How do you stop yourself getting down about the time it will take?

sistafromanothermista

At the beginning of our journey i was so overwhelmed by how long it was going to take. Our DFD was 2016 so 4 years :eek:
The best thing to do to stay motivated is to not be too strict on yourself. Allow yourself a little treat now and then or you will go crazy!
We tried to cut the shopping budget to £70-80 pw and we managed it for about 4 weeks........however this was too much of a cut for us.
We went from about £150pw to £70 and now we've settled on £100pw which is much more manageable.
Do not set yourself unrealistic targets as you are likely to fail and be even more depressed about the whole situation!
Think of it as a lifestyle change, don't cut back too much as it just won't be achievable.

Good luck! :j

thecassman86

sistafromanothermista wrote: »

We went from about £150pw to £70 and now we've settled on £100pw which is much more manageable.
Do not set yourself unrealistic targets as you are likely to fail and be even more depressed about the whole situation!
Think of it as a lifestyle change, don't cut back too much as it just won't be achievable.

I definitely second this. We tried to cut back too much too and ended up being unhappy and it made us ill just talking about it all. You do get a bit obsessed with it and getting rid of the debt is all of a sudden the only thing that matters... And it isn't. You still need to be happy and healthy! Realistic targets is definitely the way to go. As long as you're moving in the right direction, that's all that matters.

Health first. Everything else comes afterwards! I hope everyone has a great weekend :A

[Deleted User]

Since you are only just starting out, try not to dwell on what you still owe, but rather concentrate on what you have paid off.

Once you get past the half way stage, and onto the "downhill stretch" so to speak, then you can concentrate on the fact the balance is heading toward zero.

Coinmachine

Toomuch i have just started out 7 years 5 months to go but if i think back about where I was 7 years ago then it feels like yesterday time does pass quickly but feels slow when youre in the moment. Are you doing all the extras like surveys etc to bring in abit extra also check the freebies page regularly, in the past month I have had 2 packs if Pact coffee for £ 1 and as a coffee addict thats saved me about £5 so its the little victories. I have also taken out the one day, free toucan craft box for kids, kept back as small bday present, free sky sports pass as my team QPR are on sky today so I get to see them for free. Again little money savers here and there make a big difference to how you feel. Chin up and keep visiting. Maybe make a spreadsheet work out the exact day you think youll be debt free and make a countdown you can update. Visit here everyday for inspiration.

Suziebabe

A very timely thread for me - thank you! I've been feeling thoroughly down in the dumps, Feb was a bad month in terms of emergency spending and lack of overtime, I was feeling quite despondent about our debt-busting - i was even starting down the 'what's the point' route ....

After reading this I went back to the spreadsheets and totted up the actual amount we've paid off - to date I've only focused on the total debt figure that's left. While the amount we've cleared isn't as much as I would like, it is at least increasing - even last month, in spite of the unexpected spending.

Think I just learnt something ... that when the going gets tough, take the time to look at what you've already accomplished, it gives you the strength to take the next step forward, and it's just taking the next step that counts sometimes, and not the length of the journey.

Toomuchdebt

Suziebabe wrote: »

A very timely thread for me - thank you! I've been feeling thoroughly down in the dumps, Feb was a bad month in terms of emergency spending and lack of overtime, I was feeling quite despondent about our debt-busting - i was even starting down the 'what's the point' route ....

After reading this I went back to the spreadsheets and totted up the actual amount we've paid off - to date I've only focused on the total debt figure that's left. While the amount we've cleared isn't as much as I would like, it is at least increasing - even last month, in spite of the unexpected spending.

Think I just learnt something ... that when the going gets tough, take the time to look at what you've already accomplished, it gives you the strength to take the next step forward, and it's just taking the next step that counts sometimes, and not the length of the journey.

That's good advice if you have already paid off a chunk of debt-when you're just starting there isn't that money paid off yet to look back on...maybe I can be pleased my debt isn't increasing and that I have a budget that can take the extra gas and electric money and I'll still be paying my agreed amounts to the debts.

Tazz360

This may not work for everyone, But I found that making spreadsheets on my laptop to keep track of my progress helped.
I edited and saved these each month and kept looking back at previous months to see how much I had paid off.
When you see that the debts are lowering, it feels like there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

I feel that if I can talk to people about debt helps too. Personally I don't have children, so when I speak to friends who have kids, it makes me realise that I'm fortunate enough to pay debts fairly quickly.
I guess there is always someone worse off than you, so that can be some comfort, which sounds mean but you have to think of yourself in these situations.

Never cut yourself off from treats. It's okay living within a strict budget, but if you ban yourself from having the occasional takeaway, day/night out etc then life can be seriously miserable and I can understand why so many people fall to depression.