7 steps to get yourself out of debt
debt
Today, I posted on my Facebook page that I will be out of both secured and unsecured debt by the time I am 40. A rainfall of friendly kudos preceded my announcement. Then, a friend of mine asked, “Ok… so how did you do it?” That inspired today’s blog.

Here is how I will be out of debt by 40.

1) I set an intention: In 2013, I set an intention with a timeline. “I will have no unsecured debt by the time I turn 40.” Originally, the car wasn’t on my radar. I just wanted the cards gone. Since 40 is such a milestone, that’s the timeline I set. At the time, I also set having a PhD by 45. But I haven’t quite tackled that. Tackle one BIG intention at a time to minimize overwhelm.

2) I put it in writing: It wasn’t enough to just want it. I had to put pen to paper. I wrote out all my bills and balances to get an idea of what I was really looking at. It was scary, but I kept going until every single bill with its current balance and payment was listed.

3) I got real: Once I knew what I was looking at, I devised a plan to start making it go away. I could eat an elephant one bite at a time. It wasn’t so scary to look at my smallest card and say. “Ok, I’m going to pay YOU off.” Yeah, I personalized it, sometimes going as far as to name them as I paid them down. “Ok, Credit One. This is your last payment. And once you are done, I’m going to cancel you because I don’t need you.” I did it and then used that money (an extra $50 a month) to pay down my next one and so on.

4) I took action: Then I actually did what I said I was going to do. I didn’t just write a plan and put it on the shelf. I worked it to the best of my ability and my circumstances.

5) I was open to how it would happen: I left room for the universe to work. It wasn’t like everything went according to plan at ALL! In fact, at one point I was so frustrated that I had a temper tantrum. Which leads to…

6) I consistently reaffirmed my desire: Reaffirm my desire. It’s not enough to set the intention once, I had to set it over and over again.

7) I kept doing it until I was successful: Consistently repeating steps four through six results in success that feels easy and free. It doesn’t feel burdensome or overwhelming.

I have a few thousand left on a car and all my debt is gone. But I won’t stop there. I’ll set another goal. At the beginning of this journey, my credit score was in the low 400s. I was recovering emotionally, mentally, and financially from a divorce with a bankruptcy on my record. I’m getting SO close to the 700s now I can TASTE it.

Intention: My next goal will be to build my credit from high 600s to high 800s by 42.

I’ll tackle that goal in the same way, always using purposeful intention as my guide.

I’m thinking of offering this process as a part of life coaching. I can set up steps one through three and, if the client wants, I can help with the rest through accountability. But, as all coaches will tell you – it’s your action that creates the result. With intention, planning, action, reaffirmation, and more action, anything is possible!

I mean it. Anything.

What feels like a frustrating block, can actually be God's way of protecting you from taking a difficult path.
Door locked? Find another one.

I spend every morning on Facebook, catching up with friends, reading articles, and laughing at cat videos (OK, not really, but did you see this cute one about cats saving tigers)? It’s in this sea of randomness that I find entertainment, information, and (more than occasionally) inspiration.

What feels like a frustrating block, can actually be God's way of protecting you from taking a difficult path.

The badge I found on Doreen Virtue’s page spoke to me loud and clear. There have been many times where I have come up against locked doors, brick walls, and obstacles of all types. Living in self-will, I proceeded to call the locksmith, buy the jack hammer, or suit up to climb. What I didn’t realize is that sometimes blocks and obstacles are there for a reason. We are being redirected to bigger and better things in life. Lost jobs resulted in happier situations. Unexpected moves resulted in life-changing experiences. Before I learned to “embrace the suck” as a dear friend of mine says, I would rail against it, fight, cry, self-medicate, and do whatever I could to rattle the locked door.

Now, when I face a locked door, I look to my left and right to see if I see other options. If I feel too far off the beam, I will course correct and choose a new direction.

Daily Exercise: What are you facing today that might be an indication that you need to change your path? Make a list and mind map out a solution. Bubbl is a free mind mapping program you can use.

I’d love to see your results! Comment below!