How to Pay Off All Your Credit Card Debt FAST

and I think, I think ours was maybe on that path. So I think this really saved our marriage. - Wow, yes. Well, Russell, I think this is a great point. Because especially in couples, when money is not talked about, naturally one person takes responsibility for the money and the other does not. So the responsible person is a very lonely place, because it's like it's you, all the responsibility falls on you. He feels heavy. It feels like a burden, because you think, "I'm the only one." And then you found it was this lonely place and did you feel that burden eased when you shared this with her? - Oh, definitely, yes.

It was the weight of my shoulders and chest when we finally knew exactly where we were. - Yes very good. So what would you say to someone who's listening to the story, because there are a lot of people watching this, and hearing, "Wow, they paid off all their

debt

, including all this

credit

card

debt

." , and they don't live on

credit

card

s." But they're sitting there thinking, "But you have to have a credit card." It's 2019. You still have to have a credit card." What would you tell them? - No, you don't need to have a credit card at all.

A credit card is that chain you wear around

your

neck that prevents you from using

your

income. for the joy of living, for generosity towards others. It's just not something you should do with yourself. So, those who are seeing that are in the middle of their debt-free journey, they are paying off debt. of people watching Baby Step 2 – Most people do this to help them stay motivated. Let them say, "Okay, we know it's hard, it may be a long process, but what could you do?" What can I do to stay motivated? I would say that my biggest motivation was that goal.

That image in my head of where I wanted to achieve it. About you Russell? - Yeah, I mean, the same thing, I mean, just knowing that when we were done, we were going to have that freedom, and how good it would feel. And, you know, when we got to Step 3 and started building our emergency fund, just seeing some extra money in the bank and sitting there and you can see it, that was a nice feeling too. - Oh very good. Oh, it totally is, yes. Give me an adjective from before, how you felt, to sitting on this couch right now being completely debt free with the money now saved in the bank with the emergency fund.

What would you say? - I feel like a completely different person. I can't imagine going back to the way we lived before. It would be waking up in a nightmare. The freedom we have now, living on a budget, knowing that when we do something, when we spend money, it's intentional. It's so liberating. - It's very liberating, and I love that, because it's the tried and true image of the idea that being in control gives you that freedom. A lot of people think, well, living my life on credit cards and doing whatever I want, whenever I want, that doesn't end in freedom, it ends in stress and slavery.

I know you guys experienced that. And I think that was very well said. Well, thank you all very much for being present. I really appreciate you sharing your story. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Alright guys, next we'll talk about 10 ways to stay motivated while getting out of debt. (upbeat music) Okay, getting out of debt can be a long process, so you need to stay motivated. So here are 10 ways to stay motivated while paying off your debt. Number one: track your progress. Seriously, it's so important to see your progress visually. So I've created some free goal trackers that you can download for each of the debts you have.

Simply click on the link in the show notes to download them. Number two: remember your why. Why are you doing this? Is it for your children? Is it for your future? Is it because you want to go on vacation every year after getting out of debt? Like what is it? What is your why? That keeps you motivated. Number three: Dream about retirement and the future. Because think, if you are not making the sacrifices now, at 65 years old you will not want to make those sacrifices. No, sacrifice now. So, dream about the future. Number four: set small rewards.

This is really true, especially in the case of student loan debt. Student loan debt: There's always a ton of it. So maybe you break it down and say, "Okay, every $15,000 I pay, you know, I do something fun in between." So sometimes you have to have those little rewards throughout this process. Number five: remember how far you've come. Trackers will help with this. But look back and remember: okay, if we've made it, if we've made it this far, we can move on. We can continue doing this. Number six: Make sure you have someone in your life who loves you enough to hurt your feelings and keep you on track.

If you have all the "yes" people around you and you're like, "Oh, I really want to buy this new sweater." And they say, "Yes, do it." No no no. Get that girlfriend out of here. You need the girlfriend that you call and say (inhaling) "I really want to buy that J.Crew sweater." And she said, "Listen, you can buy it next year. Just wait." That's what you need. Number seven: review your budgets. I love this. I've gotten used to doing this. I check EveryDollar almost every day. Simply watch the progress and see how we are doing monthly with our money.

And the same thing happens when you are getting out of debt. Number eight: Plan something fun, cheap, or free that you can do once a week. This is important, because in this process of getting out of debt there are many things that cannot be done. So find something you can do. Number nine: stop the comparisons and do a social media purge. Yes, we love our fashion and lifestyle bloggers, but sometimes you may have to unfollow them. Because they might have things you just aren't going to buy. So why tempt you? Do a small purge if necessary.

And number 10: Surround yourself with people who encourage you or who are also on the same path as you. And a great way to do this is to join a Financial Peace University class. This is our nine week class. It walks you through all the little steps of getting out of debt, budgeting, and having insurance, as if everything you need to know is right there and you're actually with a group of people. Then, click the link in the show notes to sign up for a class. Alright guys, this was a lot of fun. I loved this episode, which talks about how to get out of debt, and especially credit card debt.

Living without credit cards: we can do it. So I hope you feel super inspired to be intense and pay off that debt. Now, if you haven't subscribed to my podcast yet, make sure you do because we have some really fun bonus material that's available. And as always, make sure you take control of your money and create the life you love.