February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 FOGA

Be Prepared to Experience These Things in Your Debt Free Journey

Guest Posts, Money

Hello FOGTA Readers,

Today we have our very first guest post! 🙂 This is especially awesome since this was one of the big goals I had for the next six months of From One Geek to Another. I am very excited to share Good Nelly’s thoughts on what you will experience in your debt free journey.

Author’s Bio: Good Nelly is a financial writer who lives in Wisconsin and she has a blog called My Way of Viewing. Good Nelly has been associated with Debtconsolidationcare.com for years. Through her writing, she has helped people overcome their debt problems and has solved personal finance related queries. Learn more about her here.

Now without further ado:

Be Prepared to Experience These Things in Your Debt Free Journey

You have made the right decision to repay outstanding debts. So, you’re ready to overcome the hurdles that come in your way. Be prepared to experience a lot of things in your debt free journey. Don’t worry! All the experiences won’t be bad. In this journey, you’ll learn a lot of things which will help you manage your finances in a much better way, in the future.

Here are a few things you can experience on your journey to living a debt free life.

You will plan a suitable budget and follow it

As I always say, budgeting is the basic step when you’re trying to pay back debts. Unless you plan a realistic and suitable budget, how will you track your expenses and save a significant amount to repay outstanding balances?

So, plan a budget to take care of your daily necessities and save as much as possible. Envelope budgeting can work well when you’re trying to save a significant amount every month. In this budgeting technique, you put money in respective envelopes with different items and spend from the specific envelopes only. Doing so, you won’t be able to spend more on any category.

You will want answers to your queries

When you begin your debt free journey, your mind will be flooded with queries. You may think whether or not you’re doing the right thing. Your friends may advise you not to be bothered with paying back debt.

However, stick to what you’ve decided. Have confidence in yourself that what you’re doing is right. Try to associate yourself with like-minded people who can help and motivate you towards living a debt-free life.

You will understand the importance of an emergency fund

When you are struggling to repay your debts, you understand the importance of an emergency fund. If you had one emergency fund, you could have used the funds to avoid incurring excessive debt.

Even if you have one emergency fund, try to save at least 5-6 months’ worth of your living expense. But, you should use the emergency fund in case of a dire emergency like a car breakdown, a medical emergency, and so on. You shouldn’t use the funds for shopping or to plan a vacation.

You will gather knowledge about debt relief options

In your journey to living a debt-free life, you’ll have to gather knowledge about the available debt relief options, based on which you’ll have to choose one or a combination of suitable methods.

If you think you can manage your debts on your own, you can opt for DIY debt relief methods. You can choose from debt snowball and debt avalanche options.

However, if you have already tried DIY options but weren’t successful or you need professional guidance, then you can choose professional debt relief methods. Depending on the amount of your debt, you can enroll in a settlement program or a consolidation program. If you choose settlement, you can get rid of your debts by paying less than what you owe, and if you opt for consolidation, you can pay off debts in full.

You will choose to live a frugal lifestyle

To adopt a frugal lifestyle, you’ll have to change your habits, one by one, that trigger your overspending nature.

First of all, you will have to identify your spending triggers. If visiting a shopping mall entices you to purchase a lot of things, then avoid visiting shopping destinations. Meet your friends at a park or call them at home, but never visit them at a shopping mall.

Always have a list when visiting grocery shops. Do not buy anything, which is not on your list. Also, clip suitable coupons and use them when going for grocery shopping.

You will not compare yourself with your friends’ lifestyle

In your debt free journey, you will realize why you shouldn’t compare yourself with others and try to adopt their lifestyle.

It is because you don’t know whether or not they’re incurring debt to adapt to that lifestyle.

So, be happy with the good things you have in your life and cherish that. You never know many people may envy you too for what you have.

You will try to accumulate dollars as much as possible

To become debt free, you will have to save dollars and use them to repay debt. So, in your debt free journey, you will often think about how to save more dollars.

Look at your home and accumulate things which are in good condition but you won’t need them anymore. You can arrange a garage sale and sell these items. You can also rent a portion of your house which you don’t use. For example, you can rent one extra garage if you have more than one at your home.

Another way to save money and adopt a frugal lifestyle is to cancel your gym membership and opt to take a stroll at your nearby park with your family. You will enjoy exercising in the open air and can spend a good family time too.

Last but not least, you will learn how to manage your finances so that you don’t face debt problems again in the future.

And, the hardship you’re facing now is worth it as you’ll be able to enjoy a debt free life, which will help you lead a happy life free of worries!

That was Be Prepared to Experience These Things in Your Debt Free Journey, by Good Nelly. This post is fantastic for anyone on their debt free journey, and I was delighted to share it. 🙂

If you’re interested in doing a guest post here at From One Geek to Another, feel free to reach out to me at fromonegeektoanother@gmail.com or on Twitter.

Until Next Time!

-G