Episode: 303 - The Hidden Secret to Consistent Debt Elimination
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Are you tired of trying different debt repayment strategies and not seeing results? Many people struggle to find a method that works for them, often feeling frustrated and defeated. In this blog post, we'll explore a different approach to paying off debt, one that focuses on finding a strategy that aligns with your values and goals. Say goodbye to one-size-fits-all methods and hello to a personalized path to debt freedom.
The Dave Ramsey Method and the Search for an Alternative:
If you've ever delved into the world of personal finance, you've likely come across the name Dave Ramsey. Ramsey's approach to debt repayment has helped countless individuals tackle their financial challenges. However, not everyone finds success with his specific strategies. Many people, struggle to stick to Ramsey's plan and feel confined by its restrictions.
Realizing That One Size Doesn't Fit All:
During our debt journey we came to a crucial realization that someone else's way of doing something isn't necessarily the only way to achieve success. Just as there are multiple diet and exercise approaches, there are numerous paths to debt freedom. We all have different priorities, values, and financial situations, which means there isn't a universal solution.
The Importance of Self-Reflection:
Embarking on your journey to debt freedom starts with self-reflection. Take a moment to sit down with a pen and paper and identify what you are willing to give up or cut back on. This exercise is not about sacrificing everything but rather finding a balance that works for you.
Identifying Your Priorities:
Consider what truly matters to you. Are there certain expenses or activities that you are unwilling to compromise on? Maybe you value family vacations, but you're open to scaling back on the extravagance. Or perhaps you're not ready to give up your daily latte, but you're willing to reduce dining out. By understanding your priorities, you can create a customized budgeting plan that aligns with your values.
Finding What Works for You:
The key to long-term debt repayment success is finding a strategy that you can sustain and that the best approach is the one you will stick to for the duration of your journey. It's about striking a balance between financial discipline and maintaining a fulfilling life.
Supporting Your Personal Journey:
Debt Free Dad podcast and our website is a valuable resource for individuals seeking their own path to debt freedom. Our free "Life Without Payments" workshop is a great starting point for those ready to take the next step toward financial independence.
Conclusion:
The journey to debt freedom is unique for each person. It's time to break free from the notion that there is only one way to achieve financial success. By reflecting on your priorities, making intentional choices, and finding a strategy that resonates with your values, you can pave your own path to a debt-free future. Remember, it's not about how quickly you reach your goals, but rather finding a sustainable approach that works for you. So go ahead, take control of your finances, and create a life that is not only debt-free but also aligned with what truly matters to you.
Resources Mentioned
The Totally Awesome Debt Freedom Planner https://www.debtfreedad.com/planner
Connect With Brad
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Ryan:
Hey, if you've tried the Dave Ramsey method of paying off debt or maybe some other self-help debt program, only to fail over and over again, then this episode is for you. This was something I struggled with during my debt journey, but, after helping thousands of people pay off tens of millions of dollars, I'm going to share a simple strategy with you that can help you stay on track and kick debt for good. This is the Debt Free Dad podcast, where we help normal, everyday people like you take control of your finances so you can live a happier, less stressful life. My name is Ryan Nelson and I will be your host for today's episode. I want to share a quick story about my debt journey, which started around 2012, and, at the time, dave Ramsey. You may be familiar with that name. He was the go-to person for personal finance. He had wrote a book and he was pretty popular out there. To this day, he's a very popular voice in the personal finance industry. There's a number of people that have come on the scene over the past number of years, but at the time, he was the person in the voice out there and somebody that we looked to and bought into his ideas.
Ryan:
Dave Ramsey is a very specific way he teaches about getting out of debt and we tried to buy into that mindset of getting out of debt. When we did that, we bought his books, we took his course. We were super excited. It was really like we were just pumped after reading it. We're going to do this. We would find some success.
Ryan:
Early on we would feel like, man, we're doing really well, this is working really great. But then we would start falling back into old habits. We would feeling too restrained to do anything, because getting out of debt is a long process. It is not something that's going to happen over the course of a month or two months or three months. So we would just find ourselves really going strong, sometimes lasting three, four, five, six months. Things would be going great. We had a family at the time. We had kids. The kids were in the middle of doing things and it was just too constraining. But at the time that was the only voice out there in the world of like, how to get out of debt, this is how you have to do it, so that we just continued to push ourselves and we would get on board, we would do well, and then again we'd fall off. The train have to start all over again.
Ryan:
Sometimes we had to dig ourselves deeper into debt because of it, and this went on for a number of years and we just kept being really frustrated because we felt like we had this person telling us here's how you do it. We just kept failing and we kept not doing it. I just remember my wife and I being so frustrated. What are we doing wrong? Is everyone else doing this and we can't?
Ryan:
And it's really where I think we figured something out, and that thing that we figured out is somebody's way of doing something isn't the only way to do it. And I think if you go to a bookstore out there and you go to the health and fitness exercise section, you're probably going to find thousands of books that tell you here's a way to lose weight, here's a way to exercise, here's a way to do this, here's a way to do that. And the reason that they do that is because what works for one person doesn't work for everybody. And I think that's what we were really struggling with is we had somebody telling us what we should do and it just wasn't working and we were beating our heads against the wall why isn't this working? Why isn't this working. So If you really think of it like a diet I think a lot of us have tried diets there's the thousands of diets out there and depending on which one you pick, you may find some early successes. But if you find one that's too restrictive or doesn't really align with who you are as a person and what you're trying to accomplish, you may find some early success, but then slowly. So, for example, I've done this before. I have done a diet where like no carbs Great. I'm not saying those diets are bad. If that works for you and you can sustain it, awesome. It doesn't work for me. So no matter how many times I try to do that, at some point I'm going to fall off the wagon, and I've done that repeatedly, and I think I look at that same thing with our finances.
Ryan:
Here at Debt Free Dad, we support everybody's journey. We're not here to judge or to say this is the way you have to do it, because everybody's journey is different. Everybody's situation is different. There were things that we were willing to give up and not willing to give up and having somebody say this is the only way to do it. It'd be like going to the bookstore and looking for a diet book, and the only diet book in the store this is one. This is the only book that you have to lose weight, and we all know that's not true. It works differently for everybody.
Ryan:
The strategy we teach and coach people is the best way for you to get out of debt long term is the way that you're going to stick to, and what we mean by that is it has to align with who you are, what you're trying to accomplish, what things you're willing to give up, what things you're not willing to give up. We don't believe you have to give up every single thing in order to get out of debt. Now do you have to scale back? Of course, there's things you're going to have to do differently. We're not saying that. But what we aren't saying is you can't do anything until you're out of debt, because that just doesn't work for everybody. Now, if you want to do that, hey, we totally support that.
Ryan:
But what we find for many people is that when they try to do that cut everything out of your life they usually only last a short amount of time before their self-sabotaging. And, honestly, our goal is for you to find a way that you can sustain it, not for a few weeks, not for a few months, but in most cases, for a lot of us we're talking, it could take a year, two years, three years, four years. For me it took a total of eight years to get completely out of debt. Now we paid off roughly $160,000 and it probably could have been faster had we not been pushing, trying to cut everything out of our life. We might have been able to sustain it better. Our goal here is that you need to be able to sustain whatever it is that you're going to be doing for the next one, two, three plus years. What is best for you? You need to do some self-reflection and decide what's important. Some people are willing to give up everything and they can sustain that. Like I said, many people can't.
Ryan:
So for me, I'll just give you an example here, just a small list of things that we did, that we were willing to do and that we were not willing to do. So one of the things that we were willing to do was we downsized our home. We had bought a bigger house. That was something we just decided. We didn't really need this anymore. So we downsized our home. We took less expensive, smaller vacations. We used to do pretty big vacations every year. We just scaled all that back. Another big thing is we drove only one car. For a while. We had a situation where my wife worked from home primarily and we just said we're going to be inconvenienced enough and we're going to only have one car, which again saved us a ton of money. Those are just a few examples of things we were willing to cut.
Ryan:
Things that we were not willing to cut were like some of our kids' school activities. Our kids were in band. They did some trips. We didn't want our kids to completely sacrifice everything in order for us to get out of debt. So, yes, it took us, maybe longer to do it, but we were able to still fit those things in by paying cash. We're not saying you should be doing these on credit, but we were able to scale other things back, like the home, the car, the vacations, and then that freed up money to save so that the kids could do school activities.
Ryan:
Another thing for us was like fun money. To this day, I still like to spend money occasionally. So we just established a small amount of fun money that we could just go out and spend however we wanted to. That may sound silly, but that was one of the things that kept us stuck. When you don't have that and when you feel like you can't do that, it really starts to get on you down the road. So for us, fun money was important. And then going out to eat occasionally. We still like to go out to eat occasionally. Again, when we were getting out of debt, we just did it less, but when we did it, we budgeted for it and we paid cash for it.
Ryan:
Our goal is that you get out of debt.
Ryan:
We will support you no matter what and at the end of the day, if you get out of debt, then the goal is achieved. If it took you three years instead of two years, but you did it, you still did it and that is important. So here's an exercise that you can take away today Sit down and figure out what are you willing to give up or cut back on. Seriously, sit down piece of paper. If you really want to get out of debt, what are things that are super important to you, like you really don't want to have to give up, and then things that you're like you know what. This really isn't as big of a deal, and I think starting there and understanding where your goals and values lie. I think that's going to be a huge, just a huge boost to really then start creating maybe your first budget.
Ryan:
Now, when I say what are things you're not willing to give up, it doesn't mean that you're not willing to cut back, because, like I said, we weren't willing to give up vacations entirely, but we didn't take the same kind of vacations, we took much smaller vacations. So, even though you're not willing to give it up or cut it out completely, you may have to scale it way back, which, again, that's not forever, that's just for a time period. But that is a huge exercise. A big exercise that you can take away today is sit down, figure out what you're willing to give up and what you're willing to cut back on, and it does not have to be everything. And if you're looking to take the next step on your personal finances, you can head over to debtfreedadcom, and we have a free Life Without Payments workshop over there where we share a ton of great tips, and you can get started on that today.
