Getting out of debt mission impossible

 
I HAVE a problem, over the years I have accumulated debt. I even turned to Debt Counseling, which helped, but some of my money got lost because the agency was not managing it well. They paid the wrong creditors and in some cases they declared the debt finished while it was not.

I eventually got out of that agreement, however my debt is still not looking good. I even complained to the National Credit Regulator.

What I know is that getting out of debt is “mission impossible”!
 
I have almost given up. I buy everything CASH. I am trying to establish my business and it’s frustrating knowing that my credit health is poor.





I would love to get a chunk of money and make sure that everything is paid off… I wish! I am always stressed that I will never be fit to buy a home in this lifetime and I hate that… I am a mother of two, life shouldn’t be this difficult at age 31.

I want to travel and do all the things that normal people do, but I am not settled. I am earning less now than what I was earning in 2008. With everything going up, it’s a nightmare managing the little that I have.
 
I do wish someone can advise me on what to do and how to go on.

Fin24 expert and CEO of The Wealth Chef, Ann Wilson, gives advice:

Hi Zinhle

Thank you for sharing your story, that is a huge first step to releasing yourself from it's clutches and changing your money story for ever.

Your position is no where near "mission impossible". The awesome thing is you are still young - yes 31 is young! You've got time, energy and passion on your side and that is what you are going to start focusing on.

Focus is you key. Energy flows where focus goes - and for a while now all your focus has been on your debt and how that is preventing you from living the life you desire.

This may sounds woo-woo but stay with me.

First step - focus

Get very clear on what you want and why you want it - not what you don't want. Spend time on this.

Write out your ideal life, see it, feel, it get excited about it. Write it in the present tense and in the first person - "I am doing..., having..., creating..., experiencing".

This will start changing your focus toward the life you want and will help you create it. Start every day by reading this through, getting excited about it, adding to it and consciously change your focus from worrying about your debt to creating the life you want.

Second step - again it's all about your focus

Every night while you're brushing your teeth before you go to bed ask yourself these five questions.  

* What am I proud of in my life right now, in relation to my wealth and my money?
* What am I committed to in my life right now, in relation to my wealth and my money?
* What am I excited about in my life right now, in relation to my wealth and my money?
* What am I grateful for in my life right now, in relation to my wealth and my money?
* Who do I love, and who loves me?

Now here's the deal.  You can't stop brushing until you have at least one answer in each category. Look at the bright side.  Either you're going to end up with the most amazingly sparkling clean teeth or you're going to have discovered so many things that you're really proud of and excited about and grateful for in your life right now. Hopefully it will be both. Really, answer them fully and feel what you feel when you get your answer.

If nothing clear pops into your mind, just keep asking the same question until something does and I encourage you to put those answers down in your journal and really start noticing how wealth starts expanding in your life. It's about mastering your focus, so make sure you do it, even if it feels a bit woo-woo.

Third step

Put in place a simple debt destruction plan, commit to it and make it as automatic as possible. There are various debt destruction strategies. I like the Snowball method. Later this month I'll post an article on how to create a powerful debt destruction plan.

Forth step

Relax, breath and know that by having a debt destruction plan in place and by your commitment to stick to it and destroy your debt, you can now focus on creating wealth.

Fifth step

Learn about money, how it works, how it grow, and start looking at the way you have been managing it. On the Women's Wealth page you will soon get access to a number of videos from me.

Watch these and determine what your money flows have been in the past that got you where you are and with that understanding change your flows to wealth flows that enable money to stay in your life and grow.

Sixth step

Start paying yourself first. What this means is start allowing money to stay in your life by starting both a saving and investing plan. One of the things I always get asked is, “shouldn’t I put all my money into clearing my debts first?”

No, what you need to be doing is creating new money habits and you must create the habit of investing at the same time as destroying your debt. As I said - energy flows where focus goes and if you only focus on your debt that is all you will know.

Part of breaking a habit is replacing it with a new one and your new wealth habit is investing. The great thing about investing is you are still buying stuff - except now you buy things that feed you not starve you.

If we don’t do this you won’t break the debt habit. Even if you clear all your debt you are likely to go back into debt if you haven’t created a new investing habit.

Seventh step

With your money now being given great leadership by you, you focus on bringing more in and the more you focus on what you want in your life the more you will create it.

Keep sharing your journey with us.

All the best,

Ann Wilson
The Wealth Chef