4 Sure-Fire Steps to Eliminate Your Credit Card Chaos & Breathe Easier at Month-End

No matter how great a state our finances are in, there's always room for growth.  

I'm not simply referring to our net worth:  I'm talking about our relationship with money and how it impacts the decisions we make.

Deciding to wrangle that Debt Monkey once and for all is a significant step toward claiming your financial power and moving you into a position of prosperity.  


Here's a simple plan to tackle the dreaded Debt Monkey that puts you in control of your finances and on the path to being 100% debt-free.


Step One:  STOP Using Credit


You won't be able to starve the Debt Monkey if you keep fattening him up.  Switch to a cash-only plan until the bills are paid off.  

Commit to the mindset that if you don't have the cash for something, you simply can't afford it.  Did I mention that this process is not easy? It is, however, a simple process and you can do it.  

It will also take a bit of math. (uggghhh - kill me now!)  

Sit down with your partner and a cup of coffee when the kids have gone to bed and the house is quiet.  Figure out how much money you'll need to cover your living expenses (mortgage/rent, utilities, service fees, gas, groceries...) give yourself a skinny allowance (yep...I said that) for incidentals.  (When I started this process, it was $15 a week).  

What you have leftover is your weapon to attack that monkey!  

Step Two:  Attack Your Debt Monkey

Once those bills come in…open them. 

Don’t hide them in a pile on your desk.  Don’t stash them in a folder unopened in the corner.  Don’t let them sit in your car. (I know some of you do this because I did it myself...for YEARS...and I only sank further into debt!)  Certainly, don’t let them get mixed up with the garbage and put out at the curb by mistake.  

Absolutely avoid the temptation to head out to the mall for some retail therapy!  That only fattens the monkey even more.  

Here’s what to do instead:

• Open up those notifications immediately and face the dreaded Debt Monkey head on with eyes wide open!  There’s no hiding from this battle. 
• Organize your credit card and loan payment bills from the most expensive to the least expensive.  The most expensive bill is not necessarily the one with the highest balance.  It’s the one with the highest interest rate. 
• Pay the minimums on all the bills, except the one with the highest interest rate.   
• Put all the remaining funds that you have leftover for the month down on this one bill.
• Repeat the process.  It’s that simple.

Continue making the minimum payments on everything else except the card with the highest interest rate.  

Once you’ve paid the first card off, roll all the extra funds into paying off the card with the next highest interest rate.  

Repeat the process until all your credit cards and loan payments are paid off.  

Closeout all unnecessary credit cards.  

There.  You’re on your way.  You’re attacking that debt-monkey in a methodical way that is guaranteed to ensure your success...as long as you avoid fattening him up again with more spending on credit.  

Keep chipping away at it and you will get there.  As each bill gets paid off, momentum will increase as you increase the money going down on the next bill.

Step Three:  Trim The Fat

To increase your rate of success, take a look at how you’ve been spending your extra cash.  This trick helped me immensely:  keep the ‘treats’ to an agreed-upon treat time only instead of making treats part of your daily routine.  

What I mean is this…

• Eliminate the regular Tim Horton's & Starbucks runs.  Opt for brewing your own coffee and steeping your own tea at home instead. Trouble totally eliminating the Starbucks habit?  Choose one day a week for a coffee treat.  To celebrate the end of the workweek, make it on Friday, or the beginning of the weekend, make it a Saturday morning outing. Use David Bach's awesome Latte Factor Tool  (https://davidbach.com/latte-factor-backup/)   to find out how much your coffee habit is really costing you.  I guarantee you'll be amazed - you really do have more money than you think! 

• Enjoy cooking dinner at home with your partner or the children in the kitchen instead of going out to eat.  Not only will this save you money, but it’ll also strengthen your relationships AND the kids will learn how to cook.  Bonus!  This step can also tie into your healthy living goals…you control the ingredients, the freshness, the level of healthiness.  Trouble totally eliminating the restaurant habit?  Choose one meal a week to go out to dinner and make that part of your routine as a celebration: pizza with the kids, a date night with your partner, or try something new, fun and exciting like a new restaurant or a new menu item.     

• Pack lunch for work instead of opting for the deli or the restaurant.  Not only will you save money but you’re in control of the calorie intake and how healthy your food choices are.   Don’t like sandwiches?  When you cook with the family, double up those recipes and make more than your family needs for just one meal.  Use leftover meals for lunches and freeze extras for future meals together.  Soups, stews, crock-pot creations all freeze well and will take the stress out of weekday cooking when there's a time crunch.  They travel well in lunch packs too.

• Have the kids pack their lunches for school as well and opt OUT of the prepared meals that are offered there.

I’ll bet my very last dollar that if you track your expenditures for a month before you start this process, you'll solve the 'Where does it all go?' mystery.

Just these few little adjustments in your regular spending routines will save you a bunch of cash to help get the dreaded Debt Monkey off your back.

If you’re tackling this goal on your own, count your blessings.  Your success depends on your efforts alone and you are totally in control.  As a kid, I watched my parents destroy their marriage over finances.  Exactly why this next step is so important. 

Step Four:  Get on the Same Page with Your Partner

We all know what we’re supposed to do regarding finances:  save more money, spend less money, put money away for the kids’ education, for our retirement, life insurance, a will, an emergency fund…yet so few of us actually do it.  

To break through that barrier it is so important to become clear about the values and goals that are a priority to both of you.   

If you’re one half of a partnership, here are some added tips and tricks for your success:

• Sit down, have a conversation about the values that each of you holds as important.  It is your values that will determine how hard you’re willing to work to achieve your financial goals, how much you spend now, and how much you’ll need to save for retirement.  Once the values are clear, the financial decisions become easy. 

• Set some financial goals together.  What does each of you want to achieve?  What do you need to achieve as a family?  It’s the beginning of the year.  This is the perfect time to take this step.

• Make it a game.  Brainstorm some ways to achieve your goals together.  Engage your competitive natures, if necessary, and see who can come up with the best ways to save or make more money for your household.  You are teammates and the goal is to win financially.

• Commit to the ‘No Credit’ rule.  Take it one step further even…agree to no purchases over a certain amount with a discussion.  This means that before any money is spent, the two of you will have a discussion about it and determine if spending the money fits in with the goals you've set out.  

Getting the Debt Monkey off my back once and for all was a life-changing, soul-freeing experience.  

Going through the process of slowly and methodically eliminating debt from our lives was one of the most rewarding, and necessary, life lessons.  It took dedication and commitment.  Every month that passed gave us more power - more money paid on debt and less money on interest. 

You can take your financial power back using this same method.  If I can do it, anyone can...and you can too.

When you set out to achieve big mountainous goals like paying off a mortgage or eliminating a massive student loan or a bunch of overwhelming consumer debts, the process is going to take some time.  

Changing habits can be a challenge.  

When you become clear about the values you’re following as a basis for the amazing life you’re creating for yourself and your family, you’ll become unstoppable in your goal to achieve financial freedom.

If you’d like help putting together a plan to get that Debt Monkey off YOUR back once and for all - along with a proven process on how to do it, contact me for a complimentary Ditch Your Debt Monkey Strategy Session and learn how YOU can be 100% debt-free.    

About the Author:

Andrea Raco, is a Certified Success and Life Enrichment Coach, Founder of Coach for Life and Curator of Gold Key Club ~ a private community for Ladypreneurs, Supermoms and Sisters making a difference in the world.

For more information about her programs and services, visit www.coachforlife.ca.

6 Gold Keys to Win Your Motivational Battle and Make This Your Best Year Ever

Goal Setting Often Gets A Bad Rap

While we may start the year off with grandiose plans to become more healthy and fit (guilty), spend more quality time with family and friends (guilty too), get our finances in order (3 for 3), or hit our business targets, our New Year's resolve often doesn't make it to February.     

Of course, LIFE can get in the way of keeping us from achieving our goals. 

Whether it's freedom from debt, becoming more healthy and fit, improving your important relationships, or hitting those business targets, here are 6 tested and true Gold Key Strategies to keep you on track to achieve what you want and finish on top of your Life List: 

Key #1 ~ Set Stepper Goals

Some of us are wired to plan out our long-term goals, but most of us are more short-sighted and respond to rewards we can enjoy almost immediately.  This is exactly why chocolate cake, providing instant gratification, can distract you from a long-term goal like achieving your desired weight - a distant future reward.  

To overcome our own impatience, we can set ourselves up for success by breaking down the ultimate goal into several frequent, smaller goals, enjoying success along the way, and sustaining our motivational drive with rewards.

Rather than skipping exercise altogether because an hour a day seems daunting, break up your exercise into 10-20 minute sesssions performed more frequently throughout the day.  

Walking just 15 minutes a day

1. Reduces your risk of heart disease
2. Lowers your stress level
3. Increases your energy, and
4. Improves the quality of your sleep  

Those are immediate rewards.

Step it up to 30 minutes a day for numerous physical, mental, and even emotional benefits and you'll be extending your longevity too. 

Key #2 ~ A Clean, Blank Slate

A symbolic transition day like New Years' or a Birthday can provide a motivational boost to get you started toward your goal, but smaller opportunities for a fresh start happen all the time - each month, each week, or even every day.   

How often have you told yourself that you'd start your new diet on Monday?

Fresh starts are awesome, but it's important to avoid procrastination and making excuses for not putting in the effort it takes to achieve success.

We may start the new health plan on Monday and find our motivation waning by Thursday and give up on the week, indulging in pizza, ice cream, and beer saying we'll recommit on Monday again - seeing no gains (as in, losses) on the scale. 

Set yourself up for the win by combining a fresh start with setting achievable milestones and action plans along the way to your ultimate goal - Every Single Day.  

You'll win more often and feel the reward of triumph (rather than failure) more often too - increasing your chances for overall success.

Key #3 ~ Banish the Negative Gremlins in your Ear

Bad-mouth yourself and you'll continue to derail your efforts.  

Commit to Positive Self-Talk ONLY. 

Boost your motivation by switching to only positive messaging about yourself...to yourself.  

If it helps, pretend you're encouraging your best friend to overcome her challenges.

Practicing self-compassion will help you manage setbacks, which are inevitable, and stay on track.  

Do not give up on your ultimate goal.  Invest consistent, daily energy. Your persistence will pay off.

Key #4 ~ Keep Your Goals Realistic

Setting an unattainable goal, like losing 50lbs before your high-school reunion next month, doesn't set you up for the win.  

Unrealistic intentions only reinforce negative belief patterns.  When you set impossible goals and you miss the target, you'll be telling yourself:  

• I'll never make it.  
• I'm a failure. 
• It's too hard.  
• I can't.

What your mind hears you say to yourself, it believes as true.  See how that works against you? That negative thinking only damages your feelings of self-worth rather than boosting your motivation.  

Instead, practice positive self-talk daily (Key #3). Multiple times a day is better.  Out loud and in front of a mirror for extra effectiveness.  

Here's one of my favourites from Nelson Mandela:

I never lose.  Either I win, or I learn.

These last two strategies are something Marie Forleo teaches that I've practiced for years and have found to be invaluable. 

Marie also recommends Purging and Pruning, a super simple, freeing 2-Step process that'll help you move forward and toward your goals: 

Key #5 ~ The Brain Dump (Purge)

1. Take a pen
2. Take a blank sheet of paper
3. Write down ALL that you want to accomplish over the next 12 months  

Don't edit yourself at this point.  

Get it ALL out on paper. 

By writing it all down, you'll be freeing up space in your mind and allowing the creative, problem, and task-solving process to begin.  

Focus on 3 main areas while you're writing everything down:

I.  Yourself

• Health and fitness goals do you have?
• Self-Care plans?
• Mindset Adjustments needed?
• Finances?
• Philanthropy?
• Creative Projects?
• Home Living Space?

How do YOU want to grow this year?
Write it all down.


II.  Relationships

Who are the most important people in your life and what do you want for them?

• Family
• Friends
• Visits or Adventures
• Time and Focus
• Improvements

Write it all down.

III.  Business ~ Career

What projects or goals do you want to work on in your professional life this year?

• Expand your team?
• Launch a product?
• Write a Book?
• Develop a new product or service?
• Website launch or overhaul?
• Set up your processes so everything runs more efficiently?
• Learn a new skill set?
• Hire a new coach?
• Update your resume?
• Find a job you love?
• Create your freedom business?

How do you want to uplevel your career or grow your business?

Write it all down. No edits.  Just get it all on paper in front of you - which sets you up for the next step.

Key #6 ~ Prioritize. Focus. Strategize (Prune)

How does a gardener keep her plantings vibrant and healthy?  

The gardener prunes.  Sometimes aggressively.  By pruning away the excess, even healthy branches and leaves, the plant's energy becomes laser-focused on GROWTH.  

The same thing happens to us.   

Pruning is a difficult process, especially for Type A, driven people who tend to take on the world and want to tick off every box. 

When we focus on what we REALLY want to achieve, we actually achieve more.  

Look at your list.

What do you really want to accomplish?  

Use the 3 Filters to make a new, prioritized list for yourself:

1. What is the payoff for making this project happen?
2. How will this project benefit others - people you love, your team, society in general?  What's the payoff for them?
3. Who will you have to become for this goal to become a reality?

Keep in mind that any project requiring you to stretch and grow, to learn something new, to get up and off your couch of comfort - and INTO ACTION will be the most worthwhile and rewarding.

Focus on the critical few items in each section, rather than the trivial many.  Crossing it off your list doesn't mean you'll never get to it.  You can tackle all of your projects after the priority ones are completed. 

And there you have it.  A stepping stone way to achieve what it is you REALLY want for yourself.  

 This Purge and Prune process is something I do each quarter to help me stay on track with my goals.  I get especially excited about it between Christmas and the New Year.

Would you like some help to put these strategies into place in your life? 

If so, I'd be delighted to chat and invite you to connect with me for a FREE Rapid Results Strategy Session.

We can discuss what you'd like to focus on this year and put together an Action Plan to achieve your winningz results. 

Following our chat, you'll have:

• Crystal Clarity about what you want
• An Action Plan to achieve it
• Some tools to help you along the way

 

About the Author:

Andrea Raco, is a Certified Success and Life Enrichment Coach, Founder of Coach for Life, and the Curator of Gold Key Club ~ a private community for Ladypreneurs, Supermoms, and Sisters making a difference in the world.  

Contact her at andrea@coachforlife.ca.

Find out more about her services:  www.coachforlife.ca