I find it quite difficult to share my struggles with others. But I can share my own struggles with myself, I will try to consider this writing as something I write for myself. If anyone finds it valuable, it's a bonus. I don't have any expectations so I can relax and write the way I wanted to write.
I have been journaling for the last 4 weeks in a row and never missed a single day, Therefore I feel confident I can now continue to write one hive blog a day assuming it's my own diary.
Last month I celebrated being debt-free for the second time in my life. My money problem got worsen in August 2019 and I wanted to fix it because it was spreading like cancer into all other areas of my life. So I took a break from steem, decided to move back to London from Japan to get myself out of this situation knowing I only have myself to blame to get into this situation in the first place.
I like to think that if I lost all my money and you dropped me on a random street in any country, I'd earn my wealth again within 5-10 years.
This was a quote from Naval Ravikant, which kept reminding me over and over again and slowly took baby steps towards financial recovery.
Looking back now, I did bounce back fairly quickly and got myself a job with reasonable pay. More importantly, I was on the track of paying my debt back, building my confidence back, and rebuilding the trust back from my partner.
Then covid came, lockdown came and I lost the job but I didn't panic and stayed calm but not for too long. I had to completely figure out a new way to paying back my debt while figuring out a new way to be with my wife and son. I had to make some risky choices and had faith that everything will be okay.
May 2020 to May 2021 was one of the most challenging 12 months for me. I faced problems after problems, lots of uncertainty about the direction my life was heading. I was almost ready to file personal bankruptcy and we almost got divorced.
When in doubt, just take the next small step.
I just keep taking the next small steps. Then May 2021 came and we decided to get a divorce. I paused my life for 2 weeks and trying to figure out what was the number one problem that causing the divorce. It was clear to me there can be only two one is money and the other is we're not a good fit. So I made a strong decision to work on my relationship while prioritizing paying the debt off fully.
Weeks went by, I still haven't figure out how I'm going to pay it back and However, I kept telling myself that by end of September I will be debt-free.
I had only one desire for the past 3 months and that is being debt-free and its journey that I could write an entire book about how I did it.
Pick your one overwhelming desire. It’s okay to suffer over that one. But on all the other desires, let them go so you can be calm and peaceful and relaxed.
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Happy you're debt free, congratulations 🎊 You must have a big relief right now. You're a winner! Looking forward to your daily diary sir 📈
It's a BIG big relief for sure!
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Good work, good sir
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Thank you :)
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Boom that's the way to do it now never do it again! :) Debt is the worst thing ever! It's crazy how it's even legal for people to be able to go into debt in cc's etc it's pretty wild. Anyways been there myself back during the recession of 2009 so I know the pain, the struggles. What I also do know if you learn from those lessons you'll come out mega rich in 10 years so keep your head up and keep pushing forward and crushing it!
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I have three cards but I am avoiding using. Paying everything in cash upfront.
I am not very liquid because almost everything I have is invested so at first I thought the credit cards would be good to allow me to invest and spend now and pay later with the investments.
Terrible idea.
Being debt free is more important.
Thank you for sharing your situation.
As long as you can understand the fundamental difference between Good debt and BAD debt and make decisions accordingly then you will be fine.
I would recommend reading this book called Happy Money by Ken Honda to cultivate a good relationship with money.
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Ah it sounds like it was a hard journey and I am glad you are now debt-free. The lockdowns has definitely been harsh for a lot of people around the world.
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Thank you and I'm leaned an expensive lesson.
Lockdowns played a huge role in this, me playing the victim mindset made things worst, and the moment I get clarity of what's in my control and taking action towards it helped me become debt-free.
The most important thing is to remember all the valuable experiences and be wiser to deal with all the challenges that are waiting to come my way.
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Awesome job! I am hoping to accomplish that goal around the same time my child support time is done, lol. So in a couple of years, I am going to be set... LOL
Thanks dude!
I'm sure supporting your child is more important than paying off your debt.
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Congrats. Trust me I know how being debt free feels.
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Big congrats!! That’s gaining a level of freedom within itself!!!
The only cards I use now are the ones which gives me sats back!
Keep on stacking Sats
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Sounds like tough times, but I hope things are improving. People are encouraged to get into debt, but it does limit your freedom. I try to minimise mine. Stay well.
This is so true in our current generation. My bad experiences with money have taught me some valuable lessons that I will never forget.
Good luck with minimizing your debt :)
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Pacta sum servanta - you got to keep your promises.
I admire people that stand to their word and repay their debts. You made it yourself and it made you stronger!
Now you are free with bunch of new qualifications.
Appreciate your positive words!
100%
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It must have been a really rough experience.
Regardless of how little, being indebted to someone is not an easy thing to experience. If you are the type that always wants to pay your debt without being coerced, it will even become more hurtful for you to know that someone someone has your name in their debtors book.
I'm glad that you are back on track. I'd hope that you would be free from this sort of experience in the nearest future.
100%
And I'm grateful for the lessons learned by going through this experience.
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Congratulations on becoming debt free man. I bet it must be a great relief and they were a lot of great lessons you picked along the way.
Would be great to have you back on Hive everyday again. Cheers!
Important thing is to make the most of the valuable lessons that I learned during this journey.
I'm on a personal mission to write every single day on Hive for the next 364 days and prove to myself that I can keep going no matter what.
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Congrats man 👏🙌
Thank you, my man!
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Well done my friend
!PIZZA
party for all :)
Thank you, my man!
It's such a relief getting out of this never-ending debt slavery.
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That's amazing. Congrats
Thanks Dude!
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Always fella
We are on the same wavelength here man. I am starting to write everyday again too... but I'm treating it like a journal where I'm writing for myself. It's kind of talking to myself in the mirror or something, but if someone finds it entertaining/helpful then so be it :)
Congratulations on being debt-free. I have a couple of fines and driving penalties that I'm looking to clear this month, then I'm in the clear too.
The most important this is to write for yourself and make it a habit.
Journaling helps us to speak with our hands and declutter our minds. While I was paying back my debt, I could track my progress every single day, see and feel the amount that I owe getting less and less made a huge impact on how quickly I could pay it back.
Just believe you can do it and you'll find a way :)
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I have been Debt free from the last 10 months and it feel great. But again when you are in debt you always have some crazy ideas to get debt free as soon as possible and if one of those crazy ideas works out you can get much more than what is your debt.
You know the feeling and the freedom that comes from being debt-free.
For sure, I had many crazy ideas to get debt-free, and through various experiments and trial and error, I finally made it happen.
Through my journey of becoming debt-free alone, I became wiser.
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That's actually great either you do or you learn if you are doing any of it then you are doing great
That's awesome. I never depted in my life. I know how hard is that. My mother did that many times in her life and I had to help that with that. But when she asked me for help the last time, I told her that will be the last and I can't harm my family because of her. So, I paid to the bank about $1000 to make her free of depts. And I told her to not do that again because I helped her enough. She is just learning how to be minimalist in the age of 56. I hope she learned a lesson this time, because I was very strict with her !
Thank you for sharing your story brother.
Cultivating our own healthy relationship with money is something we can control.
I can certainly understand how it can get really complicated when combining the management of money and family members or friends.
I hope your mom will learn her lesson this time around!
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I'm glad you got rid of the burden that pulled you down.
You're a big man Nathan, don't doubt for a second if you're gonna make things work, the stars will align eventually.
Good things happen to good men.
💪💪
Truly appreciate your encouraging words, my man!
When we recognize what truly matters to us, self-doubt falls by the wayside.
Daily journaling and keep tracking my progress towards paying off my debt really helping me get rid of the debt burden.
Good things happen to those who hustle.
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Am very glad you are debt free now bro I wish the best possible outcome for you and your family.
You story is inspiring!
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Thanks bro!
Things get worst before it gets better and I'm so grateful for all the wisdom that gained during the covid times.
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Sounds like you really went through it.... I take it you're going to follow up with the route out!
!PIZZA
Wisdom gained by experience is better than silver and gold
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Decisions, decisions. All comes down to that. Indeed debt is like cancer, avoid at all costs. Low profile, small targets, small pleasures, and zero toxic people around you. You will be less popular, but in peace. Feels like you need some (cheap! but relaxing) vacations.
Ganbatte!
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Arigato!
Slow growth is solid growth. Solid growth leads to exponential growth.
I need six months vacation twice a year. That's why I'm creating a life that doesn't need a vacation.
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Really happy to hear mate.
When you're ready, hopefully you'll share your full story with the community and help others in this situation.
You're certainly not alone.
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Thanks mate!
100%
I can't wait to share the full story with everyone.
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Awesome news and well done. I know when you are in a hole it is difficult to climb out, but good for you.
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I focusing on becoming a person who loves challenges.
There's always gonna be another mountain and I just going to focus on keep getting better at climbing and become the person who loves the journey.
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Funny that as once you have achieved overcoming one hurdle another will appear but it wont seem impossible as you have accomplished and overcome far worse. Glad you are so positive and time to move forward.
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Building momentum with small WINS
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Well done!
When you know what money stands for,
your freedom from debt is a clear statement
you are being careful.
!BEER
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Freedom from debt is the first step towards building a better relationship with money.
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Congratulations @nathanmars. Glad to hear you're debt free second time. Time was bad however it was good experience.
Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.
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Good to see you post more! Good to see you are free again and no debt slavery anymore :)
Congrats!
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Paying off my debt is a small win and winning the trust back from my wife is huge.
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I understand :)
congrats man for being debt free. And ai do hope that things will get better for you and your family, so that both of you can decided what the best for both of you and your son.
That sound really a hard journey for you to overcome. once again congrats man, you are awesome.
Thank you for your encouraging words!
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How do you feel now when you win against the debt? It is hard for many, myself included but yes, I am taking steps to win against my debt too
I feel like a winner by overcoming my debt problem.
Believe you can and take steps no matter how small or big to win your own debt battle.
Ultimately, You want to focus on becoming someone who is capable of winning all the life battles.
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The first rule of debt is only to use it for business/investment growth capital and not for living expenses and luxuries. Even in the first scenario, it's not that advisable unless you have a seriously well-planned strategy with not much chance of failure.
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The most important thing is for me that I've finally learned my lesson about debt and my relationship with money is getting better.
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Congrats man! I know that's a good feeling! 👊
Thank you!
Debt is quickly becoming a new form of modern slavery for many people across the world. There is both good and bad debt.
I knew deep down I had only good debt however it was still holding me back from moving forward with my life. It's a great feeling of sense of acheivemnt that I could pay it all back.
I pray that all debts will be paid off quickly🙏🙏🙏
!PIZZA
All paid off now. I have been debt-free since 24th September 2021.
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It's very good
Great job! Most debt is very expensive.
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Thank you.
I learned an expensive lesson for sure. Now I will have to make sure I don't forget what I learned through this experience.
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Congratulations 🎉
Thank you my man!
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Hermno, I can totally understand you, when debts surround me it is difficult to think clearly.
But how do you feel about the divorce?
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Having debt will limit our ability to see things clearly. My daily journaling helping me massively declutter my mind and organize my thoughts to stay on top of my problems.
Maybe it's my writing, I never got divorced but we were very close! Our relationship is much much healthier now and I'm grateful for the tough times.
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This is absolutely true.
Well I think it was the translator, sorry for the confusion and I'm glad you are well with your wife and family.
No worries buddy.
Appreciate your best wishes.
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Congratulations my friend and happy to know that you are debt free.. you're a true leader who live by self examples.
I didn't really get everything. Did you guys divorce or after the 2 weeks analysis, you were still together?
Congratulations on getting out of debts, it takes a lot of courage to accomplish this feat.
Sorry, I'm not good at telling my story in words but I'm getting better by writing more every single day.
We talked about getting a divorce a number of times last year. We're both knew either we get a divorce or trying to make it work. We also knew even if we get divorced we still had a collective responsibility to take care of our our 3-year-old son. We decided not to talk for few weeks from May and I went through a series of self-examining questions about getting a divorce and I shut myself off from the world. Then arrived at a strong decision that I will try to work this out and give it another 6-12 months. And I knew it was not a quick fix and I had to earn the trust back from my wife. Luckily we're still together and we haven't talked about separation for a good few months now. Having solve my money problem, Now I can really focus on creating a loving family.
Getting out of Debt felt like I completed a marathon.
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That's a great news @nathanmars . What a life with ups and downs. It a good news to hear that from you. Welcome back again.
Nice to see your encouraging comment brother.
I had to allow myself to go through whatever I went through without shame, guilt, and regrets. I know I'm only human and it's okay to fall down and make mistakes; to get hurt and even hurt others along the way.
I'm happy you are on your feet again and again. No cause for shame.
That is so awesome, congrats!!
Thank you!!!
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You are welcome!!
View or trade
BEER.Hey @nathanmars, here is a little bit of
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Congratulations, keep going.
It's hard to keep going for someone who isn't living in the present moment.
I'm trying to practice mindfulness. Observe and experience each moment as if it was the only moment I have.
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congrats on becoming debt-free
Thank you!
I'm working on getting my financial house in order to bring calm and Zen to my life. Getting out of the debt is the first step.
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Glad you're back. Looking forward to hearing part 2 of how you got out of debt.
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I'm happy to back dude!
Hive is my Home.
I would love to write about how did I get out of debt for sure. Will be writing about it soon :)
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