Ugh! Why am I still in credit card debt?
You’ve been carrying this credit card debt all year. In fact, your debt hasn’t moved since last year. If anything, it’s increased! You’ve been throwing money at it but you just can’t seem to get that number to budge.
Let’s get real. First, I want to let you know that you are not alone. Second, I need you to have a tough conversation with yourself. Yes, exactly the kind of conversation where excuses are not allowed.
So, let’s get started by identifying your spending trends.
Login to your account and look at your last three purchases you made on your credit card.
Now, ask yourself these four questions about each purchase.
Do I have the money in my bank account to pay for this purchase?
Did I make this purchase because I did not want to “miss out”?
Did I make this purchase because I felt like “I deserved it”?
Could I have prepared or planned for this purchase?
If you said, yes, I have the money in my account, I want you to pay that purchase off right now.
One of the number one reasons my clients do not see their credit card balance decrease, even though they’re throwing money at it, is because they’re also adding to the overall balance by continuing to make purchases and not paying them off. Paying off the purchase you made will make sure that you’re not adding to your overall credit card balance.
If you did not have the money in your account, I’m assuming that you fall into one of the other areas.
So let’s start looking at your motivation to swipe. For a lot of us, we struggle with emotional spending or the inability to say “no” because we fear missing out or don’t want to think about what others may think of us if we tell them “no.” Simply put, we’re willing to deny our future selves to get a temporary emotional fix or please others.
What’s the solution? I want you to create boundaries. Yes, boundaries. If you desire to change your relationship with money and reach your financial goals you need to create boundaries.
You know yourself better than anyone else. You know the luxuries you like to spend money on, however, it may not be realistic to always say yes. So, how will you determine when something is a yes? Allow yourself a Top Three list for the month, whether that is a concert one week and brunch the next. The point is to establish a boundary for how you will allow yourself to enjoy luxuries you enjoy but also achieve the results you desire.
On the other side of not wanting to miss out is our emotional spending. You know the therapeutic shopping after a long stressful day! The best way you can address emotional spending is to reflect on what triggers these emotional spends while you’re in a good mood. So, if you realize that one of your last three purchases was an emotional “I deserve” spend I want you to write down a list of three things you could do the next time you feel like spending money is the cure for our mood. You might decide to read a book, take a walk, or listen to music as a de-stressor instead of swiping your card.
Lastly, if you found you were swiping your card for things you could have prepared for like new tires, a mini shopping spree, the plane ticket home, a haircut, or your copay to the doctor’s office let’s make a commitment to prepare moving forward. Go back to your spending plan (budget) and create a new line item. Decide how much you will start to set aside each month so you’re not caught off guard the next time you need to pay for that expense.
When I’m working with clients we work through this same framework so we’re able to get to the emotional side of money, the tension we feel when we say we want to be more responsible but are fearful of what that means in our day to day spending, and the shift required to be financially prepared.
You may be thinking Keina this sounds great and I can see how this would help me get my spending under control but this is so overwhelming and I do not know where to start. Well, I would love to help you figure out where to start. If this resonates with you, schedule a complimentary call and apply to work with me in my one month intensive.
You may be thinking Keina this sounds great and I can see how this would help me get my spending under control but this is so overwhelming and I do not know where to start. Well, I would love to help you figure out where to start. If this resonates with you, schedule a complimentary call and apply to work with me in my one month intensive.
All the best,
Keina
P.S. One of the big focuses for my coaching intensive is finding ways to help my clients pay off their credit card debt. Let’s schedule a call and apply to work with me so I can help you figure out where to start. I have three spots left for my one month intensive in January and one of them has your name on it.
