Having a Written Plan Shrinks Your Debt Faster!

I would encourage you to have a plan, and to write it down. There is something about setting up goals and making them concrete that makes your mind work magic and helps you achieve your goals. Back when I was trying to eliminate all my debt, I focused hard on it and made it my mission to pay off all our credit cards.

One of the tools that really helped me, was a simple piece of graph paper that I hung on the back of my door (I didn't want everyone to see it, but I wanted to see it every day).

On this, I charted by current debt level. Then, each tick on the graph was a month in the future. I made a projection based on how much I thought I could pay off every month. This went out a few years. Then, as month by month went by, I took out my pencil and filled in another dot.

This wasn't fancy. This wasn't expensive. This didn't need a computer or anything else. However, it got me focused on my goal. And you know what, I blew-away my debt faster than I could have imagined.

I met my goal a year early. I got visible reinforcement when I made a big payoff. There isn't much "joy" in paying down a card. It is hard work and you have to give up a lot and have a lot of discipline. However, as I think back on how I did it, this little graph paper was a key to my success. It was rewarding to see this debt go down and it was a simple tool for my wife and I to stay achored in our priorities.