Breaking the Chains of Debt
I couldn’t breathe. I felt trapped and bound. I couldn’t move or turn. I felt like the chains of my debt was suffocating me. Holding me hostage.
All I wanted was to break the chains of debt.
My financial woes started to be all I could think of. I was addicted to looking at my credit score. Instead of going back and forth on social media apps I was going back and forth on credit apps. I hated the thought of owing someone and I also hated that the money I worked hard for I didn’t get to enjoy to the fullest. In comes my paycheck out goes my paycheck. I was working for the money but the money wasn’t working for me. My debt was well under $20k and compared to the average American that is considered low. The average American has around $75,000 in debt. But this wasn’t low to me! I was tired of owing money to someone else. I didn’t want a car note, I didn’t want to pay interest on credit cards, student loans, or make payments on purchases for anything I bought. I mean I still did it, I just didn’t want to. All of the unwise decisions I made had caught up with me. I could choose to wallow in my regret or do something about it. Quite frankly this part of adulting I didn’t care for. For a while I had the buy now, pay later attitude, as many of us do. Even if I had the money. If I could make payments I would just because it was an option. I hate seeing my money leave my account, but I love spending it. Until I started to feel like a slave and debt was my master. Funny how scripture describes debt just as I was feeling.
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. Proverbs 22:7
One day I decided to write out all payments that came out of my account monthly. I realized I had subscriptions I barely used that could be canceled. Low balances that could be paid off if I stopped purchasing things I didn’t really need for a while. Doing that made me aware of where I needed to cut back on and where I needed to apply pressure. January to March, I paid off debt, cancelled subscriptions, and even lowered my car insurance, freeing up around $700 a month.
I couldn’t believe I was throwing away $700 a month!
Saying that aloud sounds insane to me. Paying off debt truly takes discipline with every dollar you get. I didn’t completely say no to the things I wanted I just told myself “NOT RIGHT NOW!” When I received extra on my paycheck or any funds I wasn’t expecting I would put it straight towards debt. I wanted to free up as much of my paycheck that I could and it would take a budget.
To have financial growth you have to make sacrifices.
Sometimes being a better steward over what you already have is the answer to your problems. God could be trying to break you free from your debt and you ignore it by overspending and throwing money away on unnecessary things. Being a good steward over your finances allows you to be led by God in doing what He wants to do, with the very money He blessed you with. It makes room for you to stop being the borrower and to become the lender. To give ungrudgingly to those in need. It allows you to give cheerfully and to not hold on to every dollar so tightly.
Being a good steward with your finances shows that you are trustworthy to have more.
With every installment plan or debt I paid off I felt freer and freer. It was like a dark cloud slowly moving from above my head. Chains slowly falling off my body. A bookbag that seemed to get lighter and lighter as I crossed debt off of my list. I could taste the financial freedom and it was amazing. Now here I am, the goal of being debt-free seemed more attainable. When at the beginning of the year I didn’t even think I could do it. I believe we psyche ourselves out of what we are truly capable of. It takes putting one foot in front of the other.
And hey, you may stumble, you may fall, but failure only comes when you stop trying.
Although debt isn’t necessarily a sin God still doesn’t want us living in it. Romans 13:8 tells us to let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another. I decided all I wanted to owe was love. God paid the ultimate price for us to live freely, from all things. Now I’m not saying live in a way that all your doing is paying off debt and you can’t even afford to feed yourself, your family, and never enjoy life. But, I am saying make a conscious decision to repay what you owe even if it starts with paying off little by little or settling.
It’s your debt anyhow! pay it! Your future self will thank you!
It was also helpful for me to tell those close to me what my goals were. It was the support for me! My commUNITY of friends hyped me up when I met my goals but held me accountable for my overspending. “Great job paying that off sis!” “Girl you know you wasn’t supposed to buy that!” Having support gives you the confidence to meet your goals especially during the moments when you start to feel you may not be able to do it. It also gives you the conviction you need when you stumble to get back on the right track.
Now, I’m no financial expert and don’t claim to be, but I can tell you the more masters (debt) I freed myself from, the freer and happier I felt. I’m not at the finish line, YET, but it feels amazing to be closer today than I was a few months ago.
Here are a few tips that helped me:
Printing out a monthly statement and writing down everything you pay each month, including the date, and the amount.
Write down your expected income.
Write out an estimate for all necessities, groceries, gas, household, personal items, and how much you want to save (if you can, if not now, paying off your debt will allow you to save in the future).
Make a budget for how much you want to spend on restaurants (or whatever your thing is, I like eating out)
Family fun time budget
Anything extra left over put on a bill. (It’s ok if there isn’t any extra right now)
I also did the snowball effect. I know some people like to pay off whatever has the highest interest rate first, but I felt more accomplished paying off the smallest debt and scratching it off. It gave me the push I needed to keep going!
I hope these tips help you as they helped me with my financial goals.
How do you feel about debt? What works best for you in paying off debt? Do you have debt that you have been running from and haven’t confronted yet? Why not start today?
Let’s chat down below.