaningful you want accomplish in this life has to be documented somehow and a date put on it.
Otherwise your lofty goal just a wandering generality instead of very specific aim with a laser-focused plan.
Some examples: “I want to lose weight this year.” VS “I want to lose twenty pounds by the end of August.
Huge difference, right?
So, when it comes to destroying debt the question becomes, given your history (mine too) how likely are you to follow through with that goal?
What sort of externalities need to be put in place in order for you to cross the finish line this time.
The key is obviously setting up some sort of external accountability. This is a MUST with any meaningful goal you want to accomplish in life, and your debt is no different.
The Best Type Of External Accountability
The best type of external accountability is to work with a financial coach. Period.
A great coach can dramatically improve the speed of results by charting a clear path through the financial fog of debt.
Now, I know this likely sounds a bit self-serving coming from a financial coach, but please hear me out.
I can tell you from my own personal debt-elimination experience as well as from the perspective of having coached hundreds of people, the people who get out of debt and get out of debt the fastest have the external accountability of a financial coach.
By the way, my own debt-elimination story is worth a read if you need some inspiration. $43k Paid Off!
Why do coaching clients have more success and faster?
In short, accountability, skill-building and regular injections of hope.
Accountability
The vast majority of our clients and subscribers want to get out of debt.
They sincerely do want that. The question I always ask during an initial call is, “how sick and tired of being sick and tired of this are you?”
Their response to that determines the trajectory of the rest of the conversation.
Accountability with a friend who ACTUALLY wants to see you get out of debt is a great thing.
If they respond something like, “Dude, I’m so TOTALLY over it!”, then we’re going to get somewhere.
If they respond with, “well we’re getting to the point, we just need to know about how to deal with this particular situation/immediate emergency".
In other words, if they’re looking for a “quick fix”, sure I’ll book them for a coaching session, but I’ll also let them know that they’re likely wasting their time and money, ultimately.
Unless and until they’re completely “over it”, there’s really not going to be much of a unifying pain point to keep them motivated through what can be a very challenging process.