Over 12,000! That’s how much we paid of in 2019! Sure, we shouldn’t have debt, but we do! 😉
I haven’t really chatted about our financial journey in quite a bit! We’ve been busy with Eggs Up Grill, and because of Jesus, our amazing staff, and you guys, we got two awards for a record first year at our new restaurant! God has blown our minds with His faithfulness and we cannot wait to see what He does in 2020 when Eggs Up Camden opens next month!
In 2019, I realized a few things! I’ve realized, I’m a pen to paper gal! I need to see the numbers! I need to have a plan! I need to feel prepared! I need to set goals! Anyone else? Can you tell I’m an #enneagram3! List and checking things off just work for me! So that’s what I did! I created some printables in January 2019 that I used throughout the year. These printables became our VISION SHEETS! Each month, I’d write down our debts, pray over our debts, and write down what I planned to do to tackle that debt that month! Yes, my husband was on board, but I wanted to focus on what I could do to earn, sell, ways to save our family money! From side hustles, to consigning, to selling stuff that was collecting dust! Yes we own a restaurant, but our goal is to be debt free including our mortgage, so we hustled! And guys, I reviewed it today, guys, we paid off 9 credit cards, and over $12k in debt! Of course we shouldn’t even have credit cards, AND I still have 3 to pay off before we tackle our car notes! But guys, 9 credit cards in our first year back on our debt free journey! Come on God! And can I tell you my why!? Our why!? Our four children, we want to leave them with a financial legacy for generations to come! We want to help others break generational curses of financial despair and poverty and show others that financial prosperity is possible! And that you can make mistakes, BUT God is bigger! That you can hit rock bottom, but God is stronger! That you can even be unemployed for 9 months, and come back to own a restaurant less than 2 years later! Come on God! Your financial mistakes are no match for God’s power! He is a God who saves and redeems and that includes your finances! So 2020 bring it! God has more for us, and guess what!? God has more for you friend! Here are 5 Ways to Pay off Debt in 2020!
Write IT DOWN! Studies show you are 67 percent more likely to follow through on a goal if you WRITE IT DOWN! So write down your goal! I have some printable in the shop, you can use!
Know your numbers! Get honest with yourself. At the end of 2018, I did not want to look at my debts. I had 12 different credit cards, and I did not want to know the total amount. It was much easier not knowing. So I sat down, gave myself a pep talk, and spent the next hour writing down all of my debts, due dates, and all that jazz. It was painful, and I wanted to cry that I had put our family in a financial position to NOT WIN. You see, I love to win, I’m super competitive, but when I went into my depression, I spent money to FEEL, to numb, to make myself feel better. Only going into debt didn’t make me feel better. Well, maybe temporarily (I’ll share more about my financial journey soon)! :) I like to write all of my numbers down on my Envision 31 printables! Head to the shop to take a look!
Use debt snowball, avalanche, or velocity banking method. If you’re not familiar with any of these terms, I will be talking about each of them soon. We personally use debt snowball (and we are researching velocity more to see if we will use it to pay off our remaining debts. So last year, we used debt snowball to pay off 9 out of 12 credit cards. So for debt snowball, list out all of your debts from smallest to greatest. Then put all extra money, towards that account, while making minimum payments on the other accounts. Once you pay that first account off, put that minimum payment toward the next account, plus what you were already paying for that account. For example, my Belk minimum payment was 27 dollars. I paid that account off. So I’m moving on to Kohls. Kohls minimum payment is 30 dollars. So my debt snowball will be 57 for Kohls. And you will throw all extra cash toward the Kohls card, while paying minimum payments on the rest of your accounts. Continue this until all accounts are paid in full! I love debt snowball and we will continue to use it while researching velocity banking too!
Sell, Sell, Sell! Last month we sold over $1500 in items that were just lying around our house! $1500. Yes! We used Craigslist, Ebay, Mercari, and even Poshmark. Go around your house, looking for unused or items you don’t wear or need. Sell like your life depends on it. Yes we own a restaurant. Yes we own businesses, but we want to be debt free so we SELL tons. Yes we love giving things away too, but if you want to say goodbye to debt in 2020, sell, consign, work hard to make extra money!
Cut the grocery bill and eating out! So confession, last year during a stretch of sports six nights a week, in the span of 14 days, we spent a total of almost $700 on eating out! What the what! I almost died when I looked at our spending tracker. Now, we had just received some unexpected increase so we had a bit of wiggle room, BUT STILL! That could have gone to debt! So we said, we have to curb this eating out thing. So we do! We eat out, but we commit to eating at home mostly with some occasional eating out. And next, we cut our grocery bill by shopping on instacart, and shopping sales items (buy one get one free deals). We spend around $150 per week on food and toiletries each week for a family of 6. Now sometimes toiletry and pet items put us over our budget especially now that we have 3 fur babies (our daughter just got a kitten for her birthday, and we already have a dog and guinea pig that she had to have too). So we will now need to create a separate category for pets now that we have three. We will talk about budgeting soon. But the key to cutting the grocery bill is to have a plan, shop sales and what is in season, and get creative. One thing I do often is, look in the pantry and freezer to see what I can find to cook for the week, then add a few fruits and vegetables and milk and eggs. I usually shop twice a week spending around $35-60 each time. I shop twice a week because of fresh fruits and vegetables, and I do not want to waste food. So I usually order from Instacart one day, then sometimes shop sales on another day! The key here is to track what you spend on groceries for one month, then set your budget for that category. Then try to spend less in that category. Put the extra money that you save toward debt.
BONUS TIP: Find a side hustle or create one! Are you good with kids? Are you good at making wreaths? Do you have a knack for writing or editing? Use your gifts to make money, and put extra money toward debt. I have had a side business for over 10 years, earning enough to cover mortgages, car notes, and help our family pay off debt. Write a book or an e-book! Use your gifts now! Or join a business! I joined Young Living in 2016 and was able to pay off tons of debt by working my bum off the first year of business! You can do it. Start today! Make a plan, and execute that plan!
Need more tips? Stay tuned for next week’s part two of paying off debt! Or grab the Debt Crushing Mama Vision Sheets here!
What’s your big financial goal for 2020!? You got this friend! Let’s go out and be all that God created together!
Until next time friend,
Click here to learn more about our VISION SHEETS
Shelly