The Two Things You Must Do Before Getting Started on Your Debt Free Journey

You’re ready for a change.

You have committed to getting out of debt, but you don’t know where to start, right?

You’re tired of living paycheck to paycheck and seeing your hard-earned money go toward interest to the bank or credit card company.

You bring home a decent income, but before you can actually enjoy what you’ve worked so hard for, you have to pay all of the bills. And what’s left over for you? Not much.

Well, I am here to help!

I am going to take you step by step through the exact process that my husband and I used to pay off $65,000 of debt in 11 months on a single middle class income.

We have been where you are. We remember feeling overwhelmed by the idea of paying off all of our debt, but we knew that we had to get started. It wasn’t going to go away by itself.

We didn’t want to end up a couple of years away from retirement and still be paying thousands of dollars each month toward debt. Instead, we knew if we were focused and intense and attacked our debt with everything that we could, we would make quick progress.

After all, as Earl Nightingale once said, “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

It was August 2013 when we were first starting this process. It doesn’t seem like that long ago, but now 18 months has passed and we have paid off $76,000 of debt. If we hadn’t started we would still be in a state of uneasiness regarding our finances.

Now we are confident because we have a goal that we are working toward and a plan we know will get us there.

I want the same for you.

Join us and get started on your own debt free journey. Think about the peace and control you will feel when you have a plan for your money and a process for reaching your financial goals.

Are you ready?

Great!

But before we begin, there are two things you must do first.

1. Get Your Spouse On Board
   

   If you’re married, I highly recommend working through these steps with your spouse. Financial plans work best when both parties are on the same page from the start.

   But if you have to do it alone, walk through each step on your own, and then share your first draft with your partner. Encourage him or her to offer input and make changes before finalizing your plan. Both parties should agree on every step of the plan before putting things into action. If there are any differences in opinion, work those out together before moving forward.

   [bctt tweet=”Creating your plan with your spouse will promote communication as you discuss your dreams together.”]

   Creating and implementing your plan to get out of debt with your spouse will facilitate communication as you discuss your hopes and dreams as a couple together.

2. Make a Promise
   

   If you are committed to getting out of debt, then you must make a promise to yourself that no matter what happens, you will not add to the problem.

   That means that you will not take out another loan or charge something on a credit card that you can’t afford. If an unexpected expense comes up that you absolutely cannot avoid, use your emergency fund if you need to, and replenish it as quickly as possible. But do not dig yourself deeper into debt.

   If you’re married make this commitment to each other, and if you’re single, find an accountability partner who you can confide in and will hold you accountable to your goal of becoming debt free.

   Promise? Pinky swear?

Okay!

Get started – nothing is holding you back!

What About You?

Participate in the conversation. Are you ready to get started on your debt free journey? Is your spouse on board? Are you committed to getting and staying out of debt? Share in the comments below.