My financial journey began in August of 2019 out of NEED.
I realized I could not afford to pay for both my car payment and student loans at the same time.
There was no way!
If I juggled both bills at the same time, I would have no money left at the end of the month after all my essential bills were paid. Luckily, I realized this while my student loans were in forbearance, but it would be ending soon. This meant I needed to pay my car off quick, fast, and in a hurry or I would be in for a struggle.
This led to the beginning of my debt-free journey. I am glad that I was led down this path because now I am learning more about personal finance and building a strong foundation for my financial future. One day, I won’t have to worry about my money as much because I am taking intentional steps to set myself up for success.
Improving My Mindset is Key
The most important thing I have learned on my debt-free journey is that your mindset is key. It will make or break any goal that you want to accomplish.
Getting my finances together has not been easy. It has been a battle of wills between what is easy versus what needs to be done. There have been so many times that I have struggled internally.
I will be honest, sometimes, I have let what feels easy and normal win.
However, over time I have been able to identify the root issues that cause me to deter away from my goals. This has made it easier to catch myself in my tracks and put measures in place that make it easy to make better decisions.
Some of the root issues that I have had to address are:
1. The Need for Instant Gratification
Instant Gratification is one of the biggest things that I battle on a daily basis. There are so many times when I want to buy something right then and there. I see it and I want it.
*que 7 rings by Ariana Grande*
I normally experience this feeling when I work at my part-time retail job, while scrolling through Instagram, and online window shopping.
In order to stay on track to reach my goals, I have come to understand that my need for instant gratification will not get me very far. I can not buy everything I want and expect to reach my financial goals. To decrease my desire to buy items off of impulse, I started asking myself the following questions:
Do I need this item?
Why do I want this item?
Can I wait and purchase this item?
Most times, when I answer these questions I realize that I don’t need the items. On the off chance that I determine that I still want to buy the item, I determine if it fits in my budget or if I need to hold off until later.
If I have to delay purchasing the item, I remind myself that I am not saying “I will never buy the item, I am just saying not right now”.
This has helped me significantly in cutting down a lot of impulse shopping. I have to do this exercise on a regular basis.
2. Keeping up the Joneses/Insecurity
We have all heard about the Joneses. I really need to stay away from them cause my finances can not take it.
You guys, I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted an item just because I saw someone else with it. It is embarrassing to admit. I could have never wanted the item before, but because I saw someone else with it I had to have it.
There have even been times where I have wanted to buy something because I wanted to impress someone else. I am definitely a work in progress. The more logical side of myself knows that the only person I need to impress is myself. However, my emotional side thinks that if I buy this item or participate in this activity then it will make me more favorable. .
This is something I still struggle with. I have not figured out how to overcome this.
Before buying an item, I work to gain clarity on why I am wanting to make the purchase.
I haven’t felt this emotion as much since we have been at home more. I do know it is an emotion that really controls my actions, so I continue to explore this feeling. My tendency to buy into what others are doing or wanting to impress others comes from some insecurities that I have about myself. To deal with this I am going to have to do a lot of inner work.
Fear of Being Broke
When I was younger, I can remember a time period where my Mom had to work two jobs to make ends meet. It was really hard and my parents had to make a lot of sacrifices to provide for our essential needs. There were a lot of things that we had grown accustomed to that we no longer had access to. No longer could we take really nice vacations, get name-brand clothes, and participate in certain activities.
As an adult, I am so nervous to experience this again. Sometimes I find myself making decisions out of fear because I would rather hold on to all my money. I cannot tell you how tight handed I can be with my money. There have been times where I have said no to opportunities even when I had more than enough money.
These are three thought processes that I continually experience along my debt-free journey. It is super important that I take time to step back and see why I make some of the decisions I make. I don’t judge myself for it, but really take the time to see what causes me to do what you do. If it is something that needs to be corrected, then I take the time to see what I can do to improve.