I’m no stranger to credit card debt. In fact, The Frugal Path household is currently on our journey out of debt that was created by not having an emergency fund. Just because my wife and I are working our way out of debt doesn’t mean that it’s always easy to get out. Our culture constantly bombards us with ads. You hear them on the radio, watch them on television and the internet and see them during your daily commute. These ads are designed to make us purchase a service or product and they can be very persuasive.
Statements are just numbers.
This almost constant stream of desires and wants can sometimes make paying off debt seem pointless. When your credit card statement comes at the end of the month it appears as cold hard numbers and doesn’t really show what was purchased with the card.
The numbers represented on the statement obviously represent the items that you purchased. However, they just list the store and the amount paid. I understand that it doesn’t make sense for the credit card companies to itemize everything you purchased. That would not only be an ecological nightmare, but also a logistical one as well.
When you finally open your statement it can be easy to just push paying it off until the next month indefinitely. Why? Because you forget what was purchased. You might still be wearing those jeans that make your butt look awesome, but you’ve forgotten that you paid $77.50 with plastic. You may also be showing off the photos from your $3,000 cruise last week, but forgot that you haven’t actually paid a cent for it.
Credit Card Purchases Aren’t Tangible
Kate Bingaman-Burt went through a struggle very similar to the scenarios presented when she was attempting to pay off her debt. Sunday Feb 10th, 2013 I listened to her story on MarketPlace Money. Like many, when Kate’s credit card statements came in at the end of the month she had a difficult time paying them. The statements weren’t tangible items and she had a hard time relating the statements to her purchases. Instead of throwing in the towel and staying buried in debt Kate began drawing her purchases.
During the interview Kate explained that drawing these items “humanized” them for her. The statements were no longer just cold numbers and she also put more thought into the items that she purchased. If you’re curious about Kate Bingaman-Burt’s artwork be sure to check out her book: Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?
Make Your Debt Tangible
What if you’re not super artsy and drawing isn’t for you but you’re still having a difficult time with the cold facts on your statement? Don’t despair, there are other ways to make your debt tangible.
A few years ago when we got serious about paying down our debt we created a debt thermometer. Every month we’d track how much debt was paid off and had a tiny celebration. The celebrations were nothing crazy, maybe a fist bump or high-five. However, these tiny victories did help to keep us motivated. It made paying our debt tangible with a definite goal. The thermometer also helped us visualize how far we’ve come rather than just how much debt we had left to pay down.
Have you ever been in debt and out of motivation? What techniques did you try to help get you out of debt? Did they work?
Photo Provided By: cdaltonrowe
I really like the idea of a debt thermometer. We just did a graph in excel which probably isn’t as fancy, but it did the same job.
I found that it can really help you stay motivated if you visualize your debt.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..Do You Know Your Neighbors? 10 Reasons To Meet Them
Using excel to visualize your debt is another great idea. Watching your debt line go down can be as exciting as watching your net worth increase.
I have never heards this method, but it sounds cool. I don’t get much of a chance to listen to Marketplace Money because of when I am driving, but I have heard good things about the program. Thanks for passing it along Justin.
They offer podcasts of it on the NPR website. I’ve heard some very interesting things on the show, but with my schedule I only get a chance to listen to them every once in a while.
I’ve tried everything! I have to say, I’m not sure how to stop spending! What makes me stop is when I realize I all of a sudden have another $3000 of CC debt that I really just can’t pay. I right now have paid off my entire balance, and can actually say I am debt free (paid off my mortgage last summer) but still have a problem getting my spending in order. I just don’t want to be in the same position 4 months form now. Perhaps I just flat out get rid of my credit cards?
Seanna recently posted..This is What a Financial Plan Looks Like
Congrats on becoming debt free. If credit cards present too big of a temptation then getting rid of them might be a good idea.
One thing we are going to do to help pay down our debt is have a garage sale and put a whole bunch of stuff on ebay and Craiglist. I know it’s not typical, but someone we know made FOUR THOUSAND on a garage sale, just getting rid of baby stuff. If that doesn’t help with debt, I don’t know what will.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..5 Things I Wish I Had More Time For
That’s another great way to some extra cash to pay down debt. We’re considering selling a few things that we no longer need on E-bay as well. It won’t be four grand, but it’ll help out.
That’s an interesting concept. I do believe it’s easy to brush debt out to the side because unless it’s in front of you face daily, it’s easy to forget about. I use visualization to see what life is like only moving in the positive. To have my extra money going toward positive things like retirement or a vacation. In fact I almost caved and got a facial yesterday because I started to justify it as something I deserved for working so hard. But when I would be paying for that in instead of paying money towards me debt and being out of it sooner…I decided not to do it.
Budget and the Beach recently posted..Budgeters Anonymous
Sometimes it can be difficult to delay something we want. We usually reward ourselves with dinner out or something fun when we reach a certain point, usually every 20% of our debt paid off. That way we have a little extra motivation. Perhaps facials could be your extra?
I love the idea of making a visual to remind you. I was actually thinking about doing this especially since we have such a LONG way to go!
Catherine recently posted..How Much I Would Make As a Stay-At-Home Momma
I’m for anything that will keep you motivated. I’m a horrible artist, but I love debt thermometers.
That’s a really great idea Justin! I am such a visual learner, I wonder why I did not do something like this when I was climbing out of debt. My strategy was simply looking at what I wanted and using that as motivation as getting out of it. I had chained myself to be a slave to it and I wanted to be free.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Taking the Plunge: Why I Love Being Self-Employed
Wanting to be free is another reason that I don’t want debt. I really hate that I need to allocate a portion of my income for something I’ve bought in the past. I’d rather save and invest for the future.
My mate who blogs at nurse frugal put her mortgage into a puzzle of sorts and every time they pay a chunk off the mortgage they remove a piece of the debt puzzle. It’s pretty cool to see their debt fly away……
Canadian Budget Binder recently posted..Making The Best Of What Is Available: My Grocery Shopping
I’ve seen her mosaic, it’s a really good idea. The visual I use is just a piece of lined paper with bricks. Each brick represented 1 grand worth of mortgage debt. Her’s is definitely much more visually pleasing.
I’ve never really thought of trying to visualize my debt (the first thing that comes to mind is 30Ft monster trying to devour me) but I like the concept. I keep track off all my debt on a spreadsheet, which is updated monthly. Not quite a visualization but If I add a graph to it that my help. Thanks!
Jose recently posted..Estate Planning – It’s Never Too Early
Jose that’s a great visualization for debt. If I were an artistic type person I’d draw your monster and put it on my fridge.
Debt really is a monster that’s trying to devour your financial independence.
I try my best to cut my budget but I am kind of shopaholic. There was a day when I bought 2000$ stuffs in one hour. As a student I should not do it plus I have college debt too. These credit card giving me real pain, credit gives you the power to use money on constant basis.
When I was out of motivation I would take a 1 hour detour on the world wide web to search all the things I wanted to do and accomplish. It sounds cheesy I know but by seeing that it made me put my head down and keep on pushing towards my goal. Not everyday was a sunny day but at the end of the day I kept moving.
Brick By Brick Investing | Marvin recently posted..Lazy Attitudes – I Absolutely Love Them
It’s important to put your head down and keep moving. Sometimes at work I feel like giving up, but at the end of the day I need the money to survive and accomplish my goals.
When we started to get serious about paying off our credit card debt, we made a list of all the debts and hung it on the fridge to remind us. It was depressing at first, but each month the balances got smaller and it was a mini celebration each time we killed one. I would not be very good at drawing, but having some sort of visual other than statements is very helpful.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..Does Being Rude Get You Further in Life?
The fridge is a great place to put your debt reminder. It’s a place that you can’t really avoid and you see it everyday.
I think this is a great idea! And really, as long as something works that’s all that matters. When we were getting out of debt, I was motivated by just seeing the numbers….but that is just me =)
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Beware of Financial Rip-Offs
Whatever works to help a person out of debt. The numbers alone wouldn’t do it for me unless it’s in percentage form. Every month I calculate what percentage of my overall debt burden we paid off for the month. That’s another way for us to determine if our payments are accelerating or slowing.
I like the concept of the thermometer – I agree that having it as a visual somewhere really helps. I have something similar and seeing it in grand total was kind of a shock and I was no longer in denial!
anna recently posted..Seal Pupping Season at La Jolla Cove and February-ish Debt Update
It’s difficult to be in denial when you have something there to remind you of your burden every day.