How do you motivate yourself to save and pay off debt?

[jamieh76]

@homohabilis117 Impulse purchases are likely because of ADHD. It’s a dopamine thing. Get your ADHD in check and it’ll be a lot easier to say no to those impulses.

 

[jess1945]

@homohabilis117 Some general suggestions:
- I would set auto payments to your goals first, and use whatever is left over on whatever you want if you must.
- pause before you act. For example, if you feel like buying something maybe keep it in your shopping cart and see how you feel about it after a week.
- avoid or minimise temptations. For example: don’t go out hungry or avoid malls/ Amazon unless there is something you need. And if you do, leave immediately after you have bought that thing.

For me, I combat the urge to buy shiny things by questioning myself. Why do I want XYZ? How does XYZ serve me and my long term goals?

As someone who values financial freedom, health, minimalism, and simple living, it’s generally easy for me to find reasons to avoid shiny purchases and overtime, I now generally no longer have a desire to buy non essential things.

Your values might be different and therefore may find more purchases that are meaningful. I think that the key to financial freedom is to be able to find that sweet balance of saving but also being able to live the life you want, how you want it - and to do that, one must be intentional and identify the things that truly add value to their life.

 

[abbotbernard]

@homohabilis117 TLDR; work on delaying gratification, set small goals, track all of your spending closely, reduce spending in non/essential categories incrementally, and frame financial health as a priority in taking care of yourself overall.

I also have ADHD and have had to build up resistance to impulse gratification. One way I delay gratification is to save things I want to a Pinterest board or a wishlist instead of buying it immediately.

Honestly, getting rid of Amazon altogether is a huge help too. It’s designed expressly to encourage impulse shopping. It’s the shopping equivalent of TikTok. Use other websites to order things when you have to but forcing yourself to go to a store and physically buy something may be enough of a deterrent for some impulse buys.

Paying off debt over time was satisfying but only when I stopped using my credit cards for a long time. Eventually I loved watching the balance go down every month. I used a visual debt payoff sheet to mark off each increment of $50 or $100. It takes time for the satisfaction to set in, just keep going.

With savings, it’s even harder to build up the same amount of satisfaction we get from a shiny new thing but it does happen over time. Again, set small goals. Make your first goal $500 or $1000 emergency fund. I won’t tell you to reward yourself with buying something you want. I think making the reward about the bigger picture, like the desire to be debt free or to be able to cover a large unexpected expense, is more productive in the long run. You kind of have to make it its own reward. That just comes with gaining momentum from seeing that savings balance increase or the credit card balance decrease. For things you really want, refer to your wishlist and work it into your budget—carve it out as an expense instead of just coming out of “what’s left” every month.

We went from living paycheck to paycheck with ~$18k in credit card debt to having three months’ expenses in savings and $1700 in credit card debt in about 5 years. That’s with having much less than $1000 leftover every month. Tracking income and expenses was critical.

Audit your non-essential spending. Look at your bank statements for 2022, categorize each line item for every month, and really look at where your spending is going. It will probably shock you. Average out how much you spend on eating out, Amazon crap, app subscriptions, whatever. Set limits for yourself. Even if that’s just spending $50 or $100 less in each category and earmarking that money for extra CC payments.

If you’re not going to earn more money, it has to be reallocated and it has to be your decision to do so. Set a budget for spending categories and update the remaining amount every single day. There are apps but I find doing it in a spreadsheet like you balance a checkbook is much more accurate and you don’t miss pending transactions you might’ve forgotten about.

Seeing how much money we threw away on eating fast food we couldn’t even remember was eye opening. We went from $500 on eating out every month to $200. We barely noticed the change; fast food wasn’t adding any value to our lives but the extra money towards credit card debt has made a huge difference. We buy a lot of the same foods we were grabbing at fast food places and just make it at home. Frozen Arby’s curly fries, stuffed crust pizza, chicken tenders, whatever. An air fryer made a lot of those more convenient and tastier at home.

Being able to pay for car repairs and medical bills out of pocket without payment plans or using credit cards has also been a huge boost to my motivation for saving.

Growing up, every expense was treated like it was unexpected. My parent was a gambling addict and was always in the hole. It was a constant juggling act to cover the electric bill, time hot checks to be deposited on different days, borrow enough from someone to cover a debt payment, scrape up enough change from the floorboard of the car to buy toilet paper.

Even as a kid, it was so exhausting and scary. I grew up without a healthy relationship with money modeled by the adults around me. It’s a big part of how I ended up in debt myself.

Maybe you’ve never been in that situation but the absence of the anxiety that used to come with any unexpected expense, big or small, because I put in the time and effort to plan ahead, is invaluable to me. It isn’t just about the money or having things, it’s about taking care of myself. Prioritize taking care of yourself, OP.

 

[gutierrezangela67]

@homohabilis117 I (19m) make about 2k a month and give myself 100 bucks a month to dick about with. Whilst I save the rest for college.

I have these 100 bucks on a (in my head) separate bank account/cash and when it’s gone it’s gone.

That way I save the rest without being tempted into spending 1k on a new electric motorcycle because I have the money.

 

[clarkcapers7234]

@homohabilis117 Look at what you are throwing away in interest every month. Think of what you could do with that money. If this doesn't work, get in the habit of paying your card on the day that you get paid. Make it so that you never see that money.

 

[beverlygoff]

@homohabilis117 I imagine myself to be a dragon. I like to hoard "gold". Watching the balance on my accounts that make me money, makes me happy.

 

[campbellsd]

@homohabilis117 You already said it. You don't need that journal and you know it so why are you buying it? If it's to make you feel good then find something else worth doing because being a consumer shouldn't be your hobby. What you need is to pay off the things you've already bought rather than buying new things you don't need.

 

[rollover]

@homohabilis117 My personal trick when saving/buying an item item I don’t necessarily need is whatever the value of the thing I put an equal amount either towards a debt, in my savings, or a bill. Doing this help me get my car paid off 6 months early lol

 

[thelearner92]

@homohabilis117 You need to do the Dave Ramsey method. Buy his book and run with it.

It is made for people like you (about 90% of the US population).

 

[samlon]

@homohabilis117 Honestly I tried everything and then did Dave Ramsey.

I know the order doesn’t make sense and blah blah blah. That it’s purely a mental system focused on behavioral finance and not math. Well it worked for me.

You have to be willing to actually sacrifice though. I hated not being able to invest in my 401k. It made me so mad I rocked out my debt 2x as fast as I was before. The true “Zero Based Budgeting” skills I learned made me far better at it now. I paid off more student loans in 18 months than I had in the 3+ years before. Paid cash for a car and maxed out all retirement the next year.

The man can be an annoying religious zealot and the system doesn’t make sense to people who think they are smart. But I’m debt free now and they aren’t…. So I’m calling it a win.

If you want something easy try “I will teach you to be rich” guy Remit. But you are talking years not months

 

[singlewv2011]

@homohabilis117 When I put paying debt first it made a huge difference in everything financially. First of all, I paid toward debt evey pay day. I didn't go off of minimums, I paid as much as I could but never less than X. (We all have different goals)

Doing that sometimes left me a lil broke, but bills were paid and debt shrunk fast.
I learned to put off wants and never really was a shopaholic type.

Once I had debt cleared up I switched to saving what once was a debt payment.

My reward is feeling free.

 

[jw81]

@homohabilis117 Adhd is absolutely a factor here- impulsive buying gives you that dopamine hit that adhd brains crave. So while there are many good suggestions here, don’t be discouraged if some of them don’t work well for you. Us adhd-ers often have to trick our brains into doing stuff and find workarounds to obstacles that nuerotyocial people usually don’t have to. So be sure to google adhd and spending and stuff like that to see what has worked for people. I know personally what helps me is just trying to reel in the impulsivity- I let myself put stuff in the online cart but don’t buy it. If I see something I want in a store, I take a photo of it and tell myself that I’ll think about it and can always come back later to buy it if I really want it. I usually don’t, so it really helps!

Also this old expression/trick has really helped me for whatever reason. When I want to buy something, I ask myself- Do I need it? Can I afford it? Can I live without it? This helps me avoid many unnecessary purchases and delay/be more thoughtful about the purchases I do make.

 

[mara1]

@homohabilis117 If I'm in the store I put it in my cart and finish my shopping then before getting in the check out line I ask myself do I really need this. Usually I take it out of my cart

Shopping online just make yourself wait a day or a week then re-evaluate.

There are needs and there are wants. You need to decide which category it goes in.

 

[resjudicata]

@homohabilis117 I had an impulse buying problem mostly on amazon. So I decided to just add the item to the cart. After a week if I still want it I will buy it. This helped me in controlling my Amazon expense.

 

[fizzyizzy1234]

@homohabilis117 By rewarding yourself. If your credit card debt isn't tied to rewards cards, transfer the balances to rewards cards. Amazon lets you transfer those points to buy stuff. Make a rewards wish list on Amazon and as you pay off the debt, use the points to buy yourself something you like. Not something you need, something fun. This is how I get new music gear now.

 

[christiangiftgiving]

@homohabilis117 You need discipline. No spreadsheet, motivational speech or anonymous internet people are going to motivate you to pay off your debt and live within your means.

 

[speechteachri]

@homohabilis117 Only way is through education. You have to WANT to save more than spend. If it's a struggle, you'll set yourself up for failure. I personally clicked with Mr Money Mustache (free blog), and his writing and approach drastically changed how I feel about this type of frivolous spending. Now it's almost painful to blow money on stupid stuff!

 

[cbeigle]

@homohabilis117 Discipline is hard. Whether its exercising, eating right, or spending money in a smart way, it takes hard work. Sadly, most people do not want to put in the effort.

One of the ways I get my clients to spend less on amazon specifically is to take your credit card off of the automatic buying. That way you have to actively get your card and put in the numbers. It seems like a small thing, but in the extra time it takes you may be able to talk some sense into yourself on if its important or not.

Accountability is also a huge deal! Have a friend or a family member look at your spending at the end of each week and really critique your purchases. Keeping accountable to another person, knowing they will judge your purchases, will probably have you second guessing your purchases. Be honest with them too about your goals and your financial situation.

A final tip is to automate your credit card debt spending. Take that additional 1000 that you have and allocate some through automatic payments toward your credit card. That way when you see what you have to spend, you'll only have let's say 600 dollars. Mentally, where you would have easily spent 600 dollars knowing you had 1000, now you may only spend 400, knowing you have 600, and you have 200 in savings while also paying 400 do your credit card debt.

I hope that helps!

My buddy and I are starting a financial podcast because we found a lot of people struggle with these types of situations. Don't feel alone or like you are unable to make positive steps. It just takes time and commitment, but you can definitely achieve what you sent your mind to!

 

[ijoel]

@homohabilis117 You can be pro active in correcting the behavior or you will one day have your hand forced as to what you are able to spend on. It’s much better to make the choice to NOT spend. I realize you are asking for advice but the only real answer is “just don’t do it”. There may be mental gymnastics you can do to separate the want from a need in your mind but eventually the answer is just don’t do it. If you’re making minimums the balance doesn’t feel real I suppose but one day that monster will grow so large that it’s unable to be ignored.

 

[buenos42]

@homohabilis117 Get rid of your credit cards. You aren't adult enough to have them. Adulting is hard, and you aren't there. Simple as that.