Friday, April 18, 2008

Tired of paying off debt - how to stay motivated?

I have been paying off debt like crazy these past few months. And I have seen some great progress in doing that. But you know what?

I am so freaking tired of paying off debt!

I mean, seeing the thousands of dollars I have been paying towards debt is just painful. There are so many other things that could have been done with that money. Instead, I grew up financially illiterate and am having to pay the price now.

It is really too bad that time machines are just a thing of science fiction. One would really come in handy about now.

It is hard to stay motivated to pay off the debt though. And maybe it just feels that way right now because it all is all nice and warm outside. And that makes me want to travel and what not. But of course, travel is expensive and that money is better used to pay down debts. It is just hard to tell yourself that you can do all of that once the debt is paid off.

So with that comes the task of trying to find things to do for entertainment that are not costly. This weekend we went to the movies because I had some free passes. That was fun.

Except that we decided to have lunch out, which was $21. That might not seem like much money, until you read my previous post on how I got a cart full of groceries for around $12.00 total. And the sad part is that the meal was not all that great.

And with the price of gas these days, it is not even a good idea to take drives to public parks and whatnot.

Then there are moments of weakness. You spend a little. Then after the fact you feel both guilt and regret. And that sucks.

So, how do you work through the lack of motivation once you get tired of sending every dime to credit card companies, student loans and car loans?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, I never have the problem of motivation to pay my debts. Instead, each time I can't wait to receive the next paycheck and then pay the debts. I feel satisfaction and great to see the debt's number getting lower and lower!

At the same time I also feel that I'm approaching my goal, my dream. My dream is to become debt free and then buy a house for my family. Maybe because of this goal, I can do anything just to pay off the debt.

Maybe you can set a goal too. For example, when you pay off certain percentage of debt, give yourself a break or treat yourself a rewards, maybe travel to some great places in city that near by yours etc. I think this is a great way to stay motivated.