Change Your Mindset Around Debt to Find Freedom From Debt

Episode 41 of the Wealthy After 40 podcast  is about looking at debt differently.

Most of the time we are stuck looking at it and just want to get rid of it.

This may be doing more harm than good. Have you ever heard the statement, “can’t see the forest for the trees?” 

Specifically in this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to stop letting debt keep us financially stuck 
• What is a debt driver?
• How to view the true problem with our debt

Listen to episode 5 to answer the question - Do I save or pay off debt first?

Listen to episode 15 where I cover 5 different strategies to help you create a debt payoff plan

Click HERE for Full Transcript of Episode

Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Wealthy After 40 podcast. We are going to be taking a look at debt. And we're going to look at it through different lenses. We're going to help you stop letting debt keep you financially stuck, and also how to find the true problem that you have with debt so you can apply the right solution. If you are on a journey to pay off debt, join my 5 Day Debt Challenge starting February 20th in my Facebook group, where we will cover the strategies, steps, tips that you need to be successful in paying off to the off debt. We won't be doing that today. As we've already covered that in episodes five and 15. So if you're still on a journey of debt, want to have some questions such as how, you know, do you pay or save first pay off debt or save? First, that's episode five. If you're looking for specific strategies today, that is in episode 15, but we will cover those in that challenge on how they apply to you. The final day will be a Q and A live. So you can ask the specific questions that you have to tweak that strategy. So you're able to find success in paying off debt. Back to today's episode, you look at your debt and you see big numbers. And so you decide it's time to pay off debt, and that becomes your whole focus. I gotta pay it off. I gotta pay it off. Look at this debt. I gotta get it off. Do you remember the title of the podcast episode? You're Thinking About Debt All Wrong. You're so focused on wanting to get rid of debt, and I can't blame you. It is a weight. It comes with those natural negative feelings. But by being so focused and stuck there looking at it that you fail to create motivation, desire, wants, any of those things that will help you be able to have more success on paying off that debt overall on your money journey. Okay, have you heard a statement? Forest for the trees. You can't see the forest because of the trees. You're stuck looking at a tree trunk. That is the same with your debt. You're looking at your debt that you don't see anything else. Now, if you were to look beyond the trees, you would see the forest. Being beyond the forest, you would see a crystal clear, beautiful lake. On the horizon. Now, what is your crystal clear, beautiful lake? The last few episodes have talked about creating that financial vision. This is that. You can't forget that vision. What is it that you want after the debt? What is it you want you yourself to do with money after the debt? Now I want to put a little caveat in here real quickly. In that you don't have to get rid of your debt to be able to start enjoying your money. Finding the balance is key. Being able to support both. But if you don't have a vision, if you don't have a path, if you don't have those milestones created right, you won't be able to achieve that. So envision you're back at the tree. And you can see the lake now because you've defined your, your what your horizon is, what is out there, what your financial vision is. So you're starting to make your way with your, with your debt, right? You're no longer looking at just that tree. You might be thinking, I am just making these payments, and that is what I need to do. I'm sticking to my plan, and now I can see my way moving through this forest. As you move through a forest, you come to, you know, closer to the edge, you're now seeing flowers. Right? Oh my gosh, the beauty in this. This is what I want you to do with your money. You're, you've looked past your debt. You're doing the things. You're making those payments just like you said you would do. But what else are you doing with money? What beautiful flowers are you reaping with your money? Oh, that emergency we had last month, we did really well. We were prepared for that. Even though we still have our debt, look at what we did there. How good we were. We were able to take a quick trip for the long weekend. Whatever it might be, recognize your flowers, recognize that those little pieces of beauty as you're making your way through the forest, as you're getting there to get out of the forest, right? Get out of debt to get to that financial vision. Now, mind you, those flowers exist where fewer trees live. So by this time, you will have less debt. You'll be able to reap more rewards. You'll be able to continue on that path. But what you've also done by set your sights on that financial vision. Recognizing those steps you and things you're doing outside of debt with your money is you're leaving the negativity behind. You're leaving that pressure. You're leaving that weight where it lies with the debt, and you've already made a plan. You just need to stay consistent with it. So be sure to number one, create that financial vision, which we talked about. Those last few episodes go into it more specifically, but also reaping those individual rewards. What are you doing well? Well, we didn't have to spend as much on groceries because, and you make a list, recognizing your flowers from your forest as you're making your way with debt, you will get to that crystal clear lake. You're going to be able to move forward more quickly, happier, enjoying the journey and not be stuck, not be still standing at that tree, feeling the weight of it, not seeing anything beyond it, and not being able to have that creativity, that motivation, that desire. So quit being stuck, quit looking at just your debt and determine what else is going on with your money and what else do you want to go on with your money? All right. Second thing is. You might be thinking, I am so bad with money. That is what created my debt. I am just not good. And it just keeps piling up. You just don't understand. Now, you're at the grocery store, you know you have no money in the bank, so this is gonna have to go on your credit card, you don't get paid for four days, but you do need groceries, and you're like, I would have just been better, I wouldn't have had to put my groceries on my credit card. It's not about being better, and it's not about the groceries. Let me share with you a story that will better paint the picture of what I mean by this. I had a client come to me. It was a referral from a financial advising office. And as I was meeting with the clients, he, client, he was sharing that his dad had already paid off his debt twice in full because he was feeling the weight of it. He had reached this situation again. His dad says, I can't. Just keep doing that. There's something else that is wrong. And so through his professional network, he reached out, got a referral. That is how I ended up with this client. So he comes to me, shares this information. I said, well, yeah, that's right. There is something else going on. It's not just about you overspending. Or, you know, enjoying life that you're not being, you know, prudent and paying your bills and all of the things. So we looked at his numbers. And we got to the root of the problem. Now, I like to cause, say this is the driver of debt. For him, it was his lease amount. When he first got there, he could afford it. Lease goes up every single year. 3, 4, 5 percent. His salary did not raise with that same, you know, at all. So it's not keeping in line. Not thinking about that, not making those adjustments. All he's seeing is that I can't, I can't not pay for the urgent care visits my kids need, I can't not pay for their glasses they need. Those were the things he was putting on his credit card. But thinking that, what, what am I going to do? So, for him, we had to do some drastic measures. Also, through the course of the journey, he learned that he was worth more than he was. Then, his value, his worth, skyrocketed. He knew he could go make more money. So, the root of the problem, look for a different place to lease rent that would be more affordable, more in line, and or So, really going into the root of what is causing your debt, it's highly improbable that it is just overspending. Now, I'm hoping to do future episodes about spending and overspending, things like that. We all have moments where we quote, overspend. Even myself, who is a natural saver, it's just par for the course. But, let's discuss that in the future. So, Really, your debt is not because you're going on a shopping spree all the time. So when you're, you know, seeing yourself put your groceries on your credit card or that urgent care visit on your credit card, whatever it may be, those are not the issues. Those are not the problems that you need to solve. You need to look deeper. What is causing you to be over budget? Because in a sense you are. And with what you've got going on, adjustments you can make to curtail that, to fix that. Because just as my client, you pay off the debt, it's going to come back if you don't fix the true problem. And debt is not your problem. It is somewhere deeper and you've got to look for it. So, I hope these two different ways of looking at your debt, number one, Meg, makes you feel a little more free, right? Not as hard on yourself, and with the second one, that you can actually get to the root of the problem. Dive deeper. Think about what is not adding up. in the very beginning. Make those adjustments so that you're not continually adding to your debt because even if you're making progress for three, four or five months, that progress won't stick until you've actually, you know, solved the root problem. So don't just keep throwing your money at debt. Get to the root of the problem and make that solution from there. So what is it that you want beyond yet? Make sure you define that. What are you hoping for when you get out of debt? Make that clarification so that you're not stuck looking at just your debt. And number two, get to the root of your problem. If you need help with that root of the problem, I have the free financial clarity checkup that you can download. Lay out your numbers like you need to to see what's going on, and from there you can actually define what is creating that uptick for you to have to use your credit card on those other things that you think, I'm just overspending, I'm not good with money, and that is not true. There's something deeper there. So if you have any other questions or want in on a deeper discussion with debt. Look for the discussion post in the Facebook group every Wednesday. So hopefully you'll join for that. We're going deeper into the other areas around the subject. And again, if you're looking to save or pay off debt first, episode five, go and give that a listen. Or if you're looking for specific strategies because you want to jump ahead and get that debt payment plan going, episode 15 gives you all the strategies and behind the scenes.