3099: Paying Off Debt And Budgeting: Tricks For Staying Motivated by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting. They can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:25] So press play on Good Sleep Tonight, because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app, and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Finance Daily, Paying Off Debt And Budgeting, Tricks For Staying Motivated by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of MakingSenseofSense.com.

[00:00:52] While I no longer have debt after paying off my student loans, I'm always striving to save more money, to save for retirement, to find financial motivation, and more. Even with how much I love saving money, every now and then it can be easy to get unmotivated and want to spend all the money. I'm sure I'm not alone either. While many do choose to live a frugal life, it's not always easy. Some have large amounts of debt to pay off.

[00:01:20] Others find it hard to pay off. Others find it hard to pay off. Others find it hard to understand how to stick to a budget, and more. Finding financial motivators will help you continue to work hard towards your goal, even when it seems impossible. Without motivation, one might give up on a financial goal quite easily. This is why it's so important to learn how to stay motivated.

[00:01:40] Whatever your financial goal may be, there are many ways to stay motivated so that you can reach it. Here are my tips on how to stick to a budget and find financial motivation. Number one, make your financial goal visual. Making your goal visual is a great way to find motivation. Having your financial goal displayed in front of you can make it much more real. Plus, it's nice to have a constant reminder of what you're working towards.

[00:02:10] Various ways to make your financial goal visual include, number one, create a graphic that demonstrates your financial goal. An example of this would be if you're trying to pay off your house. You could have a picture of a house and section it into a hundred pieces. Then, each time you reach a small payoff goal, you can color a piece in. I did some research and found a blog post about many other creative ways to do this on a cultivated nest.

[00:02:39] Number two, keep a picture of your goal on hand. Whether your goal is a vacation, an item you want, or something else, having a picture can help keep you reminded of it. And number three, start a blog. Blogging greatly helped me with my financial goals. I could easily look back to see how I was doing. Plus, I felt like I had to keep myself accountable and keep improving due to the fact that everything was public.

[00:03:07] If interested, you can start a blog for cheap with my easy tutorial. Number two, hang out with others who share the same financial goals as you. Learning how to stick to a budget can be a hard task, but spending time with others who share the same financial mindset as you can help.

[00:03:27] I'm not saying you should unfriend anyone who's in a different financial spot than you, but I do think spending time with people who aren't trying to keep up with the Joneses can go a long way. Number three, read and watch financial media. Finance is all around you, and it's really not as boring as you may think. I read something related to personal finance every day, and it's not because I have a personal finance blog. It's because I want to.

[00:03:56] There are different ways to stay on top of financial media. You can watch the news, listen to financial podcasts, read personal finance blogs, read financial books, and more. Number four, set smaller goals in between. Setting smaller goals in between can help a person stay motivated because it will help you keep your mind on your goal. Also, smaller goals can be a nice way to challenge yourself.

[00:04:23] Making it more of a game and a competition with yourself instead of a chore can go a long way. For example, if your overall goal is to pay off $24,000 in debt in two years, then you might want to aim for $1,000 in debt payoff each month. This seems much more attainable than the $24,000 number, and this can help you stay motivated while still challenging yourself at the same time. Number five, keep track of your progress.

[00:04:52] To stay motivated with your financial goals, you should review your progress every now and then. You might want to check it daily, weekly, or monthly depending on what type of goal you have and what personally works for you. Keeping track of your progress is a good idea because it can tell you what you need to do in order to reach your goal, if you're behind, or if you need to make a change.

[00:05:16] I highly recommend you check out Personal Capital, a free service, if you're interested in gaining control of your financial situation. Personal Capital is very similar to Mint.com, but 100 times better as it allows you to gain control of your investment and retirement accounts, whereas Mint.com does not. Personal Capital allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so you can easily see your financial situation, your cash flow, detailed graphs, and more.

[00:05:47] Number six, think about how you'll feel in the end. It can be hard to visualize the end when you're just starting to learn how to stick to a budget. One great way to stay motivated is to think about how you'll feel when you've reached your financial goal. How will you feel once you pay off your debt, save a certain amount of money, or reach whatever financial goal it is that you have? You should envision what your life will be like once you reach your goal. Why are you trying so hard to reach it?

[00:06:17] And so on. A little daydreaming can go a long way every now and then. For example, if your goal is debt payoff, then you may want to dream about what a debt-free life would be like. And number seven, still have fun. Having financial goals doesn't mean you have to be boring. You can still enjoy life, do many of the same things you usually do, and so on. So remember to still have fun and enjoy life.

[00:06:50] You just listened to the post titled, Paying Off Debt and Budgeting, Tricks for Staying Motivated, by Michelle Schroeder Gardner of MakingSenseofSense.com. And now, a word from our sponsors at Betterment. When investing your money starts to feel like a second job, Betterment steps in with a little work-life balance. They're an automated investing and savings app, which means they do the work.

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[00:07:44] Get started at Betterment.com. That's B-E-T-T-E-R-M-E-N-T dot com. Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed. I think staying motivated to reach our goals is important. And it's well worth our time and effort to develop goals as well as check in and reassess them. I do this quarterly and yearly.

[00:08:10] But I've found for myself that the thing that makes it more likely that I'll reach any goal is to facilitate a shift in mindset that will affect my daily habits. When it comes to my money, I tried for years to spend less with no success. It wasn't until I started obsessively reading books about money and shifted my desires that I was actually able to spend less and enjoy it.

[00:08:37] Spending less without a shift in desires is going to feel like deprivation, and it will require willpower to curb spending, which isn't sustainable over the long run. What worked much better for me is to foster a different mindset. Rather than wanting more stuff, I learned to foster appreciation for the material abundance I already have. And it suffocated my desire to spend more.

[00:09:04] So for example, I haven't bought a Tesla not because I can't afford it or because I want to save that money for something else. I haven't bought a Tesla because I don't want one. And I don't want one because I have so much appreciation for the car I already have. We've been conditioned since birth to want more and to desire luxury. But if you can reorient yourself to having a comfort level with how much is enough,

[00:09:31] it becomes so much easier to spend less. I'll leave it there for today. That's a wrap for another Sunday show. Have a great rest of your day, and I'll be back here tomorrow where optimal life awaits.