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5 Motivational Hacks to Pay Off Debt

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motivational hacks to pay off debt

When you decide to take your debt journey seriously, you might feel a burst of energy and motivation. You’re ready to slay your debt. Unfortunately, that motivation doesn’t last long. I know, because I paid off debt for many years. Over the course of nine years, I paid off $81,000 in student loans. I only got serious about it after graduating from New York University, when I still had $68,000 — which I paid off in 4.5 years. In order to do that, I had to make four-figure payments for years. When you can’t pay off debt quickly because your balance is so large, debt fatigue can creep in. Here are five motivational hacks to help you pay off debt. 

1. Write your debt number on a post-it

Paying off debt requires you to shift your behavior as well as your mindset. In order to do that, you need to keep your debt top of mind. You can’t just rely on willpower or motivation. You need to rely on discipline as well as gentle reminders. 

One hack that worked for me was to put my debt balance on a post-it. I took that post-it and put it on my credit card. So every time I wanted to spend money, I’d see the balance looking back at me. At that moment, I had to ask myself if the purchase was really worth it. This hack kept me from making mindless purchases and kept me going because I was so determined to see that number go down! 

2. Make a debt-free dream list

Debt fatigue is difficult to deal with because you’re so overpaying off debt. One thing that kept me going when I wanted to give up was creating a “debt-free dream list”. On that list, I wrote down all of my dreams and the things I wanted in my debt-free life. 

I wrote down that I wanted to be self-employed, move back to LA, get cats, and take my mom to Italy. At the time, I was living in Portland, Oregon and the weather didn’t agree with me but I knew I needed to stay to take advantage of the low cost of living. 

I was also desperate for my own cats and to have more adventures. But I went back to being disciplined and knew that a little bit of hard work now would mean an easier life later when I was older. 

Do you want to be a younger person in debt or an older person in debt? I think you know the answer. So for me, I sacrificed and hustled for years and kept in mind all of the things I would have and pursue once I was debt-free and had a positive net worth. 

You can create your own debt-free dream list by thinking about all the things you will do or items you will buy once your debt is completely gone. 

3. Use Pinterest/Instagram to motivate you

Writing down your debt-free dream list is one way to state what you want. But to take it to the next level, you can use Pinterest to motivate you. Create a board that showcases images and articles that keep you going. 

You can also use Instagram to motivate you too. Only follow accounts related to your dream. Use the ‘save post’ function to create a gallery of images that support your debt-free dream list. Instead of using social media to be tempted by ads or getting FOMO, you can curate your own feed to help you reach your debt-free dream list and keep going when times are hard and motivation is lacking. 

4. Make yourself accountable

I started my blog DearDebt.com to write about my journey of paying off debt. Every month, I’d write a recap on the side hustles I did as well as how much I paid off in debt that month. The blog was a wonderful accountability tool that helped me pay off debt. 

You can make yourself accountable by starting a blog. Think that’s too much? Create a microblog on Instagram and search #debtfreecommunity. You can also find a friend you can connect with who also wants to pay off debt and set up regular intervals to check-in. 

Having external accountability can help you maintain progress. You want to show up, not disappoint the other person, and cheer each other on. Find what works for you while striving to be consistent. 

5. Try these different methods to pay off debt 

If you research ways to pay off debt, it’s likely you’ve come across two common ways to pay off debt. 

  1. Debt avalanche
  2. Debt snowball

Both require you to pay the minimum on all of your loans but states you should put your extra money toward the highest interest rate (avalanche) or the lowest balance (snowball). The snowball method is very popular and can be a good option as it boosts motivation as you pay down small balances. The avalanche method can save you money on interest, which could mean paying off debt even faster. 

You can use this FREE tool from Undebt.it. They provide a mobile-friendly snowball/avalanche calculator app to help you live debt-free. The payment is easy to follow so you can finally eliminate your debt!

Two other options that I shared in my book Dear Debt, are about engaging your emotions to help you pay off debt. One option is to pay off the debt that makes you angry. Maybe you have debt from a divorce or getting scammed by a friend and it makes you mad. Anger is typically not a great emotion and doesn’t help move you forward. But if you channel that into debt repayment, it could fuel your journey. 

The other option is to pay off the debt that will offer the most peace of mind. If you have a loan from a family member that is causing tension or a credit card bill that keeps you up at night, preventing you from having good sleep, pay that off first. 

Paying off debt is an emotional process and these are two ways to hack your emotions in your favor rather than fall in despair. 

Pay off debt now 

Paying off debt is never easy. It takes a toll on your emotional and financial life and maybe even your relationships, too. That’s why it’s important to do whatever you can to get out of debt ASAP and hack your motivation so you can keep going.

How to Pay Off Debt AND Build Credit: How I Raised My Credit Score 100 Points in One Month

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Pay off debt and build credit
Just over one month ago I looked at my Credit Karma account and realized my credit score had slowly been slipping for months. I was stuck in a tough spot. I’d deferred student loan payments and allowed things to go to collections while I was trying to rebuild and become stable again.

My credit score was sitting at a 460 and I was absolutely terrified. I knew that I’d have a lot of work to do to get it back up to the high 600s it was just two years ago. But with student loan debt and other small debts continuing to rack up ($35,000 plus interest) I thought I had to choose: either pay down debts or build your credit. However, I found a way to do both.

Paying Off Debt While Building Credit

Now, when I say I had to choose you may be confused. Yes, paying debts does help your credit but not all debt payment will reflect positively on your credit report. For example, I paid off an item in collections. Because it was already in collections, it hit my report and won’t be fully gone until after seven years has passed.

There are debts that you obtain and pay that can help you build credit though. So if you’re looking to pay off debt and build credit, keep the following in mind:

What Debt Should You Target?

Prioritizing which debts will be paid off first is important. For instance, if you have something that is preventing you from furthering yourself on your credit report you’ll want to pay that item first. The item I paid in collections was preventing me from renting an apartment so I had to pay that to get a place to stay.

Next, you’ll want to target the debts that will report to your credit score. These are items that have not been sent to collections and are still open. If you make timely payments with at least the minimum each month it will positively affect your credit score.

Other Ways to Build Your Credit Score

If you don’t have any debt and still need a way to build your credit score, don’t worry. There are many ways for you to start building credit. Here are a few ways I’ve implemented since starting to work on my credit score:

  • Get a secured credit card: Secured credit cards are a great way for people for no credit or bad credit to build themselves up again. Most cards have a security deposit (usually between $50 and $200).
  • Take out a small loan: If you’re not interested in having a credit card you may consider taking out a small loan. Whether you need the loan for a home purchase or simply want to use it to consolidate debt, repaying the loan can greatly affect your credit.
  • Rent-to-own: Many rent-to-own places can help you build you credit as well and you’ll have something to show for it once you’ve paid it off. Just be sure to read the fine print and try to pay your items off before the interest kicks in.
  • Pay your bills on time: Paying your bills on time is a huge factor on your credit report. Consistently late payments can hurt your score by as much as 100 points (or more if you’re habitual).
  • Check your score often: If you see something that doesn’t look quite right on your credit score, fix it. You’ll want to be sure that no one is using your identity or that you aren’t being wrongfully charged.

I have and will be implementing each of these over the coming months. By paying down some debt and opening some lines of credit I’ve already been able to increase my credit score by 100 points in a month. Whether you are trying to pay off debt or build credit you need to pay attention to your credit score. Letting it go unnoticed will simply create more work for you in the long run. If you have additional ideas on how to pay off debt while building credit, share them with us! 

Photo: Bank Foreclosures Sale

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