What Does It Feel Like To Be Debt Free?

My debt problems started at university, when my bank offered me a credit card with a £10,000 limit.

Unsurprisingly, as a fun-loving teenager enjoying my first taste of freedom it didn’t take long until debt became a way of life.

I added student loans, an overdraft and an auto loan and before I knew it I could barely keep up with my minimum monthly payments.

I carried this debt around with me for almost a decade, constantly promising myself I would do something about it – but never doing so.

These days though life is very different.

These days the debt is gone.

These days I get to live a life I only dreamed of just a few short years ago.

My Debt Repayment Admission

I’ve written in the past about why it took me so long to become debt free, but one of the biggest factors was belief that it was achievable.

When your finances are straining under the weight of five figures of debt it can be difficult to imagine yourself debt free. It’s a goal that seems so distant it barely seems worth focusing on.

Worse, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been carrying your debt for years. If anything your debt has gone up rather than down recently.

The fact is that when you’ve been carrying around so much debt for so long you can start to forget what it feels like to be debt free. Rather like a long-term prisoner becoming institutionalized and fearing ever leaving the confines of their cell, so many of us can struggle to imagine a debt-free life.

How It Feels To Be Debt Free

The goal of this article is therefore simple; I want to discuss what a debt-free life feels like (to me). I want to explain what it feels like as you slowly watch those balances shrinking.

The excitement of realizing that – amazingly – this is actually all looking possible. That you can become debt free.

Most importantly – that you can transform your life, no matter how hopeless things may look right now.

Walking Tall

If I was trying to describe how I felt when I was in debt – and especially at the worst points as a debtor – I would say that I felt “small”, powerless and out of control. I went to work each day and brought home money but most of it wasn’t mine; instead I was earning money for the bank.

For me, this situation started to drain all the color out of life. I became a “lab rat” performing the same tasks day in, day out. I never benefitted from my work as any disposable income I had ended up going to my creditors.

It felt like being a prisoner – doing a job I disliked and not getting paid for it. Life sucked.

Any time I considered spending a little something on myself I remembered the string of red letters and phone calls that would ensue when I failed to make my next debt repayment.

I felt constantly battered. Even standard household bills arriving in the post were a cause for concern and could lead to restless nights as I considered how I was going to pay them.

Then I paid off my debt and life started to look very different.

Possibly the biggest factor was that I felt like I was back in control of my finances and – as a result – my life. I could spend money on what I wanted. I had nobody chasing me for money. I was in control of my destiny.

The best way to describe the feeling was like opening up a pressure cooker. When I sent off that last debt repayment it was like all the pressure and stress in my life dissipated in a matter of moments.

I felt taller, more confident, more in control.

It’s a great feeling. And if you’re currently feeling like you’ve lost control of your finances rest assured; good things are coming your way if only you can get out of debt.

A Feeling of Control

A few years ago I used to dread birthdays. Not mine; other peoples. I dreaded having to figure out how on earth I was going to afford a gift for them.

A few years ago I used to dread brown envelopes dropping through my door. How much did I owe the electric or water company this time?

At the time, it felt like people were constantly “getting at me”. Like there was no escape, no relaxation. The thoughts of my debt were with me constantly, worrying me throughout the day and robbing me of sleep at night.

These days though life feels very different. I have disposable income each month to help me more than cover all my bills. I have an effective budget that helps me to avoid surprise expenses and plan for them. I have an emergency fund to help me cope with any bigger purchases that may crop up. I have savings.

In other words, rather than living paycheck-to-paycheck I have a financial “buffer”. I’m insulated from financial woes.

This creates an overwhelming feeling of control in life. Just consider the car crash I had a few months ago. It wasn’t serious, but my tired old car was a write-off.

For many people that would have been a crisis. For many people that would have involved taking out a loan – if you’re not already so weighed down with debt that you can’t get approved for any more.

For me, all I did was to pop down to my local garage and buy a replacement with cash. Problem solved.

No stress. No worry. Just a plan that had been put in place; a plan that enabled me to remain in control of my finances even in potentially stressful situations like that.

Planning For The Future

Take a moment to consider the life you’d *like* to lead. We’re not talking the unrealistic “helicopters and mansions” dream lifestyle of movie stars and lottery winners. Instead we’re talking of a potential reality. Where would you go on vacation? How many times a year would you go? Would you change jobs? Would you work less, or even start your own business?

Most of us, with a little effort, can imagine a hundred simple ways in which we could significantly improve our lives if only we had a little “spare money”.

When you’re in debt, however, this dream lifestyle can seem a million miles away. It is almost like seeing a parallel universe, one that could have existed if it weren’t for all this debt.

If only you’d made different financial choices you could be on that pathway, rather than the one you’re struggling with right now.

The thing is that once you’re debt free you really can start taking strides towards a life like this. You can start making realistic plans for the future.

All that money you used to spend on debt repayments? Suddenly you can start spending that on far more exciting things, like improving your lifestyle, building up a savings account and creating the life of your dreams.

Even if it takes years of saving hard, at least you know that you’re taking action and heading in the right direction. Now it’s just a matter of time…

Conclusion

Getting out of debt isn’t just about money, though this is certainly a factor. It’s more about what money means, and how it makes you feel.

Paying off your debt allows you to wrestle back control of your life from other people and finally to feel at peace.

Paying off debt is possibly the most freeing and invigorating experience any of us will have.

If you’re struggling with debt right now I would strongly encourage you to consider every available option for ridding yourself of debt as soon as possible, so you can begin a whole new chapter in your life. A chapter, I think you’ll find, that is the best so far…