2510: Find Joy In Your Financial Goals by Andrea Joy of Saving Joyfully on The Pursuit of Debt Freedom

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[00:01:42] This is Optimal Health Daily Episode 2510. Find joy in your financial goals by Andrea Joy

[00:01:51] of SavingJoyfully.com and I'm Dr. Neal. Hey there happy Sunday and welcome to our bonus episode

[00:01:58] where I share another podcast from our network and today's comes from Optimal Finance Daily.

[00:02:04] Remember you can find that show wherever you're listening to this. Diana covers saving, investing,

[00:02:10] and earning more every day of the week. So with that here's Diana reading for you along

[00:02:15] with her commentary as we optimize your life. Find joy in your financial goals by Andrea Joy

[00:02:26] of SavingJoyfully.com Do you know how to find joy in your financial goals? This concept of joy

[00:02:34] and financial goals is often overlooked. We tend to forget the correlation between managing

[00:02:39] our finances and discovering joy. Is joy a result of having more money? No, but joy can be found

[00:02:47] in learning the place that money should have in our lives. Joy can also be discovered in our

[00:02:52] hard-fought journeys to financial freedom. Where do you find joy in your financial goals?

[00:02:59] I see the pursuit of my financial goals especially the journey to debt freedom as a joyful

[00:03:04] experience. I'm currently on my way to realizing this goal of debt freedom through many long years

[00:03:10] of hard work and sacrifice. Every hard-fought debt that is now behind me is leading me towards

[00:03:16] a better place financially. Money is not everything in life but the less that money controls your life

[00:03:22] the better. My goals in pursuing debt freedom are fueled by my desire to be able to pursue my dreams

[00:03:28] without the stress of debt, to be able to do what I love and not worry constantly about making my bills.

[00:03:35] Pursuing life goals and dreams without debt. There was a time in my life where I thought I would never

[00:03:41] see a life without debt. In hindsight, I look back and realize that attitude is what held me back all

[00:03:48] long. If you set a goal to pay off debt and work hard towards paying it down, that day will eventually

[00:03:53] come. You will more easily be able to find joy in your financial goals if your attitude is right

[00:03:59] and you develop a plan. What holds you back from being debt free? Lack of self-control and spending

[00:04:05] and saving. An attitude of consumerism and always desiring more. No budget and no plan established.

[00:04:13] An a negative attitude towards budgeting and money management. What helps you achieve debt freedom?

[00:04:20] Develop a positive attitude towards money and paying down debt. Find joy in your financial goals,

[00:04:26] find ways to make it more enjoyable wherever you can. Start and maintain a budget. Adopt a minimalist

[00:04:34] attitude. Learn to be grateful for what you already have. Realize that rewarding yourself does not

[00:04:40] have to involve money. Find alternative rewards and splurges that are cheaper or even free.

[00:04:46] Create a plan to pay down your debt and stick to it and involve your partner or family to hold

[00:04:52] you accountable. Starting to find joy in my financial goals. For years, I felt overwhelmed by my debt.

[00:05:00] I constantly felt like there was no end in sight. I hated the day-to-day grind and the lack of

[00:05:05] money at the end of each month, but I never made the right choices. My attitude consumed me to

[00:05:11] the point that my financial goal appeared impossible. I spent years just trying to survive with the same

[00:05:17] attitudes and behaviors that got me into this debt. Instead of making the necessary budget changes

[00:05:23] and paying off debt, I would just open a new credit card. That attitude and outlook eventually

[00:05:28] spiraled out of control to the point that I was in the negative every month with maxed-out credit cards.

[00:05:34] I felt hopeless and embarrassed by the mess that I'd made and I had no one to blame but myself.

[00:05:40] How my debt and financial life changed. The change began when I recognized that my attitude and

[00:05:46] behaviors were the problems. I began working on my attitude, my budget, goal setting, and I made a plan.

[00:05:52] I started to see results shortly afterwards in many small ways. I focused on paying off the lowest

[00:05:58] debts first and worked my way up. Each successful debt payoff no matter how small made a difference in

[00:06:04] the way I perceive the angle. Many people argue about the best way to pay off debt. Sometimes you can

[00:06:10] save more in the long run by paying off a higher interest rate first. For me, the act of paying off

[00:06:16] smaller ones first was the motivation that I needed to keep going. I had to see the results of my

[00:06:21] efforts in some small way to keep me on the right track. Determining what method to use when

[00:06:27] paying down debt. Decide what works best for you and focus on your decals as you move forward.

[00:06:33] Deciding what method to use in paying down debt is completely up to you. This is a personal decision

[00:06:38] that you must make and no matter what decision you choose to make, sticking to your plan is the key

[00:06:43] to success. Ways to find joy in your financial goals. Focus on your present circumstances and

[00:06:50] what you can change now. Recognize that every small victory is leading you forward.

[00:06:56] Complete a money saving challenge this year. These can be fun and can leave you with a large amount

[00:07:02] to save for later or pay down debt now. Find ways to enjoy yourself for free or cheap that

[00:07:08] does not create more strain on your budget and start saving before you do anything else if possible.

[00:07:14] Having some savings can make a big difference in keeping you from further debt.

[00:07:19] Keep track of your financial success along the way.

[00:07:22] Last year I wrote a post where I discussed our financial circumstances in 2020.

[00:07:27] Looking back on the post I wrote last year, I find it encouraging to think of how far we've come

[00:07:32] in just a year. Maybe consider keeping a journal or spreadsheet that you update once a year in the same

[00:07:37] month. It can be helpful in motivating at times to look back and see the difference that just one

[00:07:43] year can make. Don't give up some day you will see results. Don't give up before you get started.

[00:07:50] Recognize that although it will not be an easy road for many of you, it can be done.

[00:07:55] I've gone from 90 grand in student loans and over 150,000 in consumer debt including credit

[00:08:01] cards and loans to $11,000 in consumer debt and $75,000 in student loans remaining. My husband

[00:08:09] and I just successfully paid off our vehicle this month. I feel confident that we'll have that

[00:08:14] remaining loan debt paid off shortly. My student loans will be my next major hurdle to tackle,

[00:08:20] but one debt is way easier to pay off quickly than multiple debts.

[00:08:25] My challenge to you today. Don't focus only on what you have not yet accomplished.

[00:08:31] Shift your focus to your successes no matter how small you might feel that they are.

[00:08:36] Accept your circumstances as a challenge that you're capable of managing and start making changes

[00:08:41] today. Those changes can be simple and can include increased debt payoff more savings this year

[00:08:46] or decreasing spending. If at all possible, find someone else to hold you accountable in how

[00:08:52] you're managing your finances. Someone who you can trust to keep you following your goals even

[00:08:57] when you might get discouraged. Lastly, find joy in your financial goals and learn not only to accept

[00:09:03] your debt freedom journey, but to enjoy the process. That can take a long time to pay off,

[00:09:08] but it doesn't have to be a miserable experience. You could even do what I've been able to do to

[00:09:14] share what you've learned to help others. You just listen to the post titled,

[00:09:22] Find Joy in Your Financial Goals by Andrea Joy of SavingJoyfully.com

[00:09:28] When it comes to happiness and joy, I'd like to think of it as less about pleasure and much

[00:09:34] more about the expansion of possibility. And finding joy in financial goals is very similar

[00:09:40] to finding joy in anything else that's challenging. There's satisfaction that comes with doing a hard

[00:09:46] thing and challenging yourself. You're able to build resilience and grow as a person through

[00:09:52] the challenges you overcome. I believe it was Mr. Money Mustache who said that effort is the

[00:09:57] spice of life, and I wholeheartedly agree. I also recognize that this process isn't going to

[00:10:03] feel like sunshine and roses all the time. Overcoming challenges is hard for a reason,

[00:10:09] but I've found that I'm much more able to find the joy in it if I can put an in perspective.

[00:10:14] So for example, when I was walking the Camino in 2017, which is a 500 mile trek across Spain that

[00:10:20] took me 38 days. I had plenty of moments of feeling sorry for myself. I was walking 10 to 20 miles per day,

[00:10:29] many times on blisters. I lost 200 euro one day from it falling out of my pack. I got mauled by bedbugs

[00:10:37] twice and it was really uncomfortable. But I tried to remind myself that I was also so fortunate

[00:10:43] to be able to face and overcome these challenges. I got to spend two months in Spain and I was given

[00:10:49] time off work. My legs worked well enough to carry me all that way and I had money in the bank

[00:10:56] to fund this trip. I think the key to finding the joy and challenges is recognizing what we already

[00:11:02] have to be grateful for while we work towards something better. And that will do it for today.

[00:11:08] Have a great day and start your weekend. Thank you for listening and I'll be back here tomorrow

[00:11:12] where your optimal life awaits.