How To Stay Out Of Debt By Following These 3 Simple Tips
Last Updated on 08/20/2022 by Nicky
How To Stay Out Of Debt
Want to know some debt-free living tips? I have a few tips in this post that will help! Once you learn how debt sneaks up on you, you’ll be able to conquer the debt monster forever
I have a confession to make…
I have more debt than I’ve let on.
You see, this is how it happens because debt is so insidious.
It started with a For King and Country concert. My sister and mom wanted to go and so did I. My mom put the tickets to the concert on her credit and I said the infamous words…
“Thanks, I’ll pay you back”
Well about 6 or 7 I’ll pay you backs later and my mother kindly added up what I owed her and she said: “You owe me like $1100”.
Yikes!
So much for being debt free!
I mean that’s not a ton of debt but it’s nothing to sneeze at.
Those “I’ll pay you backs” really add up. They are so sneaky the way they just accumulate like that.
And I hate I mean loathe any form of debt so I’ve got to come up with a plan to pay her back (I think I owe my sister too! Boo hoo!)
And here I am thinking I’m debt-free. But I’m not and any debt is a dark thunderous cloud over my head stalking me at every turn.
No, I’m not being dramatic… ok maybe a little but it’s gotta go. And trust me it will go.
So we are definitely going to get into how I got out of debt but first let’s talk about financial freedom.
Related Posts: Why Dave Ramsey’s Almost Right About Credit Cards
Habits That Keep You Drowning In Debt
So first let’s talk anyhow debt sneaks up on you and how to get out of it (or rather stay out of it)…
*Don’t Forget To Pin This For Later*
3 Sneaky Ways Debt Creeps Up On You and How To Stay Out of Debt
1) You don’t do the math.
You think oh this basketball game only cost $100 that’s not bad (actually it is kinda high for one game in the nose bleed section but oh well). And that trip to Boston was a great deal… and it was. But one great deal after another becomes overwhelming when you’re not paying for each “great” deal as you go.
When you let them build up those “great deals” suddenly become a burden that you have to deal with and figure out a plan.
How to fix it:
Keep a running total of what you owe someone whether it be a person you know or a company. You can use a printable and or you can use Trello to keep track. Just make sure it’s written down somewhere and you can easily do the math.
2) You let debt linger for too long until it smothers you.
Instead of doing the right thing which is to pay that person back in a reasonable amount of time you instead let it go. I’m ashamed to say that this is a year long’s worth of “pay you backs”!
That’s so crazy but it’s also careless and rude to the person who you borrowed from. Visa would not let you get away with that without some horrible consequences to your debt.
How to fix it:
If you borrow from someone make a goal to pay them back in a month maybe two. If you’re borrowing money because you truly needed a loan, then work out a repayment plan with that person.
Do not be a mooch unless they are actually giving you the money. In which case be grateful to them and to the Lord for providing for you.
But if you’re paying it back either come up with an installment plan or put the money aside as soon as the item or event is purchased if you already have the money.
3) You think it’s just personal debt so no interest no big deal
This is a mindset issue. Any debt is a big deal. We are called to be good stewards of the money we have. (Verse?) We can’t just think well it’s just owed to my mom so no big deal.
Why take advantage of someone’s kindness and generosity? Not cool, so we definitely shouldn’t have that kind of attitude like I had.
Personal debt should be taken just as seriously if not more seriously than credit card debt because you’re dealing with people we care about.
How to fix it:
Refer back to the solutions for 1 and 2. Set the money aside or have an installment plan to pay them back every month and then actually follow it.
My plan to get out of debt
The first thing I did was pull out my big old financial planning binder and my phone and got to work.
Money-Saving Tip: Be sure to have bank accounts that are harder to access.
In other words, have bank accounts that don’t have check cards attached to them or at least don’t activate the card.
That way before you use that account, you have to think long and hard before you can withdraw any money.
For instance, I checked one of my non-check card accounts and I was able to pull $100 out of it.
I also have a Qapital account that I earmarked for vacations so I transferred money from that account into my bank account so I could withdraw that and pay it toward last year’s beach trip.
If you don’t have a Qapital account you should totally get one. You can set up the account to withdraw money from your bank account into your Qapital account based on rules that you set up.
For instance, you can set up a rule to have money withdraw from your account every time you get a paycheck debited into your account.
And when you do it this way, you don’t even feel the money leaving your account.
And then when you are ready to spend the money that you have designated that account for, you just transfer it back to your bank account.
According to Qapital, the transfer that I made today should be in my account by tomorrow. That’s pretty fast if you ask me.
Pretty sure I’ll be starting a European vacation fund soon…just saying.
So anyhoo, I transferred $250 from my Qapital account so that’s $300 towards the $1100.
Another good thing that I did?
I saved money from birthdays, Christmas, cash left over in my purse, cash that I didn’t spend on various trips etc and I put it in a box on my dresser.
That added up to $791.
The money I’ve been hiding in my house!
Total Debt Repayment: $1091
That’s the “like $1,100” that I owed totally paid off.
Full Disclosure: I think sometimes when bloggers talk about how they are paying off their debt, their readers might be thinking “well, they probably make a lot of money so that’s why it’s so easy.”
That might be true in some cases but for me, totally not true.
I make a little over $15.oo an hour from my job and I don’t get paid in the summer.
Oh and no husband or roommate.
I’ll let you do the math.
I have one somewhat steady side hustle as a book publicist but that’s just been since April.
I am in no way rolling in dough and I have to pay rent, groceries, electric, cable, gas, water and whatever else that we as adults have to pay.
The reason why I was able to pay off $1,100 in one day and still have money left over to pay all of my other bills is:
1) the Lord is good and
2) He has given me good financial sense and helped me understand that I need to be a good steward of the money He has blessed me with.
One way to be a good steward of your money is by budgeting, making a plan to get out of debt, and saving and investing for the future.
If you need a way to really get control of your financial future you can try using the Master Your Money Bundle from Ultimate Bundles. (THIS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
It’s got 12 eBooks, 12 eCourses, 11 videos & 9 workbooks/printables to help you really get serious about your financial situation.
I’ll be sure to tell you more about it later but you can take a look at everything in the bundle by clicking here.
But here are two parts of the bundle that should be of interest to you:
Debt Free Guide: Practical Tips and Lessons To Reach Debt Freedom
eBook by Allison Baggerly ($19.00)
Teaches you how to pay off debt fast and stay motivated even when you live paycheck to paycheck!
Debt Free in 18 Months
eCourse by Deacon Hayes ($67.00)
A proven strategy for eliminating $52,000 in debt in 18 months.
These are just two things in the Master Your Money Bundle that you can get but there’s so much more.
What is an Ultimate Bundle?
An Ultimate Bundle is a group of products (typically digital) that are a part of a bundle all related to one topic. There’s a bundle for Healthy Meal Planning, Healthy Living, Photography, Blogging etc. Every part of the bundle, whether it be an ebook, course, or subscription will be related to that topic.
So everything in the Master Your Money Bundle will be related to gaining financial freedom like budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, making more money, etc.
Pretty cool right?
The bundles that I have, I reference them for months and even years later so they are definitely a good buy.
Click here to check out the Master Your Money Bundle
Thanks for reading and check you later (get it…”check” you later)…lame I know 🙂
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2 Guaranteed Ways To Turn Your Poor Mindset Into A Rich One
How To Stay Out Of Debt By Following These 3 Simple Tips
5 Secrets To Improving Your Credit Score So You Can Always Get Approved
7 Cringe-Worthy Habits That Keep Christians From Being Debt Free
3 Credit Card Debt Tips That Put You On The Road To Financial Freedom!
