Paying off debt is hard work.
It is boring. It is repetitive. It feels like you are walking up a muddy hill with a heavy backpack, and every time you look up, the top of the hill is still miles away.
If you don’t have a light at the end of that tunnel, you will burn out. You need something to look forward to.
Psychologists call this “visualizing the reward.” When you are saying “no” to ordering pizza tonight, your brain needs to know why. It needs to know that this small sacrifice is buying a bigger happiness later.
I have a picture of a beach on my wall.
It isn’t just any beach. It has white sand, clear blue water, and absolutely no cell phone service. When I want to spend money foolishly—when I want to buy a gadget I don’t need or order takeout because I’m lazy—I look at that beach.
That is my “Someday.”
It reminds me that I am not just “saving money.” I am buying my ticket to that beach. Every dollar I keep is one mile closer to the ocean.
Now, I want to know your “Someday.”
We are going to play a game. Close your eyes. Imagine you have zero credit card bills. No car payments. No student loans. You are completely free.
Then, imagine someone hands you an envelope with $5,000 cash inside. You have to spend it on a trip.
Tell me in the comments:
Where are you going? (Paris? Tokyo? A cabin in the woods?)
Who are you taking with you?
What is the first thing you eat or drink when you get there?
Let’s dream a little bit. It makes the hard work worth it.
