What do you do to stay motivated?

[ilovemygirl]

If this is even an issue for you ... what do you do to stay on budget, resist temptation, and avoid giving up altogether?
I've really lost my momentum the last few months. I think it might have been the total denial mode we were in for over a year. I didn't give us an inch of room. One day I actually got cranky at dh for buying a roll to eat with his lunch I sent him at work. We had a strict budget and kept track of every penny. We were able to pay off a lot of debt but there's still a ton more to go and I just can't keep it up anymore. I'm exhausted and totally burnt out.
So the last few months I've really let things slide ... especially eating out which is crazy, not just because it's expensive, but we belong to a CSA and we have all this food at home that we've already paid for.
I know I should just get back on track and maybe not be so extreme on the frugal side but I'm just having such a hard time motivating myself. I can't get out of this "what's the point" attitude. Even at our best it will still be years before we get out of debt.
Any ideas or btdt tips?

[lakeruby]

I really feel for you! If it makes you feel any better, I am supre impressed with how long you have kept at being ultra-frugal and paying off debt. I really would love to be that disciplined. I don't really have any tips for you, but I am subbing for ideas. Off the top of my head, I would say to keep a journal with you where you post pictures that remind you of why you're being so frugal. It probably also helps to give yourself (and your family) a small reward when you reach your budget goal each month (or something like that).
At any rate, please keep up the good work! You are an inspiration.

[Ruthiegirl]

My biggest aid in staying focused is maintaining a really open dialogue with dh and keeping our goals front and center.

We had a big credit card that we were focused on paying off. I made a huge grid to hang on the fridge. In each little box was our debt in $10 increments. Every time we made a payment, we crossed out the boxes. It was very motivating -- nothing like a huge visual reminder of our goals to keep us focused.

Every morning dh and I would look at that grid and all of those little boxes would stare back at us. So, when we wanted to be lazy and order a pizza, we were reminded that a $20 pizza equaled 2 more boxes worth of debt. Suddenly, we were that much more motivated to eat at home.

Now that our worst debts are paid off, we have a similar grid on the fridge with our savings goals. Again, a BIG visual reminder that keeps our plan right out in the open. Seems to be pretty good for the marriage as well.

[honeybunmom]

Originally Posted by ilovemygirl

If this is even an issue for you ... what do you do to stay on budget, resist temptation, and avoid giving up altogether?
I've really lost my momentum the last few months. I think it might have been the total denial mode we were in for over a year. I didn't give us an inch of room. One day I actually got cranky at dh for buying a roll to eat with his lunch I sent him at work. We had a strict budget and kept track of every penny. We were able to pay off a lot of debt but there's still a ton more to go and I just can't keep it up anymore. I'm exhausted and totally burnt out.
So the last few months I've really let things slide ... especially eating out which is crazy, not just because it's expensive, but we belong to a CSA and we have all this food at home that we've already paid for.
I know I should just get back on track and maybe not be so extreme on the frugal side but I'm just having such a hard time motivating myself. I can't get out of this "what's the point" attitude. Even at our best it will still be years before we get out of debt.
Any ideas or btdt tips?

Personally, I know I can't live with a budget so strictly calculated and applied. To me, it's like super strict dieting - if I feel deprived, I'm setting myself up for failure because I will binge worse that I would if I just had a more flexible budget. And by flexible, I mean that I budget for all of the bills I must pay and pay myself first for savings. After that I can do what I want with it. I don't break it down into smaller categories like clothing, dining out, gifts etc. because those things fluctuate so much for me. I rarely buy myself any clothing and do the kids' shopping normally at end of season sales. So, I don't feel like I need those categories. I try to cook from scratch most of the time, but, since I WOH, some weeks are rough and I'd rather just take the family out to dinner on Friday night. Sometimes, Saturday gets thrown in there, too. But, if I had a set amount available for dining out, I'd feel deprived if I felt like I wanted to stray from that (knowing full well the money is there because I didn't buy anyone a gift or buy any clothes - KWIM?).

ETA: I should say that I do have those categories in my budget for tracking purposes, but I don't feel tied to them if I know that I'm not using the categories that month and so I just use what's available.

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl

We had a big credit card that we were focused on paying off. I made a huge grid to hang on the fridge. In each little box was our debt in $10 increments. Every time we made a payment, we crossed out the boxes. It was very motivating -- nothing like a huge visual reminder of our goals to keep us focused.

I really like this idea! I think we may try it to help us keep on track.

[cmoma]

I like that big poster idea too!

We have a fair amount of debt...and we have tried to set a budget, put money in savings....and we struggled with it. Not really getting anywhere. Looking back I think it was because A. we feel like we are depriving ourselves, neither of us are good at being super disciplined. B. there was no Goal, or dream or end result. Nothing to work for ya know. other than being debt free, which is great! really great but not concrete enough for us, I suppose......

Now we have a dream, a goal. We want to move and buy a farm! and at the moment we can't, so we need to make some major changes in order to get that farm! Like paying off our debt and saving money...

My husband wants to draw/paint a farm/house and hang it up on the wall so everyday we see it and can be reminded of what we are working towards, I said we should also come up with a potential name!...But sometimes you need to know the end result of your sacrifices to be able to stick to it.

What about rewarding yourself at certain points...every 3months for sticking to it? or every time another cc or debt is paid off, or for X amount of money paid off? Something to keep you motivated.

I want to get our whole family involved too..our kids are 6,4 and 14m but even the older ones can try and keep us on track

and OP sticking to it for that year is AWESOME...keep going!!!