So, yeah. Weight loss and financial debt reduction definitely go hand and hand.
Got any debt? A little bit or a lot? Then keep reading…
Take a look at the pic to the right. That right there is a screenshot of the final online payment I made today on my (closed) Macy’s card. Hurrah!
As you can see, my final payment was only $154.57, but back when I started the debt reduction plan for this credit card, the balance was pushing very close to $3,000. “Ewww. Dat’s nasty.”
I paid off the balance in about a year by using the same exact strategies we use to lose weight.
Strategy #1: Just like the extra weight I used to carry around, I got sick and tired of carrying the Macy’s debt. I refused to accept that I had to live that way. It was a thorn in my side and enough was enough.
Strategy #2: I shut down the card (closed it) to prevent further spending while the balance was still almost $3,000. This is the same as making the decision to shut down crappy habits. But it wasn’t an easy decision. The Macy’s card offered me convenience and many spending pleasures, much like over-indulgence in food offers temporary happiness and instant gratification, but giving into these kinds of temptations is what got me into trouble in the first place, so I activated Strategy #2 — I shut them both down.
Strategy #3: I envisioned the day when the balance would be zero, and used that as the driving force to keep me motivated and on track with my plan. I needed this most on those days when I felt like that damn credit card bill was barely moving downward despite the effort of the extra payments I was making. The balance was still so freaking high, and that really sucked. Staying motivated to slowly chisel away at your debt is no different than staying motivated to whittle down your weight.
Strategy #4: Side road ditches and long detours couldn’t stop me, so they can’t stop YOU either. There are plenty of the times when unexpected stuff came up; when the extra funds set aside to pay down the debt sadly had to be diverted to other things instead. For instance, several times I planned on hitting the balance hard with a $300 payment, but then the stupid water heater died or some rogue mystery bill arrived in the mail. These situations meant no big lump sum to pay down the card, but even if I could throw an extra $5 or $10 extra towards killing the balance (anything but just paying the minimum due for God’s sake!), I knew I was still in active motion towards my goal. As for your weight loss, my point here is this: Life happens. Stuff will slow you down, but you can NOT stop with even the smallest daily actions towards your fitness progress. If you can’t run today, then walk. If you can’t walk, then stand up a little longer. If you can’t stand, then lay your ass down and lift your legs up 10 tens. Ya got me? There is always something you can be doing even when the unexpected throws up on you.
Had I never closed the Macy’s card, I would’ve kept spending. Had I never thirsted for a zero balance, I’d still be making minimum payments and spending the extra money on stupid stuff. When you want something bad enough you make it happen. End of story. It doesn’t matter if it’s debt reduction or weight loss or a career change or whatever. The same strategies and principles pretty much apply to every situation.
Once this blog post is old ‘n crusty, and dried up and hidden in the back pages, I wanna hear stories about YOU succeeding at whatever it is you set your hands to do. But if anything, hopefully I’ll hear about your awesome weight loss with a side dish of debt reduction? Do we haz a deal?
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