5 Personality Traits that Can Help You Pay Off Debt

Are you trying to pay off debt? It can seem like a long slog sometimes . . . especially if you haven’t developed personal traits that can help you in your efforts.

If you want to pay off debt there are some essential personality traits that you need to develop (if you don’t have them already):

1. Self-Control

The first thing you need to develop if you want to pay off debt is self-control. You need to be able to say no to things – even if you think you want them.

If you plan to pay off debt, the very first thing you need to do is have the self-control to stop digging the debt hole deeper. You need to stop buying things with debt, and say no to your spending preferences if you expect to make serious progress.

2. Self-Motivation

On top of that, you need to be self-motivated. You have to be able to keep yourself going.

Sometimes, trying to pay off debt can be disappointing. It is difficult to get used to telling yourself no all the time. Additionally, at the beginning, it can take a while to see real results as you pay down debt.

The high interest charges tend to reduce the effectiveness of your payments. You need to be self-motivated to keep yourself going and paying down debt.

3. Organization

It also helps to be organized when you want to pay off debt. You need to be able to order your debts, and create a system to help you pay them off. A good debt reduction plan is essential if you want to rid yourself of these types of obligations. Organize your debts, and then systematically pay them off.

Part of being financially organized during the debt pay-down phase is also creating a budget or spending plan. You need to know how your resources are being used, and organize them so that you can pay off your debt as quickly as possible.

4. Patience

Sometimes, it’s not about the impetuous and grand gesture. Sometimes it’s about patiently sticking to your plan for the next three years. It can be hard to keep moving forward when you want the problem to be solved right away.

However, unless you are willing to take extreme measures, chances are that your debt reduction plan will last somewhere between two and five years, depending on how much debt you have. You need to be patient as you forge new financial habits, and get used to making your regular debt payments.

In the end, your patience will be rewarded, since you will have done more than just pay off your debt. Living a different lifestyle tends to help you more permanently change your habits. At the end, you will be less likely to fall back into the practices that led to your debt in the first place.

5. Creativity

The creative person can find new ways to improve the debt pay-down process. If you want to turbo-charge your debt pay-down, you can look for creative methods of saving a little more money each month, and putting that toward debt reduction. A really creative person can look for additional ways to make more money, so that can be applied to the debt pay-down efforts.

Creativity can also help you find other activities to occupy yourself so that you aren’t upset about the fact that you are practicing self-control and organizing yourself to pay off debt. Find creative and inexpensive ways to pass the time, and you will not feel as though you are giving anything up as you improve your financial situation.

What are some additional personality traits you think might help? Leave a comment!

This article was originally published December 13th, 2012.

Miranda writes about personal finance almost every day. An experienced freelance writer, she's covered your money online and in print from every angle and is always looking for new ones.

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