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Taking Care of Essentials
While everyone wants to pay off their debts as soon as they can, the most important
thing to do before you figure out how to take care of your loans is taking care of
the essentials.
If you can’t take care of your basic needs, you’re not going to be able to take care of anything else in your life.
Debt is burdensome, and if it isn’t taken care of it can grow and become seemingly insurmountable. But oftentimes, people who are in debt become so consumed by it and focused on getting rid of it that they don’t tend to the very basic financial issues that are right in front of them. In Steven’s case, that meant living in his car, but for other people, this issue can manifest itself in different ways.
Before you pay off your debt, you’ll need to focus on those essentials and be sure you have a solid foundation to work from. The first and most important element is housing, finding a clean, affordable, and safe living situation that is conducive to you making forward financial progressy. It’s okay if you need several roommates or have to live a little further from your job than you might want, but it’s crucial you have a place that is yours to go home to. In order to get that place, you’ll need a job and maybe two. Don’t hesitate to look for work, even if it’s not the job you want, just to be sure you have some income coming in. Be sure to organize your financial records too, as those are usually important when applying for a place to live.
The second is perhaps the most obvious: food. You need to budget in grocery shopping and do enough that you can support yourself without eating Ramen noodles every night. It’s okay, and maybe even smart, to cut corners and to try to eat cheap, but it’s not okay to be going hungry or skirting meals to save cash for other things. Eating healthy can actually be cheaper than you think. Feeding yourself and living on a nutritious diet is crucial for your mental and physical well-being.
As we learned from Steven, you’ll also need to take care of another essential: friends and family. Living in debt is never easy, but it’s made a lot more difficult if you don’t have a strong support system. Once you get the financials of your life handled, and ensure that you have a roof over your head and food on the table, you should make a concerted effort to invest in your relationships. Often, student debt is tied to your family, maybe a parent or sibling helped you sign off on the loan. But even if it isn’t, having people close to you who you can talk to about your struggles and seek advice from can be helpful to climbing out of debt.
We all want to be debt-free, and it’s critical to attack your debt with urgency. But don’t forget to first handle the things that are right in front of you. Paying off your debt isn’t worth it if you’re homeless, hungry or friendless. Handle those essentials first, then build on that foundation to strive toward financial freedom.
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