Do you have any of these debt delusions or debt lies that are preventing you from becoming debt free? Ditch the delusions, start budgeting, and get on a debt-payoff plan!
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Ever tell yourself a lie?
Eh, one cookie won’t ruin my diet… Later that night you find yourself 2 rows deep in a package of Oreos.
Eh, I’ll call Mom later. Days/weeks pass and when you answer the phone your Mom says: “Are you still alive??!?”
Eh, it’s just impossible to pay off my debt…
Oh, we tell ourselves some pretty insane lies, especially when it comes to money and debt. These lies can be very harmful, and can make debt a permanent part of our lives.
My lies, my delusions about debt, caused me to stay in student loan debt for over 7 years (okay, it was coupled with a little ignorance, a few mistakes, and some procrastination).
Before and during my debt-free journey, I had a lot of delusions about debt. And I heard a lot of crazy things from friends about their debt. So now I am putting them all in a list so you can help identify some of the lies and delusions you tell yourself about debt, and hopefully help you stop the debt cycle.
1. “I’m in too deep. I’ll never be able to pay off this debt.”
Everybody thinks this. Whether you have $1,000 of credit card debt, $20,000 of car debt, or $150,000 of student loan debt – you probably think that you’re in too deep. You may feel like you’ll never climb out of your mountain of debt.
But you’re wrong 🙂 You can get yourself out of any debt – no matter the size or type. But you’ve got to start. Just like you’ll never climb the mountain if you don’t take the first step, you’ll never pay off your debt if you don’t take the first step.
2. “My husband/wife will pay off these debts for me” or “My parents will pay off these debts for me.”
I have a friend who is convinced that her future husband will pay off her debts. He’s going to be a doctor or a lawyer with bank accounts overflowing with money. The day they get married, he will casually write a check to pay off her loans, like it’s no biggie. Best part of this absolutely ridiculous story? She doesn’t even have a boyfriend. She cracks me up.
Someone else shouldn’t have to fix your problems. You got yourself into debt, you should get yourself out of debt. You will feel so much better, so much more confident, if you put in the work to get out of debt.
Nobody is going to bail you out. Not a spouse, not a parent, not a rich uncle. You are responsible for your own finances.
3. “I’ll pay off my debt when I get my inheritance…or win the lottery”
You’re delusional! Just read my comments above. You are responsible for your own finances – you need to get yourself out of debt.
4. “I’ll never have a work/life balance if I focus on paying off my debt”
This lie, I completely understand. In fact, I told it to myself.
At first, I didn’t aggressively pay off debt because I thought I couldn’t have a work/life balance.
I didn’t want to miss out on “the best years of my life” because of my debt.
Turns out, there are a ton of ways that you can have fun and pay off debt.
5. “It’s just a couple of dollars. It doesn’t matter.”
I was sitting at $125,181 of student loan debt. It was soooooo much debt. My minimum payments were around $1200/1300 every month.
Honestly, the $5 Subway sandwich I’d buy at lunch, the $20 I’d spend at happy hour, or the $100 I’d spend on work clothes seemed like small potatoes.
That money seemed so insignificant compared to the how much I owed.
But as I started on my Debt Snowball, putting every penny I had towards my debt, I realized that there’s no such thing as small potatoes.
Pennies become quarters, which become dollars, then hundreds of dollars, then thousands of dollars…then one day, wah-lah, you’ve paid off $125,000 of debt.
Every dollar matters. If you’ve saved a few bucks on your grocery bill, put it towards debt. If you decided to watch a movie at home instead of the movie theaters, but the saved money towards debt. Every bit of money applied towards your debt will make your balance smaller and bring you closer to your goal.
6. “I got tricked/fooled/jipped into taking this debt so I don’t need to pay it back”
Ooooo….I’m about to get a little controversial here. I have heard from a few people in debt that they feel ripped off. Typically, it has to do with their student loans – they feel their degree was not worth the price. You know what, they might be right (it might not be a delusion). But they still took out the loans. They borrowed money, and in my opinion, need to pay it back.
You might be angry, annoyed, embarrassed, or frustrated with your debt. DON’T use that as an excuse to stay in debt. Use it as a fuel to motivate you to pay off your debt as fast as possible. Put your debt behind you. Get it out of your life.
The victim mentality isn’t going to get you out of debt.
7. “I’ll never get ahead financially if I just focus on this debt”
This right here is one of my very own debt delusions. Little did I know that focusing on getting rid of my debt was the BEST thing I could do to get ahead financially.
When you owe money to someone else, you don’t have control over your own money. Your paycheck is already claimed by someone else (the loan company) before it even hits your bank account.
You’ll start to take control of the money you earn when you decide to aggressively pay off debt. You’ll have complete control of your money once you’re out of debt.
Focusing on paying off my debt was the best thing I did for my finances (and family life, and social life, and mental health….and…you get the picture).
8. “I have a ton of other financial priorities”
I need to save money for retirement…and put money in my emergency fund…and save for my kid’s college fund…and…
Life is a balancing game. So is money management.
There are probably a thousand things you want to do with your money, but you need to prioritize them.
I completely agree with Dave Ramsey in the fact that you should prioritize a small emergency savings fund (he suggests $1,000) and then 100% focus on paying off your debt. You’ll be able to do all the other things on your financial list once your debt is paid off.
9. “I just don’t make enough money to pay off these debts”
I feel ya. My debt was more than twice my annual salary. But if I let myself believe this lie, I’d still be in debt. No matter how much you make, you have to pour as much money as you can into your debt. And constantly try to find ways to save money and make more money.
10. “It’s only $3,000 {say any amount}. My debt is so small…I don’t really need to worry about it.”
Eeks – this isn’t true! Debt sucks no matter how big or small it is. If you let it stick around – it’s something you will always think and worry about.
Consider yourself lucky if your debt is small – it’ll be quick and easy to get rid of it.
11. “Paying the minimum payments is good enough”
Oh, you crazyyyyy. And delusion of course.
You will be in debt for a ridiculously long amount of time if you just pay the minimum payments. You will also pay much more money to the loan companies than you originally took out (thanks to interest).
12. “I can’t afford to pay more than the minimum payments”
It probably feels like that. But I bet if you create a budget, focus on your debt, find a side-hustle, or even sell a few things, you’ll find some extra money to put towards your debt.
Making minimum payments should never be the goal.
13. “But mom, everyone else has debt!”
This isn’t true. There are some unicorns out there that never had debt or found a way to pay off their debt. Be like those people. Don’t be like the people that will live their entire lives in some form of debt.
14. “It’s helping my credit score”
I mean, yeah, possibly, slightly (read more about credit scores here). But…it’s really hurting your bank account. Trust me, if you are out of debt, you can find a ton of ways to improve your credit score. You should never carry debt because you think it’s helping your credit score.
15. “It’s good debt”
Nope. No such thing. If I were to ask you if you want to be in debt or don’t to be in debt, which would you choose? Obviously you don’t want to be in debt. Don’t be satisfied with good debt; instead, strive for a GREAT (debt-free) life.
16. “I’ll start later when I’m ready”
You’re never going to be ready. There’s never going to be a perfect time to start your journey. This lie that you tell yourself just delays your start date, delays your debt-free date, and delays you from living the life you really want to live.
17. “I work so hard, I deserve to spend my money”
I believe that you work hard. And I also believe that you deserve to spend your money. HOWEVER, you need to pay off your debts first.
There is no need for you to have money stresses if you are working so hard. Get rid of the debt. Then spend your money however you want.
18. “My interest rate is so low. It’s free money.”
It’s not free money. If you have any interest rate over 0%, then it’s not free. And even if you do have a 0% loan miraculously, it’s not free because this debt is stressful, unnecessary, and costing you the freedom to decide what you want to do with your money.
19. “I don’t deserve to be in debt”
Yeah, well, life isn’t fair. You could have a thousand different reasons for thinking you don’t deserve to be in debt, but it really doesn’t matter. Try to find a solution to get out of the mess, instead of wallowing in the mess.
20. “I don’t deserve to be debt-free”
Uh, yeah you do. Don’t do the self-deprecating thing. You’re better than that. You’re better than your debt.
21. “Debt is overwhelming. I don’t even know where to start.”
You know what. The first part isn’t a delusion – debt is overwhelming. It can seep into every part of your life. It can bring worry, panic, and palm sweating at the grocery store, at work, or even when you’re trying to have fun.
Because debt is overwhelming, you need to get rid of it. And I think you finally found the place to help you learn how to START to get rid of it (hint hint it’s my blog!). Head over to my post about the Debt Snowball. It’s what I used to get out of debt and finally live my dream life. Make sure to sign up for the free Debt Snowball printables to help you get started. Seriously, these worksheets can help you get from debt confusion to debt destroyer. You can sign up in the box below.
Snapping out of your debt delusions
You may have spent days, months, or even years believing these delusions about your debt. You know what? That’s okay. It’s okay that you had these delusions. It’s okay that you told yourself these debt lies.
But that’s over now. It’s not okay to still believe them. These delusions are preventing you from becoming debt free. They are preventing you from living your dream life.
Now that you are becoming more educated about how important it is to get out of debt, you need to take action. Sign up for those Debt Snowball worksheets above, and start your journey to debt-freedom today!
Can you relate to any of these debt lies and delusions? What is/was your craziest debt delusion?
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