What I’m about to share with you is a very simple (yet extremely effective) mind trick that you can use to help you pay off debt or save money.
Doing this will motivate you into putting extra effort into your financial goals and therefore help you get results faster.
Feel free to use this trick as many times per day or week as you need to… I personally did this a few times per week when I was on a mission to pay off debt!
At the beginning of our debt repayment journey, when we first found out how useful budgeting actually is, things were very tight for us financially every month.
We didn’t earn much money between us as our daughter was very young and I was earning a small part time income whilst looking after her. My husband was taking a small salary from his start up business too.
In addition, we were paying out at least £500 per month (nearly $800) in debt repayments from a loan and credit cards. It was pretty hard to afford enough food for us all, let alone find any extra money to pay off the debt.
Even so, we knew that paying off all that debt was criticial to the success of our future finances, so we had to find a way. We began trying to find more ways to earn money and cut back on costs where we could. After the novelty of scrimping and saving money wore off, it was difficult to maintain that level of focus. Until we started doing this nifty mind trick!
Are you ready for it?
For this little mind trick, you’ll need just two things. The first is a written budget, preferably in Excel where you can make use of its handy formulas which add and subtract numbers in just a few clicks. If not, a written budget is fine on paper as long as you have a calculator or enjoy doing maths! The second thing you’ll need is a little imagination.
We did (and still do) our budget in Excel so it would add up the numbers for us easily enough. After a while, we started changing some of the numbers in our spreadsheet to see the total numbers move around. We found that by changing our debt amount to zero and seeing the amount of money we had leftover increase, we felt a temporary rush of happiness and in turn motivation to carry on working really hard!
Below on the left is a screenshot of one of our old budgets from a couple of years ago (check out the measly emergency fund contribution)! On the right is the same budget once we’d played around with it.
We were well aware that you can’t just magic away £500 of debt repayments every month. Yet by setting our debt figure to zero just for a few moments, we could almost feel our stress and worry melt away as we imagined what we could do with that money once the debts were gone.
We still use this simple mind trick now for our new savings goals. We no longer have a debt figure to worry about in our budget but we put aside as much money as possible for our house deposit savings. We change the figures around a little, only the other way.
We change the income figure to a slightly higher one and allocate the imaginary money to our savings section on our spreadsheet. Sometimes, it’s enough to make us stretch a little further and try to make a bit more money during the month. This is especially the case when our imaginary savings section is set to reach another thousand milestone!
Your mind plays an important part in achieving your financial goals
The way you think about your money can lead to either positive or negative changes finanically. If you think you’ll always be in debt, you probably will. If you think you can’t save enough for a house deposit or retirement, this will likely be the case. This quote has always rung true with me.
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” Willie Nelson.
It is possible to train your mind to think positively instead of negatively. It all starts with believing in yourself and really wanting to achieve your financial goals in the first place! Once you’re in the right mindset, a little trick like this can do wonders for your motivation levels.
Do you use mind tricks like this to help improve your finances?
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16 Comments
That is a cool trick and easy to do. I have done it myself and got what I wanted such as debt-free life and more savings. My own trick is I always keep $2.00 bills so imagine how much I keep in a week. This is just a simple yet very effective trick.
Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted…Getting Your Car Washed and Cleaned By A Professional
I like your tip Jayson, I can imagine those $2 bills soon add up!
Interesting choice. I think I’ve seen maybe one $2 bill in the last five years. They’re very cool though. You can bet I’d hold onto them if I came across them more often
Mario recently posted…Three things I wish I knew in my 20s about life, turning 30, and personal finance
This is something I’ll have to try this month! I’ve been trying to write in my no spend days in my planner, which really makes me question whether I need to need whatever it is I’m buying.
Amanda S @ Passionately Simple Life recently posted…Why I’m Maxing Out My Roth IRA Every Month
Great tip Hayley! I don’t do this. Instead, I use a amortization schedule with all of my debts on it and as I pay on them each month I update the numbers to see my payoff dates get closer and closer. It really keeps me motivated!
Financial Conversation recently posted…It’s Time to Start a Financial Conversation!
Power of positive thinking….or positive rearranging, lol. Neat idea!
Dawn recently posted…Emotional Side of Debt, pt 1!~
I think that’s a great way to get motivated Hayley! Just knowing you all have all that extra amount each month! I think if one way of thinking doesn’t work…find another way. Do whatever it takes until you get to that point!
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…I’m Moving to Save Money
What a fun idea! I completely agree that thinking positively can have a huge impact on our behavior.
Amy @ DebtGal recently posted…2015 Meal Plan #20
Something as simple as that can make you feel as though your accomplishing something! I bet it lighten the load considerably.
Vickie @Vickie’s Kitchen and Garden recently posted…Book Review: Free to Heal by Susette Williams
I get it. It’s like a visualization exercise. That makes complete and total sense. You have to do what you must to reach your goals! Thanks for sharing.
Toni @ Debt Free Divas recently posted…An Inheritance for my Children’s Children
Love this post! Thinking positively really can help with your finances–and so many other areas of your life!
NIomi recently posted…3 Simple Ways to Organize Your Finances
What a great idea! I do this too to get motivation! Changing the numbers in the debt spreadsheet to look at the numbers left over – thinking ‘if i pay this much this month then it’ll only be xxx left’ and so on!
Great idea! Sometimes we need those little nudges
Natalya x
natalya @ cottage retreatist recently posted…I am debt free!
I love how you applied positivity here! It’s so easy to focus on all the negatives of debt, way to turn it around to look at how positive that debt repayment number will be when you’re paying it to yourself!
Mel recently posted…Budget Friendly Vacations: Do It All Inclusive Style
Thanks Mel!
I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use and am currently using the snowball method to pay off our debt. It helps to see it all in black & white (or unfortunately red in some cases) so that you know what you are working with. I honestly didn’t realize how much debt we had until I listed it all. It was shocking!
Another thing I did over the summer when my daughter wasn’t in school, was to still “pay” her school lunch and after-school daycare fees and put them toward our credit card debt. I was able to pay two smaller credit card balances off and once I did that, it became an obsession to pay the others off.
I look at my spreadsheet daily & even have a tab for our weekly menu & grocery list. It has helped a LOT!
Thank you for the awesome resources this site provides!!
Hi Michele, thank you for stopping by and commenting! That’s a great idea to carry on using the money that you would have usually allocated towards your daughter’s school related costs for debt repayment. Sometimes, all you need is to just get started and once you see progress, you can feel great about it and use those feelings to spur you on! Best of luck with your debt repayment journey – you can do it!