Be a champion in the debt-free Olympics
Currently the New Zealand media is obsessed with the Tokyo Olympic Games and whether you are into it or not, it is one of the rare occasions that less popular sports have their moment in the spotlight.
It got the Debtfix Crew thinking that it would be brilliant if debt and money matters became an Olympic event.
Imagine it – people competing to pay off debt the fastest, to develop the best debt-free game plan or to make the most money from smart investments.
The winners would stand on podiums, receive their medals and children would aspire to be like them.
Yes, we know this is ridiculous but there are things we can learn from Olympic competitors and apply them to become champions in the debt-free Olympics.
Dream to be debt-free
Every athlete at the Olympics has a dream that they will be completely clear about. It will include the result they are aiming for, which may not be to win. Competing at Tokyo maybe a steppingstone towards achieving a goal they have dreamt of since they were a kid.
What is your long-term financial dream?
Get a game plan to reduce debt
Every athlete at the Olympics will have planned for years to get to the games. They will have reduced their big goals into smaller achievable tasks and the winners won’t be overnight successes. The same goes for your plan to become debt free – it won’t randomly happen, and we all need to develop a strategy to achieve our financial goals.
Train with a coach who shares your debt free goal
Every athlete at the Olympics gets there with the support of coaches, managers, people who believe in them, and more. Their achievements are from of the efforts of numerous people. Who are your debt-free coaches and managers? Who believes in your goal to improve your financial well-being? When you are ready to work with people who believe in your debt-free future call the Crew at Debtfix, a MoneyTalks financial mentor or your local budgeting service.
Review your performance towards becoming debt free
Olympic athletes constantly monitor their performance against their own goals. They will know their personal best (PB) times, distances, weights, scores – you get the idea. Keeping track of achievements is motivating and identifies what does or does not work. How could you monitor your progress towards becoming a debt-free champion? What’s your PB? It could be fully paying your credit card bill each month or keeping your bank account in the black – rather than using a bank overdraft.
Change your strategy when your finances change
When training for the Olympics athletes will experience ups and downs in their lead up to the big event. They could get injured or sick, or training may go so well that they risk peaking too soon. They will modify their strategy to ensure they remain on track to achieve their Olympic goal. The same goes for your debt-free strategy and you may need to change what you are doing when your financial situation changes. Every plan to become debt-free can be modified and the Debtfix Crew is on hand to help people with this process. How cool would it be to have more money and to reduce debt faster, or put some money into a rainy-day savings account?
Celebrate wins and accept losses
Sports people are constantly celebrating the wins and must also accept the losses. At the Olympics there are gold, silver and bronze medals for the champions who have their moment of glory on the podiums. However, thousands of competitors go home without a medal, but they may celebrate achieving PBs or finishing higher than expected. That could still be a win towards their long-term goals. Inevitably, some athletes will bomb and they have to accept their underperformance. It’s not the end of the world and there are always options for them after the Olympics. How would you celebrate a debt-free win? When you have worked so hard to pay off debts, make sure you take a moment to recognise your accomplishment. When things don’t go to plan and your debt-free performance isn’t as good as you hoped, take a moment to feel the frustration and when you are ready, review what happened and how you can move forward.
The Debtfix Crew is ready to coach and support New Zealand’s debt-free Olympic champions. Contact us now to work towards your gold medal financial performance.