Date Night Club (October 2021): Crafting a Debt Repayment Plan That Works for You Both

 

Have some debt that's weighing you down? This month I want to help you create a plan to repay that debt at a pace that's right for you both.

Take a Bite:

  • What's one thing you'd be willing to give up (if anything) to be free of the debt that's weighing you down?

DATE NIGHT MATERIALS LIST:

  • Copy of the last month's financial transactions

  • Pen

  • Copy of your budget

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15 MINUTE SNACK: What’s your DEBT REPAYMENT PACE?

Spend a little time on google and you'll find article upon article and calculator upon calculator designed to help you craft a solid repayment plan for your debt, but one thing you'll find rarely talked about is deciding at what pace you'll repay your debt. That's because most of these articles and calculators assume that your debt repayment is your first and only financial priority, when in many cases it's not. Today I want to help you find a debt repayment pace that feels right to you both.

  1. Prioritize Your Financial Goals: Separately list out your current financial goals - paying special attention to where your debt repayment falls on that priority list. Compare your individual lists and create one master list together.

  2. Identify Negotiables & Non-Negotiables: What are you willing to let go of to make this goal a reality and what's just too important to let go of?

    • If repaying debt is a top priority for you (i.e. priority one or two): Focus on your non-negotiables - what are the things you aren't willing to reduce, eliminate, and/or change to meet this goal?

    • If debt repayment isn't a top priority: Focus on your negotiables - what are the things in your life you'd be willing to reduce, eliminate, and/or change to make a little more space in your budget to put towards debt repayment?

  3. Choose Your Debt Repayment Mascot: Given the order of priority and your negotiables/non-negotiables, what spirit animal would you choose to describe the pace of your debt repayment process? For instance, if debt repayment is your top priority and you're looking to repay it lightening fast you might choose a cheetah. If debt repayment is a semi-high priority and you've got a long repayment road ahead of you, you might choose an antelope. If you're going to take debt repayment at your own pace, paying extra on it as you can in small bursts you might choose a rabbit. To make it extra fun, find a picture of your spirit animal and keep it in front of you as you create your debt repayment plan.

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If you like, you can take this month's topic deeper ...

MAKE IT A MEAL: APPLY WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

Ready to set up a repayment plan that fits with your pace? Check out this article on how to repay any debt - and be sure to check out part 2.

MONTHLY BUDGET CHECK-IN

Take a moment to look back at last month's budget together.

  • Did you stay on track?

  • If you got off track, what 1-2 steps can you each take to get back on track again?

  • Did any surprises come up - positive or negative?

  • Take a look over the expenses, did the way you used your money align with your values?

  • What changes will you make for next month?

  • How are we doing with the things we decided to continue doing, start doing, and stop doing?