How to Manage Your Debt in 2022

Feeling weighed down by debt can feel incredibly stressful and debilitating. It can be overwhelming, figuring out how to manage your debt, or where to start tackling it. 

In today’s post, I’m going to offer some advice that will help you move through handling debt with more ease, positivity and action. 

Shift the Way You Think about Debt

You’re perhaps experiencing fear around debt. This is completely understandable and a very normal response. However, it’s important to consider how you can shift your thoughts around how you view debt. 

When we put emphasis on the word ‘debt’, it can trigger those low frequency emotions such as dread, worry, guilt and shame. When immersed in this fear and lack mentality, it becomes difficult to move forwards practically with the right energy and mindset. 

I want to offer you a fresh perspective. Think about debt as something neutral - neither good nor bad. It’s simply a choice you have to pay something off over time. Your thoughts and words create your outer world and so reframing how you’re thinking and speaking about debt can help you take a new approach to handling it.

Get Clear on the Amount You Owe 

This can be a task that you might be tempted to put off, but when you do some work on what I have mentioned above, you can see it through a more compassionate lens. Often the fear of the unknown number can feel scarier than the debt itself and when things can start to feel out of control. It’s from this place we might slip into self-sabotage mode. So, let’s nip this in the bud now!

Dedicate some time to working out exactly how much debt you have. Credit cards, loans, overdrafts, fees, outstanding bills. Once you know the exact amount you need to pay off, you can make a plan. 

If you feel overwhelmed, just remember that the debt isn’t a reflection of you, your worth as a person or your ability to create real wealth and financial freedom moving forwards. 

Start Making a Plan to Budget

Next, you need to assess your current income, outgoings and spending habits. Look over your bank statements from the past 6 months and write down where your money is going that could be scaled back. It doesn’t always have to mean making radical changes that leave you feeling deprived - those small tweaks in various areas can make a big impact. Can you shop smarter, reduce takeout orders, cancel subscription services that you hardly use? Leave no stone unturned as there is opportunity to save money everywhere!

Be intentional and write down where you can make smart adjustments. 

Seek Help 

There are many financial advisors and experts such as myself who can help you figure out how to manage debt. Working with someone directly can help you create that plan of action you need to move forwards with clarity and confidence. These people can also often advise you where and how you can easily reduce your current costs by 10 - 15%.

I also have an entire library of financial tips and tricks on my YouTube channel that I would encourage you to watch. 

Automate Your Money

With online banking, it’s easier than ever to automate your money so that a percentage of your income automatically goes towards paying off your debt every month without you having to do anything. I’d highly recommend looking into how you can implement this or seek the help of a professional who can advise you. 

Use it as Motivation to Increase Earning Potential

We often think of working through debt as ‘cutting back’. Whilst it’s true that assessing where we can scale back will definitely help, it feels so much more empowering to consider how you can earn more and what opportunity this presents!

Now could be the perfect time for that conversation about negotiating a pay rise. Or perhaps there’s a venture or new business you have always wanted to start, but have been too scared of, or have never made the time for? You might have clothes or items in your home that you never use and could sell to create immediate cash. 

Use the debt as a positive motivator. Instead of thinking about how and where you have to ‘cut-back’, think about how you can create more money. Take your practical hat off for a moment, and visualize how having more income each month would make you feel. Awaken that part of your brain and you’ll see that the possibilities really are endless! The energy of abundance is far more potent than one of lack and shifts us into flow rather than fear and stagnation.

How to manage your debt does not have to be a scary question. It doesn’t mean being fearful or living your life shackled to a spreadsheet. It’s about making thoughtful, and smart financial decisions now that enable you to feel good about the future.