how do you deal with your debt...

LittleL_4

At times I feel extremely anxious about how much I owe and whether or not I'm really gonna get there in the end.

To deal with the anxiety and uncertainty of it all I log onto this site about a million times a day and within minutes I feel sooooooo much better.

I also practice yoga and I meditate. I honestly think if I gave them up I would be a complete mess and not cope with the debt etc...

what dye all do?

LittleL
xx

Older_but_not_wiser_2

Bury my head in the sand, never answer the phone or the door, and burn all the post

lady_fuschia

I do yoga too, plus writing, and I'm hoping to take up voluntary work soon. I find any kind of (inexpensive!) hobby sort of helps remind you that there are more important things than money, and helps you keep it in perspective.
Obviously logging onto this site regularly helps, particularly when you have a panic moment and need someone to calm you down and give you the facts! (or at least tell you where to find them!)
I like to remind myself regularly why I'm doing this- how nice it will feel to finally be debt free (just under 18 months to go!). Thinking of that helps too.

Zabl

Hhhm i'd might have to give Yoga a try!

I currently slog it out at the gym, not free by any means but a small price to pay to keep my sanity! :rotfl:

sanfrancisco

Yoga rocks!!

I also used to go for really loooooonnnngggg walks. Nothing like pounding the pavement for getting out worry.

happyformonths

A big help for me was when I realised that my debt was a *mathematical* problem, not a *moral* one.

All the time I was worrying about the numbers, I was also worrying ten times more that I was a bad person for getting into this situation.

I realised I'm not a bad person, it was just that I was lacking the skills to deal with my money before, and I made the mistake of ignoring it for too long. Hey ho, that's in the past now, and I've got a positive opportunity to work towards something that will feel GREAT - debt-free status.

This shift in attitude has also helped me hugely not to spend money like I used to. In my "I'm a bad person" days I would spend because I felt sulky if I wasn't "allowed" to have it/do it (whatever it was). As if someone else was telling me I didn't deserve it. Now I think - the only reason I can't have it or do it is because there is a mathematical, bottom-line problem in that I just don't have the correct numbers in my bank account. Nothing to do with whether I deserve it or not. Does this make sense?!

This is not to say I don't still worry about it - a lot - but I seem to have removed the "beat-myself-up" element which has helped.

When I'm worried about my mathematical problem I go for a walk, read the news online (get my problems into perspective (not just the debt, but my feeling that I "need" whatever it is I might want to buy) and generally count my blessings.

HFM

dinkylou

I do alot of exercise too. See family and friends and find cheap things/places to go to take my mind off it.

I also find that keeping a record and setting realistic small goals helps me to keep feeling proud of what I've achieved rather than keep seeing the full mountain.

And then there's always this site to keep my sanity!