How to Pay Off All Your Debt: Name It and Kill It - Queen of Free (2024)

January 7, 2012 By Cherie Lowe

I’m not sure at what point we began to refer to our debt as a dragon. I do know that back when we paid off the Target Visa a couple of years ago, I referenced it as a dragon for the first time on Queen of Free. The King has issued a couple of edicts to the dragon {here’s one and another, ooooh and you can’t miss this one}. Because what else do Kings and Queens do but slay dragons, right? Or serve as powerless political figureheads to a domain? And wear fancy clothes? {Ok, so we only do 1 of those 3 things}.

But certainly we have found it useful to personify our debt. I know it sounds utterly ridiculous but maybe we’re just the imaginary friend {or in this case foe} type. Random side bar: The Youngest Princess has a wily and mischievous imaginary friend named Pistachio. He’s always up to something but right now he’s in the hospital. Food allergies. Poor guy.

When you give something a name, it becomes much more personal. I know it’s a common practice for those who are undergoing cancer treatment to name their tumor. And the disease of debt – while perhaps not physically life threatening but certainly emotionally and spiritually life threatening – in our eyes has a similar sinister form.

And so we named it. So we could kill it. And in a short four months, we will bury it {FOREVER} and celebrate its death, not life. We’re throwing a party, and by the way, you’re invited.

Perhaps when we zeroed in on debt really being the enemy, that’s when we began to get more traction. You might not see that monthly balance as an evil villain threatening to kill, steal, and destroy you, but it is.

• Debt wants to destroy your marriage. More divorces begin from money problems or money fights than any other issue. Want to solidify your marriage and safeguard it? Forget the $400 marriage conference and sit down to talk about your finances with your spouse. Get a plan together that both of you can follow. We never had a blow up, knock down, drag out fight {what an awful phrase} about our debt. But we picked each other apart in a passive aggressive style for years.Did you really need that? You spent how much? I’m not using the credit card anymore, why are you?I’ve often said that while I’d never wish a heap a debt on anyone’s marriage, slaying the dragon debt together has given us a unified and solid, not to mention much more rich and fun, relationship.

• Debt wants to steal your joy. If you’ve ever been in debt, you know that a good portion of your time and life’s energy is taken up thinking about balances, due dates, and your lack of funds. Plus you’re in a constant state of wanting something you can’t afford. You worry, fret, and pontificate about how and why you’re in such a mess. You think you’re the only one in this boat. You daydream about hitting the lotto instead of helping others. And your dissatisfaction can range from a case of the blahs to full blown depression.

• Debt can kill you. A year or so ago, we watched the documentary Maxed Out {the King of Free read the book, too} about the credit crisis. It’s especially interesting because it was made before the housing bubble burst and it’s a little prophetic. I cannot tell you how saddened I was by the number of people who took their lives who were in as much or even less debt than we were. But beyond suicidal attempts on your life, debt can daily kill you, robbing you of sleep, good health habits, and intentional living. It might not kill you physically but certainly can deaden you both emotionally and spiritually. None of us want that.

*This post contains an affiliate link. So you might end up helping us pay off debt even more quickly. And for that, we royally thank you.