Paying off debt

How to Overcome Being Tired of Paying Off Debt

Paying off debt, whether it be due to credit cards or something like student loans can be difficult – to say the least. When you’re wallowing under a pile of debt it can seem like it will never end and that you’ll always be dealing with this burden of debt. As someone who has been through that journey, I understand the emotions that arise and know that there need to be ways to overcome them.

Do Not Give Up!

A common temptation I faced as I paid off my $45,000 in debt was wanting to simply throw my hands in the air and give up. The debt fatigue was strong and I just wanted it to be over. I know many people paying off debt face that same emotion and my encouragement to you is not to give up. It may feel like throwing in the towel will relieve the pain and allow you to move on, but standing on the other side, let me tell you that it won’t. In fact, giving up on paying down your debt will only make matters worse. Instead of giving up, maybe only make your minimum payment for a month to allow you some time to take your the foot off the gas, but don’t give up.

Give Yourself an Outlet

This was one of the first things the debt counselor encouraged me to do as I was starting to pay off my debt. She told me to give myself an outlet and spend time on it. Whether that being giving yourself fun money to use on yourself each month or something creative, find an outlet that you can personally benefit from. Not only will this allow you to have a more balanced and healthy life, but it’ll also allow you to take your mind off of paying off debt. This might seem as avoiding the problem of debt, but it’s the exact opposite. It allows you time for yourself so that you aren’t tempted to give in to debt fatigue and can bring you strength as you deal with your debt payoff journey.

Refresh Your Vision of Why You Want Debt Freedom

As with any other journey, paying off debt, has a destination. That destination, in terms of paying off debt, is debt freedom. Beyond debt freedom, the destination is going to be specific to your own situation. Maybe it means you can start seriously saving money for retirement or going on a nice vacation. Whatever that vision is, I encourage you to start thinking of it and what it will feel like to be able to reach it. Essentially, you want to start looking at what your life will look like once you reach debt freedom and allow that to help you redouble your efforts to pay off your debt.

Paying off debt, especially in large amounts, can be burdensome and take time to accomplish. It’s inevitable that you’ll deal with fatigue during it, but there are ways to deal with and overcome it that will help bring you one step closer to achieving debt freedom.

 

What is one struggle you’ve dealt with in paying off debt? What are you doing to overcome it?

 

Image by Lending Memo/ Flickr

2 thoughts on “How to Overcome Being Tired of Paying Off Debt”

  1. Oh I was there. I was sick and tired of making debt payments and not seeing the balances go down. So I cut my expenses, moved to a cheaper apartment, sold my car and got a second job – voilia, debt free.

    1. I hear ya Tahnya – I had to do a few of those things myself when I was paying off debt and they gave a huge boost to getting my debt paid off.

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