#235 5 Things to Remember When Paying Off Debt Feels Impossible
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How does Ashley introduce the topic of debt feeling impossible?
Hello, my budget besties. I'm so glad you are here. It is still summertime here. So if you hear the dogs, hear the kids, I'm sorry. They go back to school next week and then maybe I will have a quiet house. to record again. So fingers crossed, let's hope we can get through this because today I want to talk about something really important because I see so many women just like you struggle with the mindset that paying off debt feels impossible. I get it. I've been there. You're not alone. I've walked through it myself and with my clients and my Money Success Club members and Debt can feel heavy, but there is hope.
Why is ‘every payment is progress’ an important mindset for debt payoff?
Today I'm sharing five things to remember when paying off debt feels impossible. These mindset shifts and practical truths you can come back to anytime you start to feel stuck or discouraged. So let's grab your coffee, buckle up, let's dive in and get started. Hey there, welcome to the Money Mindset Podcast. I'm Ashley Patrick, realistic, judgment-free money coach, and I've been a money coach for over seven years. I break down the overwhelming side of money that keeps you in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Let's dive into it. Number one, every payment is progress. So even if you can only pay the minimum, it's still a payment, right? For most debt, now I understand some of the interest rates are really high, but every payment is still progress.
So every payment is either paying down some interest or at a minimum, some of the principal, right? You are getting toward paying it off at some point, even if you can only pay the minimum. That is still better than paying nothing, right? So every payment is progress. Now, If you can pay $5, $20, $100, it can literally take years off the payment plan. Years. I have run the numbers so many different ways with clients or as examples when I'm teaching. And even $100 a month takes years off the debt payoff plan. So every little bit helps.
How can small extra payments dramatically shorten your payoff timeline?
Even if it's $20 a payment for now. Even if it's just the minimum payment for now. Remember that those small steps add up to big changes over time. So even when you feel like you're not making any progress, you really are. I mean, I hear... from my clients all the time like I feel like I didn't have a win because I didn't pay off any debt or I didn't pay hundreds of dollars this month toward debt and that is not what constitutes a win so in my previous episode seven little wins go back and listen to that it's the one before this one you will know that yes even a little bit counts as a win but it also helps pay it off sooner so it's important to know where you're starting if you feel like a payment isn't progress do the calculations you can do it for free online just google debt snowball calculator i even have a blog post on my website about debt snowball calculators and figuring out where you're starting because what you will find is your if you just make the minimum payments
Get your debt payoff date and then add in 20 bucks a month, a hundred bucks a month and see what the difference is. And you will be shocked at the difference in just a small amount every single month. It's also important to track that spending or that progress so that you can see the progress. A lot of times we're just not seeing it. So we feel like it's not there. So it's important to use a tracker, a spreadsheet, writing it down, whatever the case may be. the progress that you are making. So when you feel like it's impossible and feels like you're not making any progress, go back and actually look and see the progress that you really are making. Number two, you don't have to do it all at once. You don't need to be paying $100 extra to every single debt every single month to make progress.
That's actually kind of counterintuitive because that makes a small dent in several different debts. Yes, but it feels small, right? If you are paying $100 extra to four different debts, it feels like you're not making progress. Put that $400 toward progress. one debt and you will see the balance drop significantly and then you'll actually feel like you're making progress.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
How does Ashley introduce the topic of debt feeling impossible?
0:00–0:51
2
Why is ‘every payment is progress’ an important mindset for debt payoff?
0:51–2:45
3
How can small extra payments dramatically shorten your payoff timeline?
2:45–5:32
4
What tools and tracking methods help you see real progress on debt?
5:32–9:17
5
Why shouldn’t you try to pay all debts a little at once?
9:17–12:31
6
How do setbacks affect progress and how can you recover from them?
12:31–12:54
Speakers
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