4 Ways to Heal From Financial Trauma to Begin to Pay Off Debt
The journey to pay off debt, or simply stop living paycheck to paycheck, can be a long one. We are flooded with emotions of failure, overwhelm and stress topped off with an overarching feeling of “what the heck am I even doing?”
I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be that way. I avoided my debt for eight years because I thought it would eventually settle itself and I’m here to tell you, that just doesn’t happen.
The best way to fix our problems with money is to tackle it head on! Sit with the emotions that money stir up, work everyday while giving ourselves grace and just try to improve one thing at a time.
To help you get started, here are four ways you can begin to heal your relationship with money and actually make progress on paying off your debt!
Dig Into Your Current Beliefs
I used to say things like “must be nice to not have any student loan debt” and looking back now, I cringe. I had no idea what those people were dealing with in their lives! Did I wish that I didn’t have student loan debt? Absolutely! But I didn’t need to project that onto other people.
What are some of the things you tell yourself or think about money? Are you embarrassed by how much money you make? Do you think people with flashy things are greedy? Are you afraid to spend money because you have to save some for a rainy day?
Many of our beliefs are instilled in us at an early age and it’s often not a reflection of our true beliefs. Take some time to write down all the things you have heard about money. Reflect on whether or not those statements have to be true. If not, how can that change things in your life?
Change Negative Messages You’re Telling Yourself
Unfortunately we are often more harsh on ourselves than we are to other people, and that has to stop! The messages that we are telling ourselves are more powerful than we even know.
To quote Gandhi, and yes, I’m bringing Ghandi into this:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.”
So be nice to yourself and start to reframe negative self talk before you manifest a nightmare. Instead of telling yourself that “you’ll never have enough money” start saying “I am excited for the future because I have the power to change my life” or “I know I can build wealth and am worthy of nice things.”
Create a Roadmap to Reaching Your Goals
In order to reach our destination, we have to know where we are going. Once we start to believe that we have the power to change our lives and that we are worthy of wealth it becomes much easier to curate the life we’ve always dreamt of.
Write out your top goals you’d like to accomplish within the next six months, two years and five years. For each goal, write out what you’ll have to do to make them come true. How much money do you need? Do you need to start scheduling your time better? Will you need to surround yourself with a supportive community? Use all of this information to propel you to running that marathon, paying off that debt, moving abroad or whatever speaks to your soul.
Celebrate Your Progress
It takes a lot of guts, self-love, patience and perseverance to tackle our money problems and we often don’t see results overnight. Be sure to build in moments to celebrate your goals and take time to reflect just how far you’ve come.
I used to buy a fancy bottle of wine or have a date-night with my partner (restaurant my choice, of course) when I was paying off debt. I say this because even if you are throwing all your extra money towards a goal, you should still be spending money on the things that bring you joy, otherwise it won’t be something you stick with long term.
If debt is something you have been struggling with and need some support on, schedule a free consultation call and let’s see how I can help you reduce stress, pay off debt and build wealth!
