If you have a lot of debt, you need to get laser focused on managing your money.
It is possible for debt to fall off of you. Miracles do happen. I’ve seen it, but not often.
Most often, debt overwhelms and overtakes a person. Debt is a curse of poverty/ignorance and it isn’t God’s will for your life.
The way to handle debt is the same way you eat a cow, one steak at a time!
I use this analogy because eating steak is great. Most people consider it a luxury. It is also a luxury and God-given right to be debt-free but you will never reach this way of living if you are constantly creating more debt. You have to make a conscious decision to stop using debt.
Debt doesn't own you.
However, you do own debt if you owe someone money. You can eat away at it until it's gone and then you will be from it forever, if you learn how to live a debt-free lifestyle. You must change your habits. My goal is to help you learn ways to overcome a debt and/or poverty mentality.
The best way to overcome debt is by knocking them out one at a time, starting with the smallest one first.
Debt happens because we use credit improperly.
Debt will not suddenly disappear just because we ignore it. It will not be corrected until we learn how to use credit in a way that will benefit us instead of hurt us.
The purpose of credit isn't to create debt. The purpose of credit is to generate a good reputation (a good name).
Having a credit-worthy name is biblical. It isn't biblical to use that name as a means of getting whatever you want on payments.
If you use credit to fulfill your lustful desires, you will always have debt. The key is to stop using credit; not completely, but, strategically. Using credit strategically builds a rock solid foundation which you can use for business purposes, homeownership, and many other things that will help you grow financially.
The majority of things Americans buy on credit are just a fulfillment of the lusts of the eyes. Bigger houses than what we need, more cars than we can drive, name brand clothing we don't even wear, and so many toys and games for our kids that we have to get storage buildings in order to hold it all.
It's nonsense.
Most of the things we buy on credit are bought to boost our ego. We want to have something to show off. If you have to obtain things to make you feel good about yourself that is a spiritual problem that needs to be addressed.
More often than not, people drown in debt and lose their peace but it doesn’t have to be that way. It will take learning self-discipline and changing your spending habits to get free from that.
To change your spending habits, first stop using credit to create debt. Credit shouldn't be used to obtain things you want, that is what cash is for. If you don't have the cash to buy, you can't truly afford to buy it. Learn to do without things until you can truly afford them.
If you have trouble with self-discipline when it comes to spending, you need to realize that money doesn’t fall from trees. It isn't going to come back to you if you spend it. In order to receive God’s blessings on our finances, we have to be good stewards of the money we’ve been entrusted with.
Since money doesn’t fall from trees, we have to learn to use the money we have wisely. If you think those pennies do not matter, think again. Pennies add up to debt-busting dollars. So when I say, "Save every penny," I mean it. In order to get out of debt you literally have to become a penny pincher!
Frugality is necessary. Getting rid of debt will take some sacrifices. Being broke for a while is okay. Say it with me, “It’s ok to be broke for a while.” It's for a purpose, but it's temporary; just until you get the debts, taxes, or fines paid off.
It’s okay to not have a lot of extra spending money (some people call it their sock money). When you’re trying to get out of debt, sock money should be almost non-existent but this doesn’t have to be a negative thing.
You can be creative and find free things to do.
You don't have to be stuck at home just because you're using all of your extra money on debts. Another reason to purposely keep yourself broke is that it hinders you from spending the money that you should be using toward debts. You can't blow your money if you pay debts with it as soon as you get it.
Your future outcome depends on what your priorities are. Where do you see yourself ten years from now? Future goals can help to keep you motivated.
If your priority is to pay off things you owe, you need to tell yourself that this isn't the time to have spending or sock money. Once those debts are paid you can then live the lifestyle you want and not have to worry about the lights being turned off just because you had a spa day. That sounds extreme but I had it happen to me once! Long story, but I didn't even see it coming.
If you're broke because you're paying the people you owe, this just means you are laser focused. Being laser-focused means you are learning self-discipline.
Don't look at being broke as a bad thing. See it as a lesson being learned.
Intentionally do without today so that you will not have to unintentionally do without later.
Self-discipline is a muscle that needs to be exercised and strengthened. The more you use it, the stronger you will be against the temptation to spend.
If you’re finding that paying your debts is keeping you broke, realize that you don’t have to stay broke. You just simply need to bring in some extra income.
Knock on your neighbors doors and ask if they need a handyman. Cut your neighbors grass. Get creative. If your spouse isn’t working, ask them to help out until the debts are paid. If you are single, it may be time to get a second job or start a side hustle.
Debt doesn’t yield to a lazy person.
There is a strong spiritual connection between laziness and debt. I will explain more on that in another post. For now, working a second job or doing a side hustle will be a great way to fight against poverty and debt. No matter what anyone tells you, poverty is a negative thing.
See your side job as a temporary situation. See it as if you're kicking the enemy in the teeth, because spiritually speaking, that is what you're doing!
But don’t see it as a long-term burden. See it as a means for accomplishing your goals. You can work a side hustle and use that extra money to pay off debts faster and have a little extra spending money, if that is important to you.
Figure out what your priorities are and then stick with a plan.
Here are a few helpful hints to bring in some extra income…
-Offer services to your neighbors and to your friends on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc). This is the easiest & quickest way I know of to get the word out that you need extra money.
-You can utilize online job search engines such as indeed.com.
-Upwork.com and other websites like it provide a platform for offering services to people online.
-You can teach English Online...
-You can tutor Online...
TutorMe says you can earn at least $16 an hour.
-Write captions for a living…
If you can’t work a second job or do a side hustle for some reason, then keep in mind that it’s okay to be broke for a while.
There is tremendous financial freedom in being debt-free so be patient and realize that being broke is temporary. Once your debts are paid you can go back to spending extra money and enjoying not having to pay creditors every month. Trust me, it is worth the sacrifice!
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