Debt Review Success Tips
Debt Review (also known as Debt Counselling) can help you repay what you owe in a far more manageable fashion than what your creditors may demand each month normally. Reasonable payments each month (often discounted to amazingly good interest rates) can help you pay off your debt over time. What can help you make the most of the debt review process? In this short series of articles, we are looking at some of the top tips for success while under debt review.
Tip #10
Fight FOMO
If you are always on Insta looking at the people’s holidays and fancy lifestyle (or at least the one they want to show you) then you will soon start to crave what they have even if you cannot really afford it. If you drool over fancy holiday destinations on TV (looking at you Bora Bloody Bora) with happy people shown having a great time, while you can barely keep the lights on, then you will soon start to feel FOMO.
What is FOMO?
FOMO is the fear of missing out. This can relate to a specific event (like your friends not inviting you to a dinner with them) or to bigger things like a lifestyle that others are having. You may hear about others buying bitcoin or houses or stock and bonds and planning for a happy and rich future.
‘This drives many people to buy things they cannot really afford’
This drives many people to buy things they cannot really afford or live beyond their means, racking up more and more debt to do so. For those in debt review, it may appear that those around you are making progress in life and getting things that you want (a new car or phone or watch…you get the idea).
How Can You Avoid FOMO?
If the things you see on social media or TV are making you feel bad about yourself and what you have then..unfollow those accounts or change the channel. Rather, watch cat videos or people falling over things. What you don’t see cannot make you feel envious. So stop feeding your brain with those things. They can wait.
If you are hanging around with people who are only focused on a materialistic lifestyle, and all the latest things that you currently cannot afford, then it may be time to scale back the time you spend with them.
Focus on the progress you are making to pay off your debt. These days everyone is so deep in debt that being debt free is the new form of being rich. Focus on how many months you have left. Keep track of your progress and celebrate when you pay off smaller debts.
A Better Mindset
The pandemic taught a lot of people the value of good health, freedom to move around, time spent with family and friends and more. If you can make such things your focus then you can enjoy a better mindset than a constantly worried or envous one. So, replace that frown with a smile and focus on what you do have and leave FOMO behind. It can easily move you to do stupid things while in debt review (like miss payments to spend the money elsewhere).
