Staying motivated on your path to financial independence is no easy task. In fact, you might say that it can be frustrating, impossible – and to be honest, boring.
At first, financial independence is exciting. You get your expenses in order and you pay off a couple of bills. But then, you get to the bigger, much longer to pay off bills. You might think that you will never become debt free or experience financial freedom.
So how do you stay motivated throughout your journey to fi? Try some of the techniques to keep your mind right during the less exciting times of this journey. I also have some motivational graphics at the bottom of the page so you have some immediate tools.
Create a Visual
There are several types of visuals you can create to keep you on track. I once drew out a blueprint of my house. In my blueprint, I broke down how much money we owed on our house and divided it up, room by room. Then, I put it on the refrigerator and told my husband that we were going to “pay off the bathroom first.”
I also suggest displaying motivational photos and graphics in multiple places. The visuals that you choose need to remind you of the thing you want most, which is your end goal.
I’ve created a free download of three motivational graphics titled “Motivate Me Graphics” that you can access right now to help you stay motivated on your path to financial independence. They come in one easily downloadable file.
You can download them and set them as your phone or computer background, print them out, or share them on social media to inspire yourself and others.
The motivational graphics are in our free resource library. You are encouraged to download them to help keep you motivated. You can get the password to the library from the box at the bottom of the page.
Create Something Interactive
Sometimes you have to create your own excitement. When we booked a Disney Cruise, we created a countdown paper chain for the kids. Every day we got closer, we took off the ring.
The same thing works for your goals. Create a paper chain for becoming debt-free! Calculated up your debt, make a bunch of rings, and every time you pay off a small goal, remove a ring!
Revisit Your Past
Look at any old spreadsheets you made in the past. Really take notice of how far you have come versus before you even thought about your finances.
If you are a subscriber on our email list and downloaded our “Perfect Budget Planner + ‘how to’ Video,” you can easily look back in your past to see your successes. If you are new here and don’t have the budget yet, you can find it in our resource library.
Join a Tribe
Don’t ever underestimate the saying, “you are who you hang out with.” Find a local meetup or Facebook group of people who are also trying to reach the same goals as you. You could join the Family and FI Facebook group HERE.
Think About Your Future
What do you want your future to look like? Do you want to spend your money on your hobbies? Do you want to change the world? Go on mission trips? Have that beach or mountain home of your dreams?
Whatever your dreams are, they are going to be so much easier to accomplish if you aren’t a slave to debt and your investments are paying for your dreams.
Bring a Raft if You Are Going to Jump Ship
If you have been on the FI ship for a while and feel like you are just going to break, contribute to your retirement accounts so much that it hurts a little.
We all have periods where we don’t stick to our plans like we originally thought we would. If you are going to jump ship for a short time, do it and get it over with. (You will only hear that here folks!)
BUT FIRST, make sure your future self won’t drown in the water. Bring a raft. That raft is your automatic contributions to your retirement accounts.
By overflowing those retirement accounts, you will have less money available to spend on your splurges and it will be easier to climb back on the ship fully motivated when you have splurging out of your system.
Even Ryan and I sometimes jump off the FI Ship, but after we take the fall, we always come back more motivated than ever.
Listen, becoming debt-free and financially independent is not just a destination, it is a journey. Staying motivated on your path to financial independence is important. Make the journey fun with visuals, family involvement, groups, etc. If you absolutely need to take a break, over contribute to those retirement accounts and have at it – but make sure to have a raft.
This journey looks different for everyone, celebrate your progress and remember that a long-term goal is really just a bunch of short-term goals put together.
Get Instant Access to Our “Motivate Me Graphics” and more!
P.S. Want to read more about our journey? Read my post about how we went From Food Banks to Paying off Over 100,000 Dollars of Debt here.
