Get Out of Debt Card

Growing up in the Monopoly playing generation I, along with many others were conditioned to believe there was a “Get Out Of Jail Free Card.” That type of conditioning has transferred to the next generation in terms of debt. Many commercials, Internet posts and talk from industry professionals portray that the process of getting out of debt can occur without making any major adjustments. Please don’t be fooled, as this is not true.

There are three adjustments that must transpire if you intend to get out of debt:

Reduce spending – You might have heard this one before from me or someone else: Take a serious assessment of your weekly and monthly expenses and decide what expenses are in the “Need” category and which are “Wants”. Eliminate all the “Wants”, at least for now. Also, I would research alternatives to the items on your “Need” list. For instance a telephone might be on your “Need” list. However, you might want to consider VOIP (voice over IP) as an alternative.

Create revenue – In addition to reducing your spending, it is important to seek ways to create revenue. List the things that you like to do or that you do naturally. Seek a coach that will review the list with you and determine ways of producing income from a given area.

Change perspectives – This might be the most difficult of the three adjustments to accomplish. Getting out of debt causes a change of lifestyle as we will have to adjust some things. This new perspective on spending and money will be invaluable to you over a period of time. You might also need to speak with a coach here as well.

Getting out of debt will come with a short term cost but long term it will be more than worth it.