Are you in over your head in debt or just stressed about owing anyone anything at all? If you’re wondering how to not let debt stress you out, you’ve come to the right place!
Don’t ignore it
Yeah, sure…this might sound so obvious but let me tell you a story. I was a residential student in college and did not realize that meant 90% of my work would be online. I thought I show up and then boom- we are good. WRONG. I’m extremely embarrassed that I even thought that.
Anyway, I would come to class and the professor would start by saying, “so you had homework due last night” and every time I’d think, ‘CRAP!’ I couldn’t keep up because I was so unorganized and I stopped reading my email as I deemed it only full of bad news and stress relating to my schooling.
Long story short I flunked a bunch of classes. I couldn’t stand the stress!
Don’t let debt become that in your life!
Thankfully I switched to strictly online schooling and got hella organized. I loved going through all of my requirements and filling out of my planner and was able to do very well in school after that because I gave myself a chance to be successful.
Give yourself a chance
If you’re anything like me, the idea of spending an hour or two tracking down all of your debt makes me feel like the room is closing in on me. I don’t want to do that.
My advice to you is get a spouse that doesn’t mind that kind of thing. Just kidding!
You can handle this because you’re tough, I can tell.
Find all of your debt and add it up
By putting all of this information in one location right in front of you, it becomes manageable. There is no separate source of debt that is hiding waiting to jump out at you because you have hunted them all down- great job!
So you have one list of all your debt, maybe it is $500 and maybe its $100,000
Stress relief – take a deep breath
Give yourself a minute or as many minutes as you need to take some deep breaths and mentally prepare to make a plan and address your debts.
Personally, I went from being debt free to to having an amount of debt to stress me out tremendously in a matter of a few short years. Both of our cars needed to be replaced around the same time and we bought a reliable used car. On top of that, I finished my undergrad and completed my masters in a year which was $$$.
Having debt does not make you any less of a person. Sometimes life happens and acquiring debt might be the only option that you have.
Taking a step back and looking at every cent you owe will set you up on the right track to get it repaid!
Evaluate your spending
It can be easy to have debt and still spend as though you don’t have any. Monthly payments can be set to basically nothing and our lifestyles might feel as though nothing is any different as before when we had no debt.
My dad still balances his checkbook. It is his sole way of managing his spending. He keeps every single receipt and writes them down in one sitting and calls the bank to get the automated voice to recite all of the charges. Then, he matches them all up and verifies that only his charges came out. He has always handled money so well. My parents have five kids and he budgets for them and they stick to it so precisely. We always had what we needed. There was a time when we were drinking skim milk diluted with water but that’s a story for another day.
Take responsibility for your costs and try to find areas that you can cut back on and redirect towards paying off debt.
Share subscription services
Maybe you have 5 different subscription services that you could end up splitting with your family or friends. These streaming services now allow for multiple households to watch and this can cut those subscription costs dramatically
Eat at home
If you are going out to eat often try cutting back or taking months off! If you struggle in this area then a meal service might be more monetarily efficient to your wallet versus going out to eat several times a month.
Make a plan
After evaluating your monthly costs you may find some extra funds that you can direct towards paying off your debt!
Just like my school story, you have to set yourself up to succeed. Once you are organized and have set firm amounts to pay off each month you can feel better about your debt repayment.
If you can handle less spending money each week then pour it into debt repayment.
Give yourself grace
Giving yourself grace does not mean becoming lackadaisical with your debt. It means that you are actively pursuing your debt-free life and are doing everything that you can. You might still be in a repayment plan that lasts a few decades but you have a plan and are able to live and pay your bills each month.
I hope that you will be able to face your debt and take control of it. Through feeling more organized and knowledgeable about my personal situation I have been able to limit my stress and feel more confident with my repayment goal.
I want to hear any of your tips and tricks on how you have not let your own debt stress you out!
-Kailey
