Stuck In Debt? Here's How We Paid Off $92k In Less Than 2 Years!

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Summary: 

• Wealth appreciates for the appreciative. If you want more money, you have to be grateful for everything you already have. Otherwise, the money will keep evading you. 
• You are not broke, no matter how much debt you have. Most of the world lives on $900 a year. Could you survive on $900 a year? You're doing just fine! 
• One of the fastest ways to increase your wealth is to give money away. Learn why in the episiode! 
• You need to give every dollar a name, live off of only 1 income if possible, and live well below your means. 
• Watch the video or listen to the podcast to get the full training. 
• This is a MUST watch for anyone in debt or someone that easily gets overwhelmed by looking at their balance!

 Inspirational Quotes From The Episode: 

Transcript:

Welcome to the path to mindset mastery podcast! My name is Brad Bizjack. I’m a mindset coach, inspirational speaker, and creator of Appreciation Academy and I’m on a mission to help online business owners breakthrough all the negative self-talk and limiting beliefs preventing their dreams!

And before we get into today’s topic of MONEY, I’m super pumped to introduce a contest to help spread the word about mindset and help even more breakthrough. And I’m offering a FREE 1:1 life coaching call with me where we’re gonna break through EVERYTHING holding you back. It’s gonna be awesome. So here’s how it works! The first 50 people to do the following will be entered into a drawing to win a 1:1 call with me!

1.) Head to the podcast on iTunes and give it a rating and review. Take a screenshot.
2.) Download every episode that I have available on iTunes!
3.) Share this podcast episode with 3 of your friends or teammates!

Then you’re gonna send an email to [email protected] with your screenshots that you completed it, and if you meet the above requirements, you’ll be entered into a raffle for a free 1:1 call with me! Let’s spread the word and help some more people!

So let’s dive in! I’m curious:

How is your relationship with money? Do you ever feel like there’s always too month at the end of the money and you see your student loan debt looming over you, and it just feels like you can’t break through it and you don’t know why? Or maybe it seems like every paycheck just disappears and you don’t understand why or how. Even if you make a good living, it just seems like money evades you. And then you see all these successful people CRUSHING IT with their businesses and bringing in hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and you just feel defeated, almost like their win is your loss, and you don’t know how to break through. Is that you?

I felt that way for such a long time. And it started back in my childhood when I would see my parents scream and yell about money all the time and I didn’t know why. It hurt. There were always fights, and I thought money caused it. So I grew up with the belief that money equaled pain.

It took me 6 years to propose to my wife because I thought that if we had money, it would rip us apart. And so I thought money was terrible. I witnessed my family work so hard just to barely get by, and that’s just how I thought it was. So when I started my business, I had these big dreams, but I had this lingering belief that money was terrible. And it sucked.

There was always too much month at the end of the money, and I remember seeing my student loan debt and just being like, “how the fuck am I ever gonna pay that off?” It just seemed like something I was gonna have for the rest of my life. And then you pair that with a lot of people in my life believing that debt was just something you had and dealt with forever, and it sucked.

I just felt so stuck financially, and I didn’t understand how all these people had all this financial abundance. And one day, I over drafted my bank account again, just like normal, and something clicked. I just got fed up with being broke.

I got fed up with just trying to survive. And I set out on a mission to figure out how to be wealthy. I studied the top minds in finance. I invested dollars all on credit that I didn’t have into my personal growth and development because I knew that if I was gonna change my stars, I had to become a completely different person. In fact, I think you should go into debt to learn the skills that will get you out of debt.

And so after a couple of years of studying how money worked, we broke through. We set up a game plan. We changed our mindset.

And we paid off $92,600 of student debt in less than 2 years.

I don’t say that to impress you. I say that to impress upon you that it’s your mind that makes all the difference. And along the way, I realized that it doesn’t need to take you years to know what to do. I can literally teach you in one podcast episode so you can create a game plan today.

How would that benefit your life? What would life look like if you had financial freedom and choice and ability that you EARNED instead of begged for? How freeing would it feel? Where would you be able to travel? What could you accomplish? Who would you serve?

That’s what I’m gonna teach you today.

Money is actually extremely simple. It’s broken into 2 things.

1.) A New Money Mindset
2.) Behavioral Action Steps

And I’m gonna show you exactly what we did in detail in a bit, but first, you need a paradigm shift if the behaviors that we did are ever gonna stick for you. So stick with me through this and trust me on it. Your life can change. You have the ability to transform your relationship with money today. You really do. You might be terrified of money. You might have it, but don’t know how to use it or you waste it. You might feel like you’ll never be able to earn it or that you’re not worthy of it. You might believe that you have to work your ass off to just barely get by, just like I did. Plenty of situations. But my point is simple: You CAN create the financial life you’ve always wanted to live.

Let’s start with your new money mindset. And it all circulates around one word: ABUNDANCE.

You need a perspective shift. And what I’m about to tell you is the baseline of everything. Ready for it?

You are NOT broke.

I don’t care how much debt you have. Money is not tight for you. Ask yourself where are you getting your contrast from? Are you looking at the millionaire you aspire to be? Well sure if you compare to them, you’re gonna be wallowing in your sorrows all day long aren’t you?

But let’s have some perspective. You’re focusing on how you overdraft your bank account, right?

But have you ever thought about the fact that 2/3 of the world lives on 2.50 cents a day? 900 dollars a year. How much do you and your spouse earn in a week? 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000. Doesn’t matter. Because I bet that you guys earn more in ONE WEEK than most people do in a year. Take your 1-week salary for you and your spouse combined and imagine trying to live off that for a full year.

SO YOU ARE NOT BROKE. Sometimes having some perspective is the key to freedom. I’m not saying don’t aspire for the millions. You absolutely should. But if you’re gonna get contrast, have some real perspective and realize that on your most broke week, you’re rich beyond measure.

If you’re poor in this country, you’re in the top 1% of the world. You don’t have significant money problems. So have that perspective before we get into this. That perspective started to open up the gateway to abundance for me. Because I stopped hating my situation and I realized that I was blessed beyond measure even if I wasn’t at my goals yet. You are too. And once you can start seeing that, your financial life will change VERY quickly. This is abundance 101.

By the way, what is abundance? If you’re thinking about goods and services, what’s an abundant good? It means there’s plenty available, right?

So an abundance money mindset means that believe that the money is out there for you. You just gotta get it. It’s you believing that you have so much amazingness in your life already and you’re so excited to create more. It means that you’ll proudly invest in a coach or a seminar because you know that the money will come back to you. It’s you having faith. It’s you being grateful for the situation you already have. That’s abundance.

But what’s scarcity? If you’re thinking about goods and services, what’s a scarce good? It means it’s in limited supply, right?

Well, do you believe that if you invest money in your growth, it’s not gonna come back? That’s scarcity. Do you believe that money is hard to make? That’s scarcity. It’s you coming from a place of lack. Do you see your current life as not enough? Do you think you SHOULD BE somewhere else? That’s scarcity.

So let me ask you a question. Is money in limited supply? No. It’s not a scarce resource. In fact, if you put the same amount of effort and time that you currently do freaking out about not having enough money, INTO MAKING MORE MONEY, you’d be wealthy faster than you ever thought possible.

If you’re worried about your money, it’s like praying to have less of it. Because wherever focus goes, energy flows. To quote Jen Sincero, your external world is just a mirror of your internal world.

So if you want more money in your life, you have to believe that your life is already enough. You have to be GRATEFUL for everything. Write this down: gratitude is the gateway to abundance.

Seeing your current good is the fastest way to increase more good. If you’re God, the universe, whatever you believe in, are you going to give more to the person who is bitching about having less? Or are you gonna give more to the person that loves everything they already have?

Wealth appreciates for the appreciative.

That’s your new money mindset. Start there. And if you do, then the behaviors we’re about to go through will ACTUALLY make a difference in your life. Otherwise, they’re gonna do nothing.

So let’s go to step 2. Here’s what we actually did to get out of debt. The first couple things sound a little woo-woo, and as we go through the strategies, they get more tactical down the budgeting. Just trust me. If you want the shortcut, it’s the reason why you’re broke. So just trust the process.

1.) Gratitude

I started being grateful for every LITTLE THING I could. This microphone. This pen. This computer. All of it. Wealth appreciates for the appreciative. So I would just say I’m grateful all day long.

2.) Give Your Money Away

You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I started giving money away daily. I gave $5 to the Tony Robbins Foundation every day for months. Now, why would I do that? Because giving is the secret to wealth. One of the best ways to create an abundance mindset is to give your money to others and focus on the gratitude for how you’re making them feel. Obviously, take care of your needs first FOR SURE.

And if you genuinely can’t give 5 bucks away, then give your time away. But think about this. If you can’t donate $0.10 out of every dollar, do you think you’re gonna let go of $100,000 out of every million? Nope. Scarcity would say, “I can’t afford my bills. Why the fuck would I donate $5 today?” Abundance would say, “I’m making someone’s life better, and that feels awesome. I know the money is gonna come back.” Which of those two statements feels lighter?

3.) Study Money

I started studying money regularly. Just like Jim Rohn said, if you want to be happy, study happiness. If you want a thriving marriage, study love. If you want wealth, study money. I dove DEEP into books and podcasts from the smartest financial minds on the planet. I read Jen Sincero’s “You Are A Badass At Making Money.” I read “The Millionaire Next Door.” I read “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” Those are GREAT books for money mindset.

Then Janiece and I invested in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University! That’s an AMAZING tool for starting out. It’s the basics for getting your ass out of debt. It’s VERY helpful! Then I started studying “Unshakeable” or “Money Master The Game” by Tony Robbins. I read Peter Mallouk’s “5 Mistakes That Every Investor Makes.”
I learned the impact of fees and taxes on my retirement accounts. In fact, I learned that 5% of any financial planner legally has to act within your best interest. Even if they THINK they’re helping you, they’re just trained to recommend their company’s product. It’s insane how much I know about wealth from studying the billionaires. I recommend you do this too because we saved 2/3 of our retirement savings from reading 1 book. That’s powerful. Study money regularly.

4.) Be Acutely Aware Of Who Your Advice Is Coming From 

I stopped listening to my family or any unsupportive friends. Here’s the thing. 98% of people out there are going to settle for being in debt. They’re gonna settle for financial irresponsibility. They’re gonna think that this is just the way it is. They’ll say things like, “You only live once! Why don’t you just pay the minimum and go on more trips with us?!” Or when they’re buying a car, they’ll ask things like, “well how much is that per month, instead of how much does it cost total?” So I had been acutely aware of who I was taking advice from. Don’t take investment advice from your broke stepfather. Don’t listen to other millennials that are struggling financially for how you should get out of debt. Stand guard at the gates of your mind and let people who have walked the walk influence you. Janiece and I realized that we were in the minority and that most people would likely think that we’re crazy. But we didn’t care. We wanted to be debt free by 30. Keep your vision intact and listen to the people that have what you want instead of what you don’t want.

5.) Say No All The Time (And Stop Being A Dumb Ass)

Get really good at saying no to things that don’t support your vision. This is a BIG one. We often compensate for our lack of financial freedom by buying shit that doesn’t actually make us feel good. We do shit that makes us feel MORE stressed. We online shop. We buy TVs unnecessarily. We take unnecessary trips. Now I’m not saying that you should live like a hermit. You absolutely should build some fun into your budget. But my point is simply that when you don’t have financial control, it feels temporarily good to have purchasing power. It feels temporarily good to book that vacation or to buy finance that unnecessary car or the invest in electronics or to online shop at Express or even something as simple as buying movies on iTunes. All of those things are likely filling a void to make you feel better about being in debt or about not having financial control. Remember that you can feel rich any second that you want if you follow the mindset strategies I talked about above. But if you don’t practice that mindset, insert online shopping. Insert stupid spending choices that actually bring no fulfillment whatsoever. The fulfillment you’re looking for is in your heart.

So say no to more things that aren’t actually bringing you to your goals. For example, one of the best activities I ever did, was that I printed out our bank statements for the last year and I highlighted all the things that we spent that were unnecessary. The iTunes movies. Express clothes. Your subscription boxes. Shopping at Whole Foods instead of Meijer. Whatever your version of unnecessary spending is based on what you value, highlight it. And then total it up and look at how much closer you could’ve been to financial freedom by now. That should light a fire under your ass. You’ll be blown away.

6.) Live Off 1 Income & Follow A Zero-Based Budget

We lived off of ONLY Janiece’s income (and still do), and we followed a ZERO BASED budget. So everything that I made went toward debt. PERIOD. And here’s the thing, I'm willing to bet with absolute certainty that if you live off of 1 income instead of 2, you’ll be totally fine. Your lifestyle will have to go down. That’s only temporary. But you’ll adjust. So live off of 1 income if you can. And to take it a step further, live below your means on that 1 income. So if the 1 income you live off of is $100,000, then live off of $50,000. Game changer. And yes you WILL have to make sacrifices to do this. But it will be worth it because I can tell you as someone who is out of debt, it feels so fucking good never to have to owe anyone anything ever again. You can have the same feeling. So live BELOW your means off of 1 income and then follow a zero-based budget.

What does that mean? That means that you write out your necessary (keyword: necessary) monthly expenses and your monthly income. You subtract your expenses from your income and whatever is left that month, you put toward your debt, making the balance at the end of the month ZERO. That’s a zero-based budget. Dave Ramsey is a GREAT resource for this, and I highly recommend you learn through his programs. But if you follow a zero-based budget, you’re essentially giving every dollar a name. And this is so important because if every dollar doesn’t have a name, guess what’s gonna happen? It’s gonna disappear, isn’t it? Sounding familiar? Follow a zero-based budget.

7.) Celebrate Every Little Win

Celebrate the shit out of EVERY little win. Wherever focus goes, energy flows. The mistake I made along the way is looking at how far I had left to go when I made a debt payment. I remember when I made a big ass payment to get down to $86,000. When that happened, I’d look at it and go, “shit man, I still have $86k to go.” Wrong mindset. It started creeping in again when we got halfway done. Instead of celebrating that we paid off $46k, I focused on how we have $46k to go. My point is simply this: whatever you focus on, you’ll feel. So if you focus on disappointment because of your balance, you’re gonna feel it, so that’s what you’ll focus on and the debt will take longer to pay off. But what feels better and gives you more momentum? Focusing on “shit I still have $46k to go” or “holy shit babe we paid off 46k!! That’s freaking amazing!!” Which feels lighter and which brings you more excitement to keep going. Wherever focus goes, energy flows! Celebrate the smallest wins, even if it’s 50 bucks towards your debt. It makes the process so much easier.

8.) Invest Money Into Your Personal Growth

This is SO critical. And it sounds counterintuitive. Wait, Brad, you just said that I should say no to something. I said to say no to things that are compensating for lack of fulfillment and short term solution to joy. Your personal growth and development is a long term solution to joy. Because you won’t earn more, save more, give more, or create more unless you become more. Investing in your personal growth is one of the best money decisions you can make. It will come back. You will never go broke from investing in your growth. If you need to take out a credit card to pay for that coach, you do it. If you know in your heart that seminar is what you need to get to learn the skills to take you to the next level, you pay for it. And whether it’s through me or another personal growth expert that you trust more, if you can’t afford something, that’s why you MUST invest your dollars into your mindset and your skillsets. Those people you’re learning from are shrinking years of their growth into days for you. You can’t afford not to buy those online courses. You can’t afford not to go to those seminars. I found a way to pay for those things when I was broke because I knew it would lead me to success. And it did. Without paying tens of thousands of dollars on learning the skillsets and the mindsets from those people who had what I want, I’d still be broke. And that can be so hard to see when money is super tight. That’s why the first part of this episode is SO critically important.

That’s how Janiece and I did it. And the truth is that it doesn’t matter how long it takes you. You might have 2 kids and be a single mom. You might have less income than we do. That’s okay. It doesn’t matter. The principle is what matters. And the principle is that you’re not meant to be a slave to money. It doesn’t matter if you do it as fast as we did or if it takes you 10 years. It doesn’t matter. The point is simple: You’re not meant to live in mediocrity. You’re meant to feel fully alive every single day. So find a way to use these points daily, and I promise it’s worth it!

And remember our contest! I’m offering a 1:1 coaching call! The first 50 people to do the following will be entered into a drawing to win a 1:1 call with me!

1.) Head to my podcast on iTunes and give it a rating and review. Take a screenshot.
2.) Download every episode that I have available on iTunes!
3.) Share this podcast episode with 3 of your friends or teammates!

Then you’re gonna send an email to [email protected] with your screenshots that you completed it, and if you meet the above requirements, you’ll be entered into a raffle for a free 1:1 call with me! Let’s spread the word and help some more people!

Thank you so much for tuning into the path to mindset mastery today! My name is Brad Bizjack.

Go out there every single day and live your life with a genuine smile on your face. Because you can!

See you next week!

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