I’m in debt. Good. I’m passed the zero-th step: Acceptance. I’m making progress. Very sexy.
Now all I have to do is pay down my debt. Bummer. Very unsexy.
The second step to paying off my debt is to pay off the student loan companies I owe. Before that, the first step to debt reduction is to stop accumulating debt.
Here’s how I stopped accumulating more debt.
Cut up your credit cards. Maybe not ALL of them. I do have ONE credit card since some things are credit card only.
Leave social status at the door. I live like a freakin’ hobo compared to my lifestyle a few years ago. Don’t be afraid to look like a bum compared to your friends. Who cares if they all got new TVs and you’re still turning the knobs to change the channel? When your friends say, “Want to go out tonight?” Say “No. I’m a hobo.” Click.
Don’t borrow money from friends. “Hey man, can I borrow 10 bucks?” is not in my vocabulary anymore. It’s a bad habit and it’s a burden on myself and my friends.
Use cash all the time. Have you ever wondered why they give you chips to gamble at the casinos? It’s psychologically harder for use to see cash leave our hands. When I started using cash for purchases, I noticed a massive decrease in spending.
If you have to use a credit card, put a Post-It note on it. I made a tiny paper envelope for my credit card and I pencil in a running balance on it. It’s a very good deterrent to using it since you can see the balance before you use it.
Here are some cool debt reduction blogs: