How to Stay Motivated When Paying Off Debt

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more information.

Every big life change starts with hope, inspiration, and a little desperation. It ends with the formation of new and improved habits. The bridge from hope to habit is motivation.

How to stay motivated when paying off debt is as important a topic to cover as how to save and make money.

Motivation is defined as the reason a person has for acting in a particular way. It’s a common misconception that motivation is what causes us to start behaving in a certain way but in reality, motivation is what keeps us going. 

My motivation to get out of bed in the morning is the cup of coffee waiting for me in the kitchen. Coffee isn’t why I started getting out of bed every morning, but it’s what keeps me doing it, among other things.

Once you get the ball rolling on your Simple Spending System, you’ve got your emergency fund secured, and you’re making some headway on paying off debt, the hope and inspiration that got you started won’t keep you going. That’s why you need to develop healthy motivation tactics.

Sometimes it’s going to be really easy to find motivation, other times you’re burnt out and not even that cup of coffee is enough to get you out of bed. So while filling up your motivation tank is important you also have to learn how to persevere when you don’t have any.

The Right Kind of Motivation

Habits expert James Clear says “every choice has a price, but when we are motivated, it is easier to bear the inconvenience of action than the pain of remaining the same.”

Your debt will get — or has already gotten — to the point where the idea of working multiple side hustles and eating at home is more bearable than going another day ignoring your debt.

First, you have to know what healthy motivations look like.

Visualization is not motivation. Envisioning yourself on a beach vacation paid for in cash is nice but it won’t motivate you. It’ll just make you feel annoyed with not being able to take said vacation.

Fear is not motivation. Believing that if you don’t pay off your debt you’ll be broke and sad is not motivation. Fear comes from a scarcity mindset and giving up that mindset is like letting go of the guilt and shame around money. It’s hard but it’s necessary to live the “free” part of your debt-free life.

And finally, knowledge is not motivation. You can’t get to debt-free by knowing everything there is to know about personal finance. If you could you’d probably already be debt-free.

Unfortunately, too many smart people bail on paying off their debt not because they can’t figure out how to do it but because they mistake intelligence for financial security.

Now that you know what motivation shouldn’t look like, here are the types of motivations you should be looking for:

1. Extrinsic 

Extrinsic motivation is behavior that’s driven by external rewards such as money, fame, or praise. More money is an extrinsic motivator for working a side hustle or extra hours at work. Avoiding deviation from your grocery list is extrinsic motivation for the external reward of getting a high five from your husband or wife when you get home. 

Find a reward system that doesn’t originate from you, that’s how to stay motivated when paying off debt. Whether it’s a meal at your favorite restaurant, a massage, or getting to put extra money in your travel fund. Find healthy external rewards for accomplishments small and large to keep you motivated.

Habitual eating out was hard for me to get control of so for my small reward if I avoided eating at quick-service restaurants all month I got to eat at my favorite sit-down restaurant. For our big reward, I dreamed of going on a cruise. The closer we got to debt freedom the more I thought about that cruise and it motivated me to be disciplined.

2. Intrinsic

Intrinsic motivation is your internal drive for success or sense of purpose. It’s doing something because it’s personally rewarding or you simply enjoy it. It’s the satisfaction of knowing you saved $30 by staying home or the delight of seeing your credit card balance go down after an extra payment.

Take a moment to think about what your intrinsic motivators are. Do you like to save by buying in bulk or shopping at a discount grocery? Do you like to drive people around or walk dogs as a side hustle?

Paying off debt shouldn’t feel like soul-sucking, there are so many ways to do it. You have to choose the methods that reward your soul. If couponing brings you joy and you don’t like Aldi, then keep clipping. Don’t feel guilty for sacrificing a higher paying side hustle if it requires you to never see your kids. 

Choose methods for budgeting, spending, and making money that you enjoy. Creating a plan that allows me to cover the important stuff first and have the freedom to spend the rest as I want, brings me joy.

How to Get & Stay Motivated

Motivation doesn’t magically come when you need it. You have to be proactive about setting up external rewards and cultivating internal ones. Here’s how:  

Schedule it. You can make the reservation for that reward dinner in advance or write down on the calendar the exact time you’re making your extra debt payment. 

Make it a game. Challenge yourself to stop spending for a week or to make $1000 in your side hustle this month. Gamifying difficult changes can take the sting off and increase motivation. 

Read a book or take a course. Learning new things perpetuates curiosity and will motivate you to stick hold fat to whatever you’re learning about. And bonus, personal finance books are cheap, heck, they’re free if you have a library card!

Help others. Starting my blog to help others motivated me to keep going more than anything. If writing isn’t your thing record podcasts or video on YouTube. Helping others learn the lessons you’ve learned is a powerful motivator.

Take care of yourself. Exercise consistently, eliminate stress, eat your greens, and get as much sleep as you can. Keeping your body and mind at peak performance will help you think clearer and make better decisions.  

How to Stay Motivated When Paying Off Debt When You Just Can’t

Sometimes the perfect storm arises and you’d rather not get out of bed, much less meal plan or cook the actual meals. 

On those days you need to be able to push through without motivation.

Tackle the worst first. This concept comes from Brian Tracy’s book, Eat That Frog. By tackling your least favorite task first you can end procrastination and get more done even when you don’t feel like it.

Start small. Maybe you’re in Target and you have several items in your cart that you did not go in there for. Instead of putting them all back, put one thing back. When you’re in a rut, you don’t have to be perfect but make a small effort to stay on track.

Fake it til you make it. Everyone who’s ever done anything big has had to pretend they’re doing well when they’re not. There will be times you’ll have to drag yourself out of the house to deliver pizzas or begrudgingly eat the food in your fridge. But rest assured if you can push through these moments and keep following through, you will find your motivation again.

How to stay motivated when paying off debt is integral in sustaining your debt-free journey but don’t expect to be perfect. Your struggles and motivations will evolve as you progress so always be willing to change things up as you grow.