It’s not enough to simply pay off your debts; you need the inspiration to want to do it. Paying off debt is hard and involves sacrifice. It’s only going to work if you realize that a debt-free future is possible for everyone.
Debt and the dodgier sides of the credit industry rely on you believing that debt is a way of life, and that you don’t need to pay it off as much as you need that pair of shoes you can’t afford. In the end, you’ll pay higher and higher interest rates on the debt you accumulate.
But not only is debt stressful, if you consistently fail to repay it, your debts will get passed on to debt collectors like Wescot Credit Services Limited, which will further damage your credit score.
We’ve put together ten of the most inspiring quotes to help you deal with debt, as well as five steps to help you slash that debt for good. Remember that no matter how deep you are in debt, there’s always a way to get out of it.
What are the most inspiring quotes to help you deal with debt?
The most inspiring quotes to help you deal with debt are:
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin”
Tony Robbins
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”
Winston Churchill
“A year from now you may wish you had started today”
Karen Lamb
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will”
Suzy Kassem
“Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 19 pounds 19 shillings and sixpence, result happiness. Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 20 pounds ought and six, result misery”
Mr Micawber from ‘David Copperfield’
“The night is darkest just before the dawn”
Thomas Fuller
“You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending.”
James Sherman
“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Never spend your money before you have it”
Thomas Jefferson
5 steps to help you get out of debt
Budget
“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a big ship” (Benjamin Franklin)
While this may seem like too obvious a solution to debt to even put down, most of us only have a vague budget, and an idea of our income and outgoings, which can be quite far off the concrete figure. The small outgoings add up without us realizing, especially if we don’t have a precise understanding of how much they are. Benjamin Franklin once said,
A great way to budget is the three accounts method developed by charity Christians Against Poverty. It encourages you to use three bank accounts – one for all your direct debits (debt repayments, as well as bill, rent and mortgage payments), one for your weekly spending and one for saving.
Look at your income (salary or benefits) and see what you have left after making your priority payments (the things that keep a roof over your head and your bills paid). For example, rent and council tax, and the things which keep you out of financial trouble like debt repayments. The amount you have left is for saving and spending. It’s a good idea to total up the events you need to save for, like Christmas, birthdays and school expenses, and put aside money for them each month.
Put the exact amount of money that you’ve allocated for spending each week in your weekly spending account. This should be a basic account, with no overdraft. That way you wont’ overspend, as once it’s gone, it’s gone.
You can also add up your usual expenses, whether these are essential like electricity bills, groceries, children’s shoes; or non-essential things like treats, meals out, takeaways, to see where you can make savings. Use a utilities comparison website like Uswitch.com to see if you can get a cheaper price on broadband or energy.
Use the debt snowball method
An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.” (Arnold Glasow)
Debt is as much a psychological issue as it is a financial one. Debt psychologists have suggested the debt snowball method as an effective way of dealing with debt. Rather than carry on miserably making the minimum payment on all your debts and feeling like you will be stuck here for years, it’s a good idea to make a strategic, manageable plan for dealing with it.
With the debt snowball method, you pay off your smallest debt first, and then pay off the next smallest and the next smallest after that, until you have tackled all your debts. This allows you to keep momentum going, as you will get the dopamine hit of having paid off your debts sooner if you clear the smaller ones first. The sense of freedom will be exhilarating. Alternatively, try the debt avalanche method, which encourages you to pay off your debt with the highest interest first, saving you more money in the long run.
Increase your income
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary (Vidal Sassoon)
As well as budgeting, increasing your income is a great way to deal with debt. Can you take on some extra shifts at work? Do you have a talent that you could monetize like baking or sewing? Can you tutor, do yard work, pick up some hours in a restaurant? If you can, do it! Then put the extra money you earn towards clearing your debt, and you will be in the green sooner than you know it.
Talk to a debt charity
“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” (Proverbs 12:25)
It’s a great idea when you’re struggling with debt to get free debt advice from a charity or a debt non-for-profit. Debt charities will have expert debt advisors who can help you work out your debts, decide on a budget which allows you to make manageable payments and even offer free or low-cost debt management plans, where the charity can negotiate with your creditors on your behalf, saving you some stress. In the US, make sure you pick a debt not-for-profit which is accredited by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. In the UK, some great debt charities who offer free and expert debt advice are StepChange, National Debtline and Christians Against Poverty.
Insolvency solutions
“Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever” (Roy T. Bennett)
Obviously, there are sometimes situations where our debt is too serious to just be budgeted away. In the UK and the US, there are insolvency solutions which can help you write off all or some of your debt, but they do have a long-lasting effect on your credit score, so you must get free debt advice and think things through properly before deciding on a solution like this. In the UK you can arrange an individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), which allows you to pay back a small percentage of your debt monthly and get the rest written off after the IVA ends (in 5-6 years), no matter how much you owe. If you don’t own any property and have less than £50 disposable income, you can get a Debt Relief Order (DRO) which writes off your debts after 12 months and gives you legal protection from your creditors during that time. In both the US and UK, bankruptcy is also an option, and this will write off your debt once the bankruptcy is discharged (ended), but there are significant effects on your life, such as an impacted credit score and the fact that you can’t be the director of a limited company during the bankruptcy, so make sure this really is the best option for you before you decide on it.
Now that we’ve gone through ten inspiring quotes to help you deal with debt, as well as laid out a plan for how you can deal with your debts, we hope you’ve found this a useful read. Debt has a way of making us feel powerless, but the truth is, there are loads of things you can do to slash debt and get the debt-free future you deserve.
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