How Not to Feel Guilty About Your Debt, According to Reddit
When you are deeply in debt, you may feel guilty, sad, or completely hopeless. Whether it’s a few hundred dollars or a few thousand, the feeling that you have no control over your finances can drive you to inaction. But spending your evenings facedown on the couch won’t get you out of debt – it will only make the problem worse.
Reddit user ohmygoshhhhhhh recently asked about this issue at r / personalfinance . After the user was out of work for several months, the user had a credit card debt of $ 4,100 and was increasingly approaching his credit limit of $ 4,500. While they are back at work and feeling more financially stable, “My once great merit has dropped to 643, and I wonder how other people mentally deal with this burden,” they said. “I just can’t get it out of my head, that’s all I think about.”
There have been many suggestions to combat this guilt, many of them from people who have paid large debts themselves. If you’re the type of person who is struggling to see the light at the end of the debt tunnel, consider this tactic to avoid guilt and stay motivated.
Write a plan
“Take a breath and make a plan to redeem the card, not just an estimate of when you see the balance at zero,” said SixFootEwok .
“It helps me to have this written down,” Lightcat said. “It calms me. I will also come back and look at him if my guilt / anxiety starts to grow again. “
“When you start to worry, remind yourself that you have a plan, you are in control of it and your finances,” Softmachine2019 said. “You’ve come out of the worst.”
Use your guilt as a motivator
“Whenever you feel guilty about a debt, act on it! Cut your expenses even further or find a part-time job that brings in some extra income, ” Waratain said. “Don’t let your guilt paralyze you. Burn it as fuel to help you get out of debt. “
If you can think of your obstacles as opportunities, as we mentioned earlier , you can begin to see the other side of your guilt. Yes, you are worried about your duty. But you can take steps to ease that debt and go beyond it, no matter how slowly the circumstances call for it.
Don’t worry too much about your credit score
Remember, your credit score is just a number; it does not measure your personal worth. Your credit rating “It’s just a measure of your attitude to debt,” TheGuardian118 recalled.
“Your credit rating will recover,” said ArdenSix . “Assuming you don’t have late payments that are slowing it down, but simply have high credit card usage, your credit will bounce back.”
While your credit score depends slightly on the length of your history, it depends more on what you do today . If you pay on time and reduce your debt (which decreases your loan usage over time), your account will start to grow.
Check your progress
“My wife and I have a poster in the dining room,” TheGuardian118 said. “Every month after making a payment, we paint the corresponding number of squares. Visualizing the end of the road is much more rewarding than you think. “
By noting your progress, you can see how far you’ve come on your long journey. “It took a few years to just pay off the debt,” said thelaineybelle , who had $ 14,000 in credit card and utility bills a few years ago. “It ended in an emotionally productive time, and it has come to an end.”
Working overtime and skipping vacations can seem like cheesy, but every time you look at your progress, you will feel a touch of satisfaction that you are doing everything you can to improve your financial situation.