Have you ever wondered why some people are more determined to get out of debt than others? After interviewing over 200 debt-free people on our podcast, The His and Her Money Show, we pulled some very common habits that a lot of the stories had in common.
10 Habits of Debt-Free People
1. Stick to a Budget
Creating and sticking to a budget is usually the #1 reason when asked why people get out of debt very quickly. Here are a few resources that will help you create and stick to a budget effectively.
We know learning how to budget is not as easy as it seems. This is why we created an awesome resource for you called Teach Me How To Budget. In this course, you will learn every single thing that you need to know in order to successfully create and stick to a budget, which will in turn launch you on a personal journey towards financial freedom. You will learn how to maximize your budget for any financial goal.
2. Goal-Oriented
The discipline of setting goals plays an important role for those who desire debt freedom. They love setting the bar high and trying their very best to hit it every time. Having clearly defined goals helps them to focus their efforts and remain focused during their journey.
If you need some help in trying to start or even master the art of goal setting, you should definitely check out this interview we did with financial expert Michael F. Kay. In it, he details how to set solid financial goals that will help you achieve financial freedom.
3. Create Lists
To-do lists help keep tasks in near site and the feeling of accomplishment you get when checking off each task is very liberating. Organized people are always prone to be more productive in life.
Not only is this a habit of debt-free people, but when we spoke with Tom Corley about the habits of the rich versus the habits of the poor, his research showed that list creation is also a consistent habit of millionaires.
Spiritually Grounded
Achieving debt freedom requires a great deal of hard work. Anytime you are dealing with money you are dealing with emotions. This is because money is always going to be an emotional topic whether good or bad.
Whenever you are trying to change your money habits, you are going to have to deal with all of the emotions involved in making such changes. The people we interviewed consistently talked about how their faith kept them grounded through the duration of their debt-free journeys.
Live Below Their Means
Living below your means is not maximizing your spending potential. Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you need it. Debt free people never overextend themselves even though they could afford to do so. This allows them to take their extra cash and throw it at debt or build wealth.
It’s not always easy to figure out how to lower your expenses, but in this interview, we did with Kayln Brooke she outlined some fantastic ways that you can radically reduce your expenses. Check it out for yourself and start implementing these changes in your own journey.
Generous
Debt-free people always strive to be as a generous as possible. Their generosity is not always in the financial sense. In addition to being generous with their money, they also tend to volunteer with different organizations that give back to the community, and even give of their time to those in their immediate social circles when needed. We created a video, Should You Give While Getting Out of Debt to help those who are on their journey towards debt freedom and have a desire to give as well.
Knowledge Seekers
Staying current in the area of knowledge is a must. Reading books, taking courses, or simply learning from others that are where you would like to be is one of the reasons why debt freedom is most times achievable.
Keep in mind though, that knowledge alone is not power. You have to take the knowledge that you acquire and then apply it to your life in order for it to become powerful for you.
Legacy Minded
We have found that people who have successfully achieved debt freedom, have done so with their legacy in mind. They went on this journey not to just put themselves in a better position. Their mentality was oftentimes that of positioning their family for financial success for generations to come.
Due to the fact that they were thinking about their children and beyond, it allowed them to hang in there when the journey got tough and gave them the motivation they needed to keep moving forward with their goals. We interviewed Dave Ramsey’s personality, Chris Brown and he shared with us the importance of the legacy journey. You can listen to it here.
Diligent
Never giving up and always staying focused on the goal at hand is imperative to debt free people. Tunnel vision leads the way to productivity at it’s best.The journey to debt-freedom always comes with twists and turns and those that cross the finish line had the diligence to not let any obstacles derail them from becoming debt free.
Resourceful
Debt-free people are super resourceful individuals. They found ways to get real creative in ways they could cut back on their expenses or increase their income while they were working their way out of debt.
Whether they cut the cable cord or started working various side hustles, they were determined to do whatever it took to become debt free.
What About You?
Where do you see yourself in relation to the habits of debt-free people? If you can find yourself in many of these habits, then you may be well on your way to achieving debt freedom.
However, if after looking at this list, you realize that there are some areas that you could come up in, then make that your priority moving forward.
Just know this, debt freedom is an achievable goal and you have what it takes to make that full-fledged reality. To stay inspired on your journey to debt freedom check out our entire plethora of debt-free stories.
