November 25, 2025 • 16 mins
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Feeling burned out from budgeting or paying off debt? You’re not alone — especially during the holidays. In this episode, we break down how to rest, reset, and stay on track without losing momentum.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Nelson (00:00):
So let's be real, guys.
This time of year can beexhausting when it comes to
money.
You've been trying to make gooddecisions, but the holidays,
prices, stress, and life allpile up.
And sometimes you just gettired of thinking about money at
all.
And if that's you right now,that doesn't mean you failed.
It just means that you'rehuman.
(00:20):
So today we're going to betalking about how to rest,
reset, and hold your progressthrough the holiday shopping
season, even if you are runninglow on energy.
Announcer (00:33):
You're listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(00:55):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:02):
Hey guys, welcome to today's show.
I am Brad Nelson, founder ofDeaf Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt-free now formore than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here at DeafFree Dad.
Amber Taylor (01:17):
My husband and I saved and paid off $54,000 in
just 20 months, and we've beenliving debt-free outside of our
mortgage since 2018.
Chris Hawkins (01:24):
And my name is Chris Hawkins, and my wife and I
started our journey in 2005.
And from 2005 to 2008, we paidoff just under $100,000 in debt,
and we've been debt-free eversince 2008.
Kati Hatfield (01:38):
And I'm Katie Hatfield, and I am still paying
off debt and on my way to debtfreedom.
I have been doing that forseven years, and in that time I
have paid off over $237,660 instudent loans, credit cards,
medical bills, uh, and other funthings.
And that's all been on a singleincome.
Brad Nelson (01:58):
Now, after listening to this episode, if
you are ready to take things tothe next level, you want to
break free from living paycheckto paycheck, reduce financial
stress, and build your savingsand finally pay off your debt
for good.
But again, maybe you're notsure where to get started.
We've created some incrediblefree resources here at Def Free
Dead to help you get there, andwe'll be sharing some details
about how you can get some ofthose later on in today's
(02:21):
episode.
So, guys, I want to quit.
I'm tired, right?
I've been working on my DefFree journey for a long time, or
maybe it's just been a fewmonths, and it just seems like
I'm looking at this mountain Ihave to climb.
I'm looking at everything thatI have to do.
I'm actually calculating thathow long it's gonna take me to
(02:42):
get there.
And you know, fatigue steps in.
And it's the same same, evenwith just this time of year as
this episode airs, you know,we're in the midst of the
holidays.
It's easy to just sit back andjust say, I'll get back to it
next year, because again,sometimes this stuff can get
tiring, life gets in the way,distractions happen.
(03:04):
How do we overcome this?
And and again, I would like youguys to share.
Did you guys ever experiencethese types of feelings?
And Katie, I know you're stilldoing it, so maybe you still
are, but have you experiencedany of these types of feelings?
I know I have, and in gettingout of debt, and even sometimes,
even after getting out of debtand reaching other goals,
sometimes the goal can be solofty or so big, and and all of
(03:27):
a sudden it's like what's thepoint?
I don't think I'm ever going toget there.
And and are you almost can talkyourself out of it, or it can
just feel exhausting to try.
Amber Taylor (03:36):
The struggle's real.
Kati Hatfield (03:39):
Yeah, when you see the number that you add all
of your debts up, and it hitsyou like, How am I ever going to
tackle this?
This seems impossible.
This is never gonna happen.
Like for me on a single income,that was just like that's more
than I make in several years.
(03:59):
So I don't think I can do this.
But seven years later, and I'vepaid off that much, and I only
have a little bit left to go.
I have a personal loan that Iwas like $13,000 when I started,
and I have $750 left, and I'mlike, that'll be done before
Christmas.
So that's another one beforethe end of the year.
So it's those little momentumthings that just keep you moving
(04:24):
forward, those little wins,they really work.
Chris Hawkins (04:27):
It's been so long for me that's it's it's hard
for me to think of details.
But I can certainly remember itat the moment thinking, good
gracious, this is gonna takeforever.
Good gracious, this is evenpossible.
Good gracious, how am I evengonna do this?
Can I do this?
Can I stick with this?
(04:48):
And those emotions and thosethoughts are real regardless of
who you are.
And I always try to put myselfin the shoes of somebody
listening to this podcast.
And so I want you to know thatyou know I've been there, done
that.
That's been long enough thatit's hard for me to relate
anymore.
It's hard for me to be able tounderstand the pain quite to the
level that it was at at thetime.
(05:10):
But you can accomplish greatthings when you set your mind to
it.
And part of that isunderstanding that there will be
some setbacks, there will besome moments that you get
frustrated with yourself, butyou can do it.
And when those moments happen,give yourself some grace, pick
yourself up, keep movingforward, because that's how you
(05:34):
get to the end.
It's not a microwave method,it's a crockpot method, and it's
gonna take you time.
And so if you're sitting theregoing, good gracious, I've
started, but I feel like I'mnever gonna see the end, it will
get there.
Trust us, we've all been there.
Katie, you've got to be almostto the end.
Kati Hatfield (05:52):
I am like less than two years left, and I'm
very excited about that.
Like, I've definitely fallenoff the wagon a few times, and I
tried to do this by myself, andit wasn't working the way I was
doing it.
So when I started doing it withthe Roots program, I'm like,
well, I gotta try somethingbecause my way is not working.
So let's just try somethingelse.
(06:14):
And this is clearly workingbecause I've stuck with it this
long, and even when I've madesome financial poor decisions in
the last seven years, you'renot starting over from zero.
You're starting like, okay,I've got this experience, I know
what I have to do, I just haveto plug back in and not keep
(06:35):
going down the wrong path.
I know how to get back to theright path and just do the work.
And yes, it is a long journey,but it has been absolutely the
proudest thing I've ever done.
Like my greatestaccomplishment.
And I'm just so looking forwardto being done.
(06:56):
And it will happen.
I can't wait to celebrate thatwith you.
Announcer (06:59):
It is awesome.
Kati Hatfield (07:00):
I think we may have to come down to Brad's
house and be like, we're havinga journey.
Chris Hawkins (07:05):
We may all have to get together and do a live
show all together.
Yeah, right.
Amber Taylor (07:09):
Yeah.
Chris Hawkins (07:10):
Now, I would I do want to add one more thing.
Unless you're just now out ofcollege and you got a pile of
student loan debt, for most ofyou out there, the journey out
of debt, I promise you, is goingto be shorter than the journey
it took to get into debt.
Amber Taylor (07:23):
Yeah.
I I think the fatigue for usreally set in when we continued
to say no to people and wewatched other people like going
out to the theaters and goingout to dinner and inviting us
out, and we'd say no.
And we kind of got into thisfunk of like, are we ever gonna
(07:44):
have any fun again?
So we started to just include alittle bit of fun into the
budget, but then we also foundfree things to do, and then we
found ways to make moneytogether that kind of made it
like a date night.
Like we went and did DoorDashand stuff like that for an
evening out together, and wejust hung out and we made a
little bit of cash at the sametime.
So you kind of gotta spin itand find ways that you know make
(08:07):
it fun again when you'refeeling like you're struggling
or you want to give up.
Brad Nelson (08:12):
Yeah, that's the double whammy of all of this
because you're gonna go throughsome sort of fatigue when you go
through this.
It's just it is a marathonrace.
And with today's society,everything is get it now.
I'm gonna age myself.
I I know we're all we're allfine on this podcast, but if
you're younger listening to thisshow, like I remember this is a
perfect example.
(08:32):
If you wanted to listen orrecord a certain song and you
wanted it, you had to wait onthe radio on a radio show at
night to hit the record buttonon your tape deck to get that
song.
And you you you neededpatience, like not everything
was instantaneous, but today youcan get any song in an instant
on your phone, and that's justlike one example of how just
(08:54):
everything is get it nownowadays.
You want to watch a show, youcan instantly get it on Netflix
or whatever.
I mean, you don't want to goout and get your food, you get
it delivered right to yourhouse.
We are just as a society, weare groomed to have everything
right now, and because gettingout of debt doesn't happen right
now, there's no elevator out ofit, it's grueling, right?
(09:14):
It almost feels like we're notdoing it right because it's not
happening fast enough.
Because I think the way asociety is built, the way
everything is working now,especially even with debt and
payments, that's why they're soenticing, is everything is just
so get it now.
And when you want to get out ofdebt, it just doesn't happen
that way.
And so you really, really haveto fight for it.
(09:35):
But Amber, you brought it up agood point is that the one that
kind of sits on top of thatfeeling is what everybody else
is doing.
Because hardly anybody else isprobably working on this in your
social circle, your friends,your family, your coworkers.
They ain't doing this.
It's like Amber said, they'regoing out there having fun, and
meanwhile, you're you're sittingback and you're like, I gotta
(09:57):
get out of debt.
Like, this sucks.
What are we doing?
Right, and so it is so hard inthose moments, and this, you
guys, out of everything,budgeting, saving, all the stuff
that we talk about.
This is the hardest part aboutgetting out of debt is going the
distance to get there becauseit is so easy to drift, it is so
(10:19):
easy to get distracted, it isso easy to fall into what
everybody else is doing and goback to where you were because
it there's just so much pressurethere.
Kati Hatfield (10:28):
Yeah, I've been playing the the taxi driver for
my parents and my sister'sfamily, taking them to the
airport to go on their vacationsthat they've planned.
And I'm like, you know what?
This year I took a lot of tripslast year, and this year I just
needed to step back a littlebit from the vacation budget and
make some more progress, andthat was all good.
(10:49):
Although now that it's reallycold in the towns in my life, I
would really like to go to thebeach anytime very soon.
But I know that it is astruggle, but I see the finish
line, it is on the horizon, andI also feel good because I've
been doing this so long.
Your your true friends that youcan talk to honestly about this
(11:13):
kind of thing when we're makingplans to have dinner or
something, and one of my friendswas like, Hey, do you mind if
we do it like after the 15th orwhatever?
I just want to, you know, it'sgonna be a little tight until
payday.
And I'm like, Yeah, absolutely.
Like, we can adjust plans, andyou just have to be flexible.
It doesn't mean you're nevergoing to get to have fun, you
(11:36):
can just postpone it a littlebit further, and yeah, it all
works out.
Brad Nelson (11:40):
Yeah, as we say in roots, and I think this is a
military saying, I'm pretty sureit's in the Marines.
It's embrace the suck.
That's what it is.
It really is.
It is, it is embracing the suckbecause it's not always going
to be fun, right?
And especially this time ofyear, when we're going through
the holidays, it can be eveneasier to drift and get
distracted and put the brakes oneverything that you're working
(12:02):
on.
But the reality is too, is yougot to understand that this time
of year, especially, is thatit's okay.
If you're feeling, I think thenumber one thing you need to
understand, number one, ifyou're feeling this, if you're
feeling fatigue, and if you'refeeling like this is not fun,
it's normal.
You're human.
Like it wasn't fun for any ofus all the time either.
And so I think that's the firstthing that you need to
recognize.
(12:23):
And the second thing I think isthat important is on this
journey is to understand thatit's okay to sometimes not have
to be going full force all thetime.
You might have to just take astep back.
That does not mean taking astep backwards, it just means
take a break for a little bit.
It's okay just to just treadwater for just a little bit.
My only suggestion in that casewould be to give yourself a
(12:47):
time limit.
What is it as a pity party,right?
If you're gonna have a pityparty and you're feeling sorry
for yourself, give yourself atime limit for that.
Because if you don't, you'rejust gonna keep doing it, right?
You fall into this dark hole.
Well, you want to give yourselfa time limit.
I'm gonna feel sorry for myselffor X period of time, a couple
of days, three days, a week,whatever.
I'm gonna tread water.
I'm not gonna spend any, I'mjust gonna take a minute for
(13:09):
myself and just take a break.
But just give yourself a timelimit then to get back to it.
Because if you don't, then thatdrift starts to happen.
And drift, like you don't feelthat right away.
You feel that six months fromnow.
All of a sudden you turnaround, you look back, you're
going into credit card debtagain.
You've maybe used some of youremergency fund savings, right?
Drift isn't recognized rightaway.
(13:30):
It's recognized in months andyears from now if you're not
careful.
The other thing you guys canfocus on too, and we talk about
these, like the five dailyfinancial to-dos that we've
talked about here on thispodcast.
And it's really just takingsome time and looking at your
finances very quickly every day.
It doesn't have to take a tonof time, but just get in the
habit of looking at yourfinances five, 10, 15 minutes a
(13:51):
day.
Check your bank accounts, checkyour spending, check your
credit cards, make it supersimple just to stay on track.
It doesn't mean that you haveto spend and invest all of this
extra time, especially this timeof year, because with the
holidays coming, your schedulesare gonna get tight.
You're not gonna have nearly asmuch time throughout the rest
of the year that you normallydo.
So it's good just to take astep back and just be able to
(14:13):
just take a few minutes everyday, make sure you're on track
with everything and notexperiencing that drift and
slipping backwards.
If you are ready to break freefrom living paycheck to
paycheck, you want to reducefinancial stress, build savings,
and finally pay off your debtfor good, but you're not sure
where to get started, don'tworry, we've got you covered.
Simplify Mat Money is sent toyou each and every Sunday to
(14:33):
your email.
It is your step-by-step roadmapto better financial control,
and you're also gonna learn someeasy-to-follow strategies to
manage your money effectively.
It's gonna help you makestress-free money decisions that
are gonna help you simplifyyour financial life with proven
tips that actually work, andyou're gonna gain the tools and
the confidence to tackle yourfinancial goals head on.
(14:54):
You can sign up for Simplify MyMoney by clicking the link at
the top of the show notes.
Announcer (15:04):
Let's talk about your baby.
Let's talk about all the goodthings, all the bad things,
death, baby.
Let's talk about debt.
Let's talk about debt.
Tot into death we dead.
Tot into death we dead.
Amber Taylor (15:23):
And that sound means it's time for the
celebrations of the show.
First, we have Jim stayed ontrack and paid an extra $90
towards debt.
Kati Hatfield (15:30):
Claudianne says, no eating out, bills are paid,
and saved $50 for theiremergency fund.
Way to go.
Chris Hawkins (15:40):
And Holly, I paid off my first snowball credit
card of $928.73.
And also put $700 in theemergency fund and another $700
saved for Christmas.
Brad Nelson (15:55):
Yeah, that's a huge week, you guys.
Congratulations, especially.
Man, that's awesome.
Getting ready for Christmas andthe holidays.
As always, guys,congratulations to all of you
who are taking a stand for yourfinancial life and you are
wanting better.
Hey, we get that getting out ofdebt isn't easy, but with our
help and with your consistencyand discipline, we promise you
guys this will be some of thebest work that you guys do in
(16:18):
your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
you guys on the next episode.
Announcer (16:28):
Thanks for listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Just search Debt Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it.
For resources, show notes, andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit debtfreedad.com.
(16:49):
Catch you next week.
So let's be real, guys.
This time of year can beexhausting when it comes to
money.
You've been trying to make gooddecisions, but the holidays,
prices, stress, and life allpile up.
And sometimes you just gettired of thinking about money at
all.
And if that's you right now,that doesn't mean you failed.
It just means that you'rehuman.
(00:20):
So today we're going to betalking about how to rest,
reset, and hold your progressthrough the holiday shopping
season, even if you are runninglow on energy.
Announcer (00:33):
You're listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(00:55):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:02):
Hey guys, welcome to today's show.
I am Brad Nelson, founder ofDeaf Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt-free now formore than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here at DeafFree Dad.
Amber Taylor (01:17):
My husband and I saved and paid off $54,000 in
just 20 months, and we've beenliving debt-free outside of our
mortgage since 2018.
Chris Hawkins (01:24):
And my name is Chris Hawkins, and my wife and I
started our journey in 2005.
And from 2005 to 2008, we paidoff just under $100,000 in debt,
and we've been debt-free eversince 2008.
Kati Hatfield (01:38):
And I'm Katie Hatfield, and I am still paying
off debt and on my way to debtfreedom.
I have been doing that forseven years, and in that time I
have paid off over $237,660 instudent loans, credit cards,
medical bills, uh, and other funthings.
And that's all been on a singleincome.
Brad Nelson (01:58):
Now, after listening to this episode, if
you are ready to take things tothe next level, you want to
break free from living paycheckto paycheck, reduce financial
stress, and build your savingsand finally pay off your debt
for good.
But again, maybe you're notsure where to get started.
We've created some incrediblefree resources here at Def Free
Dead to help you get there, andwe'll be sharing some details
about how you can get some ofthose later on in today's
(02:21):
episode.
So, guys, I want to quit.
I'm tired, right?
I've been working on my DefFree journey for a long time, or
maybe it's just been a fewmonths, and it just seems like
I'm looking at this mountain Ihave to climb.
I'm looking at everything thatI have to do.
I'm actually calculating thathow long it's gonna take me to
(02:42):
get there.
And you know, fatigue steps in.
And it's the same same, evenwith just this time of year as
this episode airs, you know,we're in the midst of the
holidays.
It's easy to just sit back andjust say, I'll get back to it
next year, because again,sometimes this stuff can get
tiring, life gets in the way,distractions happen.
(03:04):
How do we overcome this?
And and again, I would like youguys to share.
Did you guys ever experiencethese types of feelings?
And Katie, I know you're stilldoing it, so maybe you still
are, but have you experiencedany of these types of feelings?
I know I have, and in gettingout of debt, and even sometimes,
even after getting out of debtand reaching other goals,
sometimes the goal can be solofty or so big, and and all of
(03:27):
a sudden it's like what's thepoint?
I don't think I'm ever going toget there.
And and are you almost can talkyourself out of it, or it can
just feel exhausting to try.
Amber Taylor (03:36):
The struggle's real.
Kati Hatfield (03:39):
Yeah, when you see the number that you add all
of your debts up, and it hitsyou like, How am I ever going to
tackle this?
This seems impossible.
This is never gonna happen.
Like for me on a single income,that was just like that's more
than I make in several years.
(03:59):
So I don't think I can do this.
But seven years later, and I'vepaid off that much, and I only
have a little bit left to go.
I have a personal loan that Iwas like $13,000 when I started,
and I have $750 left, and I'mlike, that'll be done before
Christmas.
So that's another one beforethe end of the year.
So it's those little momentumthings that just keep you moving
(04:24):
forward, those little wins,they really work.
Chris Hawkins (04:27):
It's been so long for me that's it's it's hard
for me to think of details.
But I can certainly remember itat the moment thinking, good
gracious, this is gonna takeforever.
Good gracious, this is evenpossible.
Good gracious, how am I evengonna do this?
Can I do this?
Can I stick with this?
(04:48):
And those emotions and thosethoughts are real regardless of
who you are.
And I always try to put myselfin the shoes of somebody
listening to this podcast.
And so I want you to know thatyou know I've been there, done
that.
That's been long enough thatit's hard for me to relate
anymore.
It's hard for me to be able tounderstand the pain quite to the
level that it was at at thetime.
(05:10):
But you can accomplish greatthings when you set your mind to
it.
And part of that isunderstanding that there will be
some setbacks, there will besome moments that you get
frustrated with yourself, butyou can do it.
And when those moments happen,give yourself some grace, pick
yourself up, keep movingforward, because that's how you
(05:34):
get to the end.
It's not a microwave method,it's a crockpot method, and it's
gonna take you time.
And so if you're sitting theregoing, good gracious, I've
started, but I feel like I'mnever gonna see the end, it will
get there.
Trust us, we've all been there.
Katie, you've got to be almostto the end.
Kati Hatfield (05:52):
I am like less than two years left, and I'm
very excited about that.
Like, I've definitely fallenoff the wagon a few times, and I
tried to do this by myself, andit wasn't working the way I was
doing it.
So when I started doing it withthe Roots program, I'm like,
well, I gotta try somethingbecause my way is not working.
So let's just try somethingelse.
(06:14):
And this is clearly workingbecause I've stuck with it this
long, and even when I've madesome financial poor decisions in
the last seven years, you'renot starting over from zero.
You're starting like, okay,I've got this experience, I know
what I have to do, I just haveto plug back in and not keep
(06:35):
going down the wrong path.
I know how to get back to theright path and just do the work.
And yes, it is a long journey,but it has been absolutely the
proudest thing I've ever done.
Like my greatestaccomplishment.
And I'm just so looking forwardto being done.
(06:56):
And it will happen.
I can't wait to celebrate thatwith you.
Announcer (06:59):
It is awesome.
Kati Hatfield (07:00):
I think we may have to come down to Brad's
house and be like, we're havinga journey.
Chris Hawkins (07:05):
We may all have to get together and do a live
show all together.
Yeah, right.
Amber Taylor (07:09):
Yeah.
Chris Hawkins (07:10):
Now, I would I do want to add one more thing.
Unless you're just now out ofcollege and you got a pile of
student loan debt, for most ofyou out there, the journey out
of debt, I promise you, is goingto be shorter than the journey
it took to get into debt.
Amber Taylor (07:23):
Yeah.
I I think the fatigue for usreally set in when we continued
to say no to people and wewatched other people like going
out to the theaters and goingout to dinner and inviting us
out, and we'd say no.
And we kind of got into thisfunk of like, are we ever gonna
(07:44):
have any fun again?
So we started to just include alittle bit of fun into the
budget, but then we also foundfree things to do, and then we
found ways to make moneytogether that kind of made it
like a date night.
Like we went and did DoorDashand stuff like that for an
evening out together, and wejust hung out and we made a
little bit of cash at the sametime.
So you kind of gotta spin itand find ways that you know make
(08:07):
it fun again when you'refeeling like you're struggling
or you want to give up.
Brad Nelson (08:12):
Yeah, that's the double whammy of all of this
because you're gonna go throughsome sort of fatigue when you go
through this.
It's just it is a marathonrace.
And with today's society,everything is get it now.
I'm gonna age myself.
I I know we're all we're allfine on this podcast, but if
you're younger listening to thisshow, like I remember this is a
perfect example.
(08:32):
If you wanted to listen orrecord a certain song and you
wanted it, you had to wait onthe radio on a radio show at
night to hit the record buttonon your tape deck to get that
song.
And you you you neededpatience, like not everything
was instantaneous, but today youcan get any song in an instant
on your phone, and that's justlike one example of how just
(08:54):
everything is get it nownowadays.
You want to watch a show, youcan instantly get it on Netflix
or whatever.
I mean, you don't want to goout and get your food, you get
it delivered right to yourhouse.
We are just as a society, weare groomed to have everything
right now, and because gettingout of debt doesn't happen right
now, there's no elevator out ofit, it's grueling, right?
(09:14):
It almost feels like we're notdoing it right because it's not
happening fast enough.
Because I think the way asociety is built, the way
everything is working now,especially even with debt and
payments, that's why they're soenticing, is everything is just
so get it now.
And when you want to get out ofdebt, it just doesn't happen
that way.
And so you really, really haveto fight for it.
(09:35):
But Amber, you brought it up agood point is that the one that
kind of sits on top of thatfeeling is what everybody else
is doing.
Because hardly anybody else isprobably working on this in your
social circle, your friends,your family, your coworkers.
They ain't doing this.
It's like Amber said, they'regoing out there having fun, and
meanwhile, you're you're sittingback and you're like, I gotta
(09:57):
get out of debt.
Like, this sucks.
What are we doing?
Right, and so it is so hard inthose moments, and this, you
guys, out of everything,budgeting, saving, all the stuff
that we talk about.
This is the hardest part aboutgetting out of debt is going the
distance to get there becauseit is so easy to drift, it is so
(10:19):
easy to get distracted, it isso easy to fall into what
everybody else is doing and goback to where you were because
it there's just so much pressurethere.
Kati Hatfield (10:28):
Yeah, I've been playing the the taxi driver for
my parents and my sister'sfamily, taking them to the
airport to go on their vacationsthat they've planned.
And I'm like, you know what?
This year I took a lot of tripslast year, and this year I just
needed to step back a littlebit from the vacation budget and
make some more progress, andthat was all good.
(10:49):
Although now that it's reallycold in the towns in my life, I
would really like to go to thebeach anytime very soon.
But I know that it is astruggle, but I see the finish
line, it is on the horizon, andI also feel good because I've
been doing this so long.
Your your true friends that youcan talk to honestly about this
(11:13):
kind of thing when we're makingplans to have dinner or
something, and one of my friendswas like, Hey, do you mind if
we do it like after the 15th orwhatever?
I just want to, you know, it'sgonna be a little tight until
payday.
And I'm like, Yeah, absolutely.
Like, we can adjust plans, andyou just have to be flexible.
It doesn't mean you're nevergoing to get to have fun, you
(11:36):
can just postpone it a littlebit further, and yeah, it all
works out.
Brad Nelson (11:40):
Yeah, as we say in roots, and I think this is a
military saying, I'm pretty sureit's in the Marines.
It's embrace the suck.
That's what it is.
It really is.
It is, it is embracing the suckbecause it's not always going
to be fun, right?
And especially this time ofyear, when we're going through
the holidays, it can be eveneasier to drift and get
distracted and put the brakes oneverything that you're working
(12:02):
on.
But the reality is too, is yougot to understand that this time
of year, especially, is thatit's okay.
If you're feeling, I think thenumber one thing you need to
understand, number one, ifyou're feeling this, if you're
feeling fatigue, and if you'refeeling like this is not fun,
it's normal.
You're human.
Like it wasn't fun for any ofus all the time either.
And so I think that's the firstthing that you need to
recognize.
(12:23):
And the second thing I think isthat important is on this
journey is to understand thatit's okay to sometimes not have
to be going full force all thetime.
You might have to just take astep back.
That does not mean taking astep backwards, it just means
take a break for a little bit.
It's okay just to just treadwater for just a little bit.
My only suggestion in that casewould be to give yourself a
(12:47):
time limit.
What is it as a pity party,right?
If you're gonna have a pityparty and you're feeling sorry
for yourself, give yourself atime limit for that.
Because if you don't, you'rejust gonna keep doing it, right?
You fall into this dark hole.
Well, you want to give yourselfa time limit.
I'm gonna feel sorry for myselffor X period of time, a couple
of days, three days, a week,whatever.
I'm gonna tread water.
I'm not gonna spend any, I'mjust gonna take a minute for
(13:09):
myself and just take a break.
But just give yourself a timelimit then to get back to it.
Because if you don't, then thatdrift starts to happen.
And drift, like you don't feelthat right away.
You feel that six months fromnow.
All of a sudden you turnaround, you look back, you're
going into credit card debtagain.
You've maybe used some of youremergency fund savings, right?
Drift isn't recognized rightaway.
(13:30):
It's recognized in months andyears from now if you're not
careful.
The other thing you guys canfocus on too, and we talk about
these, like the five dailyfinancial to-dos that we've
talked about here on thispodcast.
And it's really just takingsome time and looking at your
finances very quickly every day.
It doesn't have to take a tonof time, but just get in the
habit of looking at yourfinances five, 10, 15 minutes a
(13:51):
day.
Check your bank accounts, checkyour spending, check your
credit cards, make it supersimple just to stay on track.
It doesn't mean that you haveto spend and invest all of this
extra time, especially this timeof year, because with the
holidays coming, your schedulesare gonna get tight.
You're not gonna have nearly asmuch time throughout the rest
of the year that you normallydo.
So it's good just to take astep back and just be able to
(14:13):
just take a few minutes everyday, make sure you're on track
with everything and notexperiencing that drift and
slipping backwards.
If you are ready to break freefrom living paycheck to
paycheck, you want to reducefinancial stress, build savings,
and finally pay off your debtfor good, but you're not sure
where to get started, don'tworry, we've got you covered.
Simplify Mat Money is sent toyou each and every Sunday to
(14:33):
your email.
It is your step-by-step roadmapto better financial control,
and you're also gonna learn someeasy-to-follow strategies to
manage your money effectively.
It's gonna help you makestress-free money decisions that
are gonna help you simplifyyour financial life with proven
tips that actually work, andyou're gonna gain the tools and
the confidence to tackle yourfinancial goals head on.
(14:54):
You can sign up for Simplify MyMoney by clicking the link at
the top of the show notes.
Announcer (15:04):
Let's talk about your baby.
Let's talk about all the goodthings, all the bad things,
death, baby.
Let's talk about debt.
Let's talk about debt.
Tot into death we dead.
Tot into death we dead.
Amber Taylor (15:23):
And that sound means it's time for the
celebrations of the show.
First, we have Jim stayed ontrack and paid an extra $90
towards debt.
Kati Hatfield (15:30):
Claudianne says, no eating out, bills are paid,
and saved $50 for theiremergency fund.
Way to go.
Chris Hawkins (15:40):
And Holly, I paid off my first snowball credit
card of $928.73.
And also put $700 in theemergency fund and another $700
saved for Christmas.
Brad Nelson (15:55):
Yeah, that's a huge week, you guys.
Congratulations, especially.
Man, that's awesome.
Getting ready for Christmas andthe holidays.
As always, guys,congratulations to all of you
who are taking a stand for yourfinancial life and you are
wanting better.
Hey, we get that getting out ofdebt isn't easy, but with our
help and with your consistencyand discipline, we promise you
guys this will be some of thebest work that you guys do in
(16:18):
your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
you guys on the next episode.
Announcer (16:28):
Thanks for listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Just search Debt Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it.
For resources, show notes, andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit debtfreedad.com.
(16:49):
Catch you next week.
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