Get Rid Of Debt By Holding Yourself Financially Accountable

Unfortunately for most of us, it takes time to get rid of debt.

Sometimes you make a game plan and it doesn’t go just like you originally thought.

I can’t count the times that I made a plan to get rid of debt and then “life happened” and I messed up. Or I forgot those 5 hours I spent on the debt-free game plan and just did my own thing.

One thing I constantly failed at, without even knowing, was holding myself accountable.

I could tell myself all the reasons why something failed and agree with myself without hesitation.

Who understands all my challenges better than I do?

I could avoid the fact I was in debt completely. Nobody was knocking on my door reminding me that my credit card balance increased $2,000 last month and I only paid the minimum. I was, after all, paying the minimum on time.

For more information on what avoiding debt could do to you, check out NerdWallet’s article on What Happens If I Make Only the Minimum Payment on my Credit Card?

Was I sad when I thought about my debt? Sure I was.

I had little spurts of energy where I would make an excellent game plan and then I would fail miserably.

The problem was accountability.

I could have gotten rid my debt so much sooner if I had simply held myself accountable in some way.

I’m not great at a whole lot of things but I have one super power….

I’m fantastic at holding myself and those around me accountable.

Let me share some ways that you can hold yourself accountable while you’re on your journey of eliminating debt.

Have A Plan To Get Rid of Debt

So how do you plan to get rid of debt?

Do you have a windfall coming that may jump start your plan?

Perhaps a work bonus or a pay increase that you’re planning to solely put towards this debt.

Maybe you have no large amount of money coming, but you’re ready to get out of the mess you’re in.

The first step to holding yourself accountable is being able to reference what you’re holding yourself accountable to.

So grab a pen and paper. Yes, we’re going old school and physically writing this down.

You only need to know a couple of things at this point.

• Total amount of debt you’re tackling
• When (realistically) you want to have it completed by

That’s all. Write those two things down.

This is your master plan. Yay!!! 💃

Get Rid of Debt With Tools

Don’t depend on your brain to remember everything.

You need tools. You need a personalized to-do list that fits you.

The tools don’t have to cost money. Utilize what you already have. Utilize free tools on the internet that you can print out.

No printer? No worries! Try out Google Sheets or any kind of note taking app.

Holding yourself accountable starts with knowing what to hold yourself accountable to. The first step was setting up goals. Hopefully, you have some in mind already.

For example, maybe you have a goal of eliminating $5,000 in debt in 5 months.

Post that EVERYWHERE. Does $5,000 seam unachievable? Cut the time and amount in half and see if that makes more sense to you. Large numbers are often intimidating.

I break down almost all of my larger goals into smaller ones at first. I keep a “master list” that looks something like this:

Simple, right? Master plans are always simple.

Now it looks like I’m starting on August 1st with saving $2,000. I’ll only concentrate on that and hold myself accountable to saving $2,000 for the entire month.

I’m only focused on that $2,000. To remind myself, I’ll write this number all over the place. I’m not even looking at the master list until I’ve completed the task at hand.

Put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror “Save $2,000 this month”. Post it on your refrigerator “$2,000 in 30 days – I can do this!”.

Now hold yourself accountable to your smaller goal for the time you’ve given yourself.

Repositioning Your Feelings

Often when thinking of getting rid of my debt, I would get sad and down. I spent so much energy on those negative feelings.

Over time, I’ve learned to reposition my way of thinking.

Instead of being upset, I’ll get angry at my debt. (Yes, angry is a strong word to some people…roll with me here.)

All of that wasted energy feeling sad and sorry for myself could have easily been transitioned into something productive.

So I could sit on my bed and cry about getting rid of debt. That may make me feel good for a bit.

OR, I could get my ass up and make a game plan.

Make Winning Easy

Don’t set unrealistic goals.

Let’s look at it like this… You were given an assignment at work. Countless hours were spent working on it. You tried your hardest. You were extremely proud of the work you did.

And then you turned it into your boss and they said it was crap.

How does that make you feel? Let me tell you how it makes me feel. It makes me feel like I don’t want to work hard for that boss anymore.

Everybody is different. I’ve known some people who look at negative feedback as a challenge. But I’m not one of those people and I’m assuming you are not as well.

So let’s keep this positive.

Make Winning Fun

You have to reward yourself when you win.

Perhaps you need (and want) a new pair of jeans. Nothing outrageously expensive, as you are trying to get rid of debt by holding yourself financially accountable. Could you wait to purchase these jeans until you meet your goal? Most likely the answer is yes.

Or maybe you’ve been saving money by barely spending on groceries, but you wish you could splurge every now and then. You make a promise to yourself that you’ll allow $50 extra in your weekly budget for groceries if you can hit your financial goal this month.

The reward doesn’t have to involve money. Maybe once you hit your goal, you take a day off of work to do absolutely nothing. Perhaps you allow yourself to binge your favorite Netflix show for two hours in bed.

Come up with rewards for each time you hit a goal, no matter how small. If the goal was hard enough to write down, reward yourself in some way.

The idea is to make a game out of holding yourself financially accountable. It’s more fun when there’s a shiny prize waiting for you at the end of each finish line.

Remind Yourself What You’ve Accomplished

Until you reach your original goal, keep an ongoing list of every smaller goal you’ve accomplished.

Remember that master goal that was $10,000 by the end of the year but we broke it up into five $2,000 monthly goals? Make sure as you go through each month, you’re crossing off your $2,000 mini goals once you’ve hit them.

You want a constant reminder that you are holding yourself successfully accountable and what you’re doing is working so your motivation stays strong.

Enlist Support

It’s easier to hold yourself accountable when you have others that know what you’re trying to do.

I didn’t have a great support system when I was trying to get rid of debt. The little angel in my ear whispering “don’t buy that” was myself.

If you have someone that you’re willing to talk to, talk to them. Let them know what your goals are and when so they can hold you accountable. Maybe you know of someone that would be willing to go on the journey to being debt free with you.

I am extremely competitive. Making a game of things so I can constantly “win” gives me total satisfaction. I love celebrating with others when they win as well.

It’s more fun jumping for joy with another person, so if you have someone, enlist them in the fight with you.

Your debt numbers may be different. Your friend may have zero debt, but they are willing to use this as an opportunity to save for something.

So maybe on the 30th of next month, your goal is to knock out $5,000 in debt. Maybe your friend’s goal is to save $1,000 for a downpayment.

Check in with each other weekly and see if you’re on track. Pick each other up if you slip a little bit and be the shoulder you both need throughout the process.

Sometimes We Fail

You aren’t always going to meet your goal. It’s important to set goals and game plans that are realistic. You have to go in believing that it is achieable.

Small wins are important. Breaking goals into smaller, more manageable amounts will help you win.

Sometimes, even when we set smaller, achievable goals, we miss the mark. The unexpected happens even though you thought you planned for everything and things don’t work out.

Don’t excuse yourself from the plan. Adjust the plan, accept things didn’t work out this one time, and keep holding yourself accountable to the new plan.

Takeaways

Let’s break this down so it’s simple. Here’s the game plan:

• First, know what your master plan is. Where do you want to end up?
• Next, break down the master goal into smaller goals that are achieaveable.
• Make sure you put these smaller goals “in your face” so you see them every day.
• Once you hit a goal, reward yourself.
• Keep track of your entire journey so you can remind yourself how far you’ve come.