We’ve been told a series of lies our entire lives. You’ll always have a car payment. You can’t go to school without student loans. You have to have a credit card. You need a good credit score to get anything you want in life. These lies have become so mainstream that we believe them without even giving it another thought. We accept debt as a necessary part of life. We put on our shackles and stand in line behind the next guy. But it doesn’t have to be like that. You don’t have to live the rest of your life enslaved to debt.
What would life look like if you didn’t have any payments? All those paychecks that come in already earmarked to go to debt payments for purchase you made in the past? What if you were actually in control and could decide what you want to do rather than living by what you have to do? You could do anything you want. That’s financial freedom.
To Allow Compound Interest to Work In Your Favor
If you’ve been in debt, you know that compound interest can quickly stack up against you. But when you’re out of debt and you can actually plan ahead for putting money in savings, compound interest can work for you. And it’s beautiful when it’s working in your favor. Save for retirement, save for college, whatever your goals are you can just invest your money and watch it grow. You won’t find the freedom to save when your paycheck is already being spent towards debt.
To Change Your Family Tree
The best time you can start this process, is today. But the one thing I always hear (from both 75 year olds and from 25 year olds) is “I wish I knew this sooner” or “I wish I started this when I was younger.” But we can’t go back so the best thing you can do is start to change today and then influence the generations after you. What if your kids never had to fight to get out debt because they never went into debt in the first place? What if you could teach them money habits now that would set them up for success later in life? We can make life entirely different for the next generation, but it has to start with us.
To Reduce Stress
When your hands are tied to debt payments, it doesn’t leave much room for emergencies to come up. If something goes wrong with your vehicle, or someone gets ill, it can reap havoc in your finances. Debt freedom and an emergency fund eliminate the kind of stress that arises from emergency situations. It takes emergencies and turns them into inconveniences. Not to mention that living with no debt and creating a new budget every months means you’re telling your money to go, you know where it’s going, and you’re taking the steps to reach your goals!
To Make Different Life Choices
To be honest, the choices you make in regards to your life and career look a lot different when you don’t have any payments. When you’re finances are secure, you can afford to take risks in other areas of your life without everything spiraling out of control. Being financially secure will give you the confidence to try that thing you’ve always wanted to try, start that business, take the trip, you name it. There’s no limit to the changes you can make when you have no debt, a fully emergency fund, and a little nest egg.
To Give Outrageously
This is the one we get most excited about in our household. Living a life that is outrageously generous. When you don’t have any payments, you’re free to give money to people or causes as you feel led, when you feel led. You can help whoever you want when you’re not committed to making debt payments every paycheck. Leave a $1,000 tip, give someone your car, help the local church pay the mortgage, walk into a small business and make someone’s day. The list is endless. Giving is the most fun you’ll ever have with money.
If you’re ready to start paying off debt or you want further guidance in your pay off journey, get my completely FREE downloadable Debt Free Guide. This is a full guide of reading and prompts that gives you the steps to paying off debt in a bite sized format so that you can stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling motivated!
