Overcome Debt Fatigue With These Dead-Simple Methods!
Overcoming debt can be achieved in a number of ways. Financial counsellors recommend establishing several financial venues to secure a steady income, putting certain assets – land, real estate properties, unused vehicles, etc. – up for sale, learning how to live below your current means, eliminating certain comforts, and even a combination of these solutions.
It gets really old, really fast…
Unfortunately, after a while you inevitably become exhausted from spending every single waking moment focusing on eliminating the burden of debt. This is an indicator that you may be suffering from what experts refer to as 'debt fatigue'. What is debt fatigue? A broad definition would be that it's a negative mindset that installs after being indentured to the money lending services for so long that you genuinely believe you will never be able to escape your current financial status. Ironically, debt fatigue is one of the factors that perpetuate your money problems, because it promotes fiscal irresponsibility.
To put it simply, you think that you might as well give up your attempts to save cash and spend your budget wisely, because no matter what you do you'll still be in debt for the rest of your life, so you might as well enjoy it. Modern society is riddled with examples of people who lived a frugal lifestyle for years and almost escaped their money problems only to go all out on a frivolous purchase near the end and return to square one.
What can you do about it?
In order to prevent debt fatigue, financial advisors recommend concocting a strategy to terminate your obligation to cash lending entities that doesn't exceed 3 years. It has been estimated that 3 years is the maximum period during which a person is capable of maintaining a positive attitude regarding their financial status and remain motivated about the objective. Let's be honest, it really is unpleasant to live below your means and you can't keep doing it forever. Here are a few other tricks you can employ.
The big picture puts things in perspective
In the process of improving your credit and eliminating debt, you'll often be forced to deny yourself certain fun activities that require spending extensively. You may even find yourself working odd jobs or spending your spare time as a freelancer to obtain an extra income venue. It's not always fun, especially when start thinking about how much you'd rather be out partying with your friends or just lounging on the couch watching Netflix on that Saturday night. Here's where reminding yourself why what you're doing is important and how awesome it's going to be when you finally reach the objective.
Reward yourself
We tend to function on a reward system, and there's really no point denying it. That's why many financial counsellors advise setting relevant milestones on your journey towards a debt-free life and treating yourself – within reason, naturally – for every one you reach. Buy yourself an ice cream cone, take a day off and head to the spa, anything really; just keep yourself motivated.
Envision what a debt-free life means to you
Each morning, when you're sipping the first coffee of the day, take a few minutes to reflect about all the positive things that await you at the end of the journey. You could even make a list to encourage yourself. A worry free sleep, the ability to go on a more luxurious vacation, purchasing your very own home, these are all great ways to remain enthusiastic and stick to your plans.
Beating yourself up is counterproductive
The road to a debt free life isn't without temptation, and sometimes they are so great that you'll fall prey to one. Remember that nobody is perfect and that we are allowed to fail sometimes. It doesn't mean that it's the end or that you should give up your strategy and return to carelessly spending your money and digging yourself back into massive debt. Instead of dwelling on your mistakes and feeling guilty, try to learn something from the experience and get right back on that horse with another notch on your belt.
Create visuals to motivate you
A massive part of the information we gather from the outside world comes from our visual sense, so we may as well put it to good use. In terms of helping you maintain a positive mindset on your journey to financial security, this means creating visual representations of your objectives.
For example, if you've always planned to backpack through Europe and visit all the major tourist attractions of the Old Continent, then make a collage of pictures featuring the sites you'd like to see and pin it in a visible location. The same applies if your goals consist of a new home in a quiet suburb or a new muscle car. Seeing what you can achieve just by staying true to the path of fiscal responsibility is enough to keep you going. You don't even have to print hard copies, thanks to websites like Trippy or Pinterest.