How do you learn patience?

bernice_31

I've been 'trying' to sort my (well our) debts for some time now, and it's been a very stop-start process.

I hope to be more committed this time round, but am finding my patience waning.

Considering what a long term commitment it is, to become debt-free, how do you learn the patience to keep you going along the road?

katsu

Decide it is what you really want and decide you will be different.

Set achievements along the way such as deciding to clear one card first, colouring a chart , maybe search the percentage challenges people had here (someone will remember the name).

Share by getting into challenges and posting here or with friends in real life.

Hooe some of this helps.

Dobbibill

Hi bernice_34

Patience is something you will find along the way, it's motivation and focus that you need more.

I agree with katsu, start a diary/chart/spreadsheet/plan or all of the above. It's surprising how much of a difference it makes having things written down/recorded on a spreadsheet. I have seen lots of diaries where the poster has been excited for the next step to be recorded and you may find pay off debt becomes addictive which therefore keeps the focus, motivation and determination.

Do things one step at a time, Rome wasn't built in a day as they say. Look at reducing your debt so that the figure starts with £39k meaning you have gone to the next bracket (ie below £40k) It's going to be a long road but it can be done. :T

Good luck with your plans

DB

harvyedward

The above suggestions are good. I think you might have planned well at the time of borrowing! What happened next after that? Why are you confused on payment mode. Is there any short fall of your income? Free Discuss with a finance manager or your good friend and have some good ideas to repay within your income. This is not a big hurdle on long term process.

jodles16

Hello and welcome!

I make small achievable goals which I find helpful, I have joined the Non Spend Day (NSD) challenge which then feels like everyday is getting me a little bit closer! Also joined the thread about what money saving thing you do each day, and again it helps to stay focused and makes you feel as though you are achieving different things daily!

Best of luck,

Jodles

triple_choc_chip

You have to enjoy the challenge and in order to do that you need to set manageable mini targets which reward you with an ongoing feeling of success.

I always paid off as much as possible as soon as I had been paid and then the challenge was to survive the month. Any extra money needed was generated by selling unwanted stuff on the bay of E so I was motivated to clear the clutter through necessity.

I also worked my way along the top tabs on the home page exploring all the suggestions for cutting down, eg disputing council tax, selling gold, changing bank accounts, etc etc.

My debt was £32k and I did it in 5 years so yes it is a long haul. Reading the diaries on here really helped.

The biggest hit though was stopping smoking - £100 a month ongoing so over the five years that contributed £6000 alone towards the repayment plus the interest saved so probably nearer £7000! Ooooer, now I've written that I'm even more glad I stopped! :rotfl:

judi24

I find t really hard too! this time I have set smaller goals but am still very impatient - throw everything at the debt leaving myself short and ending up digging into my over draft - but I think ts a ifferent mindset - I am in control - I have looked at my spending patterns and have noticed that big supermarlets are my downfall - so try to avoid them!


Planning, bugetting, planning - and have i mentioned bugetting! I bought YNAB which I know some people frown at (the buying whilst trying to save bit!) but it has made a real dfference and only been using it a few months!

Pepperoni

This is something I struggle with! I want rid of it NOW.

I also recommend YNAB - apart from that I can't offer much advice as I'm still trying to sort myself out. A big help for me at the moment is realising where all my money goes - mostly in Supermarkets, and on clothes for baby, so now I'm conscious of it I am really trying to stop / making wiser choices etc!

Tryingtomoveout

Hi,

I can really sympathise with your impatience - I feel the same, and unforutnately there is no over-night quick fix.
Are you on a snowballing plan? There is a good link on MSE where you can fill in a snowballing chart if not - when I did mine it reduced my overall debt timeline by about 4 months so it is definitley worth doing - and it's much better paying off one card/debt/overdraft at a time as you can really see you are achieving something.

I think there is always improvements that can be made (saving more money, working more hours, budgeting food costs better) but it is overwhelming to do everything all at once. It's good to stick to one of those goals and really pursue it as best as you can.

I hope this helps

Thrugelmir

judi24 wrote: »

I find t really hard too! this time I have set smaller goals but am still very impatient - throw everything at the debt leaving myself short and ending up digging into my over draft

Find a balance to life. You are attempting to run a marathon not a 100 metre sprint. Unlikely there's going to be quick easy answers to your financial problems. Unless you can be creative and find some ways of boosting your income. Fill your time with activities that are rewarding and cost nothing. They'll give you as much satisfaction as spending any amount of money.