Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?

Feeling overwhelmed is a common feeling when you are trying to manage your money and piece your life back together after filing bankruptcy.

Do you feel overwhelmed when you think of all of the things that you need to do? Here is a little trick that really helps. You can use this when there are some really big jobs to do and others that are small but important to get done. This is a great technique that I have learned and it really helps to keep from feeling overwhelmed in my life or at least keep the overwhelm to a manageable minimum!

Breaking It Down Into Bits

It’s called breaking it down into bits, or just think of doing bits. It means just what it says. You take bits of projects or tasks and pare them down into a few groups. It is grouping together information into bite-sized bits so you can effectively produce the results you want without feeling overwhelmed.

The first thing you want to do is think about what your outcome/result is. What is the result you are looking for? The next thing is purpose. What is the purpose of the outcome/result? Then what is the plan? What actions are you going to need to take to produce the result?

Let’s say you want to be debt free. The outcome/result is being debt free. The purpose is to experience financial freedom, but what does that mean to you? Will you be more energized, have a better sexual relationship with your partner, be a more involved parent, be a better friend? And beyond that, how will you feel if you are a more involved parent, have a better sexual relationship with your partner or be a better friend. Think about those feelings. Feel those feelings. This is what will drive you. Who cares if you’re debt free just to be debt free? It’s not about that. It’s about who you will be and how you will feel if you are debt free and what that will do to the quality of your life.

For me, being debt free meant being able to spend time with my children. I felt love and connection and pride in being there for them. It meant I could buy them (and me!) the things that would make life a little, no a lot easier. When we started to earn lots of money, it meant being able to rent a house on the beach in Hawaii and bring along a nanny. But again, it’s not the house on the beach that is the driving factor – it’s the time spent with family doing fun things and creating life long memories. What drives you? Who will you be when you are debt free.

What does your to-do list look like for becoming debt free?

19. Cancel ATM account

There are 19 items on this to-do list. Let’s break it down into bits and make it manageable. You can break it down in any way that you want, but make no more than five categories. The categories might look like: Credit Cards, Home Mortgage, Checking and Savings Accounts, Budget and Car. Looking at the list put the items into each category.

CREDIT CARDS

Find lower interest rate on credit card and switch. (You can eliminate the repay visa and call visa to make payment plan if you go this route.)

Stop using credit cards. (Hide them away if you have to – a friend put hers in a baggy of water and froze them – whatever it takes to not use them.)

Figure out savings from refinance of home and apply to credit card debt.>

HOME MORTGAGE

Find lower interest rate on house loan and refinance. Get together paperwork to refinance house

CHECKING AND SAVING ACCOUNTS

Cancel ATM account.

Balance checking account.

Have employer make automatic deposits into checking and savings accounts.

BUDGET

Scrutinize spending and determine what can be cut out.

Determine weekly allowance.

Plan and stick to budget.

Clean out house of clutter and sell items that aren’t needed. (Use this newfound money to celebrate and get yourself a treat. Any extra can pay down credit card debt).

CAR

Sell your car. (If you have a high monthly payment.)

Find a new/used/much cheaper car. (Can you pay cash for it?)

Get financing if necessary.

This is breaking into bits. Instead of looking at 19 to-dos and feeling overwhelmed we have 5 areas with a few action items in each. You can tackle one area each day or each week - whatever works for you. As you look at this, reaffirm what the result and purpose is.

You may say something like: My result is to make massive progress on becoming debt free. The purpose of being debt free is to have a new sense of empowerment and more energy to take control of my life and my relationships. To feel relaxed and free. To have fun!

Knowing the purpose of doing these actions is what will keep you going and have fun doing what you need to do.

You can do this with any project from losing weight to starting up a new business. Remember the important point is to know the result, clarify the purpose of why you want the result, feel the feelings and then figure out what actions you need to take to get the result.

How do you want to live your life? What is you dream? Ask.


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