Sometimes I feel like my life is going nowhere financially.  It’s hard to think about being in Debt Prison and not end up with a sad feeling in the pit of your stomach.  Usually I just don’t think about it.  Rather than be depressed I just focus on my work, focus on my budget, and just keep barreling forward.  The days turn into months and the months into years.  It will be over soon enough….I keep telling myself.  The best way to keep debt from beating you down is to turn it into a positive life experience.  I know that I have to suffer for the stupid mistakes I’ve made.  That’s called consequences.  By accepting the penalties that a lifestyle of reckless spending has produced, I know that I’ll be a much better person if I pay my dues. 

Try and embrace this struggle as an accomplishment

Now I realize that a pile of bills may not look like an accomplishment.  But keep this in mind.  If you continue to struggle and pay off your debts in full, you will never be the same.  Your life will have changed and you will be a better person at the end of this ordeal.  You must understand that once this burden is behind you, that other part of you that was so irresponsible with money - will be dead and buried.  That is truly a wonderful thing.  Is it not?  We must bear in mind that this struggle will end one day, and when it does our lives are going to be magnificent. 

It’s sort of like going to college.  I got up early each day and drove to campus.  I attended each class, sat in the front row, and took lots of notes.  After class I would go to work and attempt to put in around thirty hours each week.  Nights I would often study.  The months turned into years.  Then one day I came home from work, took a look on the porch, and there sat a large envelope from USPS.  I opened the envelope to find my Bachelor of Science degree.  This was an emotional experience for me because my senior year was a real struggle.  I needed at least a C in General Physiology and didn’t know if I’d achieved it.  After all, they let you walk before the grades come out.  When I saw that degree, a knot came up in my throat and a tear to my eye.  I raised my fists and shook them at the sky.  I plan on doing the same thing when all my debt is gone.  The difference between a debt education and a college education, is that you pay for the debt education up front.  The education comes later.  But both of these change us, for each of these has its own rewards.  Let us focus on the rewards…

How I make it day to day

The truth is that I don’t go shopping anymore for clothing.  If I have to buy some jeans for work I stop off at the salvage store and dig around.  I rarely go out to eat and refuse to spend money on just about everything.  This can be quite a depressing environment to live in daily.  I avoid this depression by keeping my mind busy.  I simply just keep my mind off of my debt.  Just like right now.  I’m writing a blog post (which is extremely therapeutic) to help me release my thoughts, energy, and emotion.  I work forty to fifty hours a week on a job where I set the pace.  And since my pace is a ‘busy’ one, my mind stays occupied all day long.  Writing has become my most intimate hobby.  In front of this laptop is now my preferred sanctuary - aside from work of course. 

 It also helps that all my debt is up to date.  So there are no random computers and collectors calling my phone all throughout the day.  That makes a big difference.  The only time that I become aware of my debt is on Sundays when I open Microsoft Money and input my receipts to reconcile.  This new lifestyle of no spending has now become part of my nature.  Just as a college education morphs you into a broader thinker, a frugal mindset is naturally the product of avoiding the negative repercussions of senseless spending. 

I’ve learned to focus on what I do have.  I have so much to be thankful for.  Don’t we all?  Two days ago I was working in a very rural area about ten miles east of Quitman, MS.  I had parked my company truck in a small church parking lot and unloaded my four-wheeler to do some inspection for the local utility.  Coming from down the street I heard the sound of a small electric motor.  It was an elderly black man who was nearly immobile, the sound was coming from his electric powered wheel chair.  He had heard my truck stop at the church so he came up to check things out.  “I’m just being nosey” he said.  He was wearing a glove with a fork velcroed to it so that he could eat.  This man couldn’t walk or stand and could barely move his arms.  We had a nice visit for about twenty minutes, just talking about the weather, work, and women.  Later, as I passed him on the street, I wondered how quickly he would be willing to trade places with me - even with all this horrible debt.  It’s times like these when I know to pick myself up.  “Hold your head up” I tell myself, “You have a great life.”  And that’s what all of us enslaved to debt must do, keep our heads up. 

Fight depression with action

Earlier I spoke of keeping my mind busy by working all day and writing in the evenings.  When I used to manage large numbers of people there would be times when I would become very agitated and stressed because of the conduct of my employees or customers.  What I learned was that in order to combat my own stress and depression, I needed to tackle problems head on by taking action.  If there was an employee that was causing problems, I learned to immediately call that person aside and take corrective action.  As soon as the conversation was over I felt like a new person.  It was as though a weight had been lifted.  

It’s the same way with our debts.  Instead of focusing your energy on your debts, focus your energy on what you can do right now to erase this problem from your life.  Taking action gives you a purpose.  Rather than focusing on a problem, you are now focusing on the solution.  It’s like giving yourself a mission to accomplish.  It’s been said that an idle mind is the devils workshop.  We don’t want our minds to be idle - not while there are debts to be paid.  For example, you may decide that you need to earn more money by getting a new job.  So instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you sit down at the computer and scroll through job listings on monster.com listed in your city.  That seems like more fun doesn’t it?  When I first decided to take ‘Long Debt Road’ I had just quit my job.  Paying back my debts in full wasn’t the only decision I made that weekend.  I was unhappy.  The job I had was driving me crazy and I think that somehow drove me to spend money - even money that I had to borrow.  I decided that part of my debt recovery would involve getting a new job immediately. 

The first part of my adult life I spent in fear.  What if I go to a party and get embarrassed in front of people I don’t know?  What if I lose my job, what would happen?  I decided to stop living in fear.  Tomorrow if my boss called and said “Hey Barry, we just don’t need you anymore!”  It wouldn’t faze me because I’ve learned to welcome these challenges.  Often challenges such as these, force you to look inside yourself and take chances.  By doing so you learn to have trust in yourself and your talents.  But most importantly you learn that fear never makes our lives better.  Let us take action and welcome the new day.

If possible avoid taking medication

More than ever Americans are turning to drugs to ‘cope’ with the stresses of life and debt management.  Medicating your way into tranquility may feel nice, but there are always more consequences.  Talking about this reminds me of something Bill Maher said on his HBO show.  He was talking about people taking drugs for stress and said (paraphrasing) “Have you ever seen a squirrel trying to eat.  He’s eating and jumping around, looking quickly everywhere, expecting any second for something to come along and bite him in the ass!  But that’s life folks, it’s stressful!”  This is true.  There’s just a certain amount of stress that goes along with being alive and existing on planet earth.  The reason I believe turning to medicine is a last resort is because of side effects.  For every drug that induces a reaction - there will be an equal and opposite reaction.  This opposite reaction will be displayed differently in different people, but it will be there nonetheless.  Personally, the side effects often create a circumstance worse than my previous condition.  For that reason I’ve tried very hard at tailoring my lifestyle in such a way that stress and depression are minimized. 

I hope these ideas will help some of you out there that are struggling with your debts.  I know it’s hard.  But anyone in life that produces great things does so after a lot of hard work and struggle.  Albert Einstein said that his scientific genius was “98% perspiration and 2% inspiration.”  We should expect nothing less.  Great accomplishments require remarkable drive from our talents and energy.  But let us learn from our mistakes.  Let’s focus on the actions necessary to pound our debts into the dirt.  Then we can walk the earth again as free men and women shaking our fists at the sky and saying “Go forth and be debt free!” 

Discuss this article, share ideas, and meet new people at Debt Prison Forums.

If you have found this information to be useful, please leave a donation for Barry.

Related Articles

* How to Cheaply Buy a Used Car

* Staying on Budget is All About Focus

* Unearthed - Why Funerals Are so Expensive

* The Good, The Bad, and The Reverse Mortgage

* Completely Insane Motorcycle Financing