In today’s world we are always made to feel like we need more. We need the newest and greatest of everything and it’s very easy to get sucked in. Sometimes you don’t even realize it until your already in to deep. AKA your in debt and your life revolves around constantly paying bills.
That’s not anywhere I think ANYONE wants to be. You want to live and be able to enjoy your life. You want to be able to relax and not live in a state of urgency. Urgent to work more hours to make more money so you can buy more newer and greater things. Which then ends up requiring you to need to work more and the cycle repeats.
UNTIL… you decide to stop it!
So if your tired of living a version of the above cycle and your ready to get more intentional with your life and start your debt free journey then below I’m sharing 5 tips on how to do just that. I even include a free site I love that has some very useful tools!
Which surprising you never hear anyone talking about. So I needed to share it with you. It’s like a secret financial toolbox that everyone needs to know about. I’ll touch base on it more in one of my tips below.
And now onto the top 5 tips to help you start your debt free journey today!
Stop using credit cards
STOP USING CREDIT CARDS!!! I could seriously repeat that sentence three more times that’s how important this step is. The only way to get debt free is to stop creating debt. If you continue to use credit cards then none of the other steps will work right (exception in part of step 2).
Now if you have an absolute emergency and need to use it then so be it. You still have to live and take care of life. But strolling the isles and sipping a coffee isn’t an emergency. Self care is so take the above sentence with how it fits into your life. But be realistic… your the one here to learn how to get debt free.
How bad do you want to accomplish that goal?
Set your budget
So you’ve stopped using your credits cards and your like “okay now what”. Well now you need to figure out and set your budget. I know most financial experts say to “pay yourself first” then pay your bills. But the sooner you pay your bills and get them out of the way. The sooner you no longer have to pay them anymore.
I’m not talking about the ones that are necessities, which in our book that would include internet/wifi. I work from home and so that’s part of a business expense for us. Or at least when we lived in an area where you could get internet.
So the second part of this tip is how to actually set up your budget.
Remember that really cool site I was mentioning above. Its PIGLY and your about to exposed to the world of simplicity and ease of finances. When I learned how to budget it was back before technology was as cool as it is now. I had to do it manually with the good ole pen and paper.
But with PIGLY you don’t have to. They have seriously so many free financial calculators that you could plant your entire life out of you wanted to in the financial world. But you aren’t here to do all that. Your here to get debt free and this Budget Planner will do just that for you. It’s set to follow Dave Ramsey’s budget guidelines. So you already know that it’s the real deal and you will be getting very accurate info.
After you go through these tips I highly recommend you head to PIGLY and really check out their different calculators. It’s all free and the best part is the page isn’t covered in ads. I actually don’t think I ever even seen one in the many times I’ve been on their site.
Only use cash + plan ahead
This is really another important step. Well they all our actually. That’s why I’m only focusing on the top 5 in this post. Since you have stopped using your credit cards and you got your budget planned out. Now it’s time to only use cash on hand for the things you want. And plan a head for things you can’t afford right away with just cash.
This is kinda like a second budget to your first one and the one where you get to focus on being more intentional. Instead of always splurging and repeating the work for more cycle. You get to start focusing on your goals. Having cash in had to buy stuff makes you very aware of what you really can afford in that moment.
You then put more thought into the things you actually spend money on! Intentional spending is one of the top tricks to living more intentional.
If your stuck on how to actually budget out your cash flow and work it into your budget above. Then once again I’m going to direct you to PIGLY and their Cash Flow Calculator. I told you they have seriously all the best tools you need. All on one site and all for free!
Pay extra towards debt
This one plays off your cash in hand and budget. After figuring out those you can then see what you have extra and if you’d like to put any towards paying off your debt. Which would be paying extra towards it and paying off your debt faster. Remember the faster you pay it off the sooner you no longer have to pay towards it. Which then increases your cash on hand.
Which then can go directly to your savings if you prefer. If you want go check out this Savings Calculator on PIGLY to start that process or just day dream about the future of growing your savings and creating a really nice financial cushion. Or even a very nice vacation fund.
Talk about your goals out loud or write them down
Now that your getting your finances in order and spending more intentional. Now you need to think about your goals. Where would you like to be in 6 months, 1 year or 3 years. Talk about those goals and make them part of your daily conversations. Day dream and plan and use that as your motivation. Write down your dreams and goals. Big ones and small ones.
The more fluent you keep them in your life the more likely you are to stay focused and keep pushing through to reach them. Expect changes of things you talk about along the way too. This is a learning curve and your going to find that your goals and dreams change and adjust as your mindset does. The more you learn about what you really want in life. The more excited you’ll get on achieving them.
Now I really hope these top 5 tips to starting your debt free journey and living more intentional helped you and that you feel confident starting. This is where the fun part begins and you get to evolve into your true self and start to enjoy and live a life you love.
If you skipped through and scrolled to the bottom. Here’s a quick recap.
5 Tips To Start Your Debt Free Journey And Live More Intentional
- STOP using credit cards
- Set your budget
- Only use cash + plan ahead
- Pay extra towards debt
- Talk about your goals out loud or write them down
Free calculators mentioned above to help you
If you’d love to start talking with your kids about calculators and the different kids and what they are used for then you definitely need to check out…
The Complete History Of Calculators For Kids
Incase you didn’t know… less is the new more and that’s where you’ll find the beginning of your new life.
Until next time, Live a life you love!
Xo Jessica!
