Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. Meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Don’t worry though. I only recommend products that I believe will help you on your journey.
Check Out Related Episodes & Resources
- Please Stop Doing Money Dates
- Why You’re Not Budgeting Even When You Know You Should
- 4 Simple Things You HAVE To Know To Run Your Books Correctly
- Why You Need To STOP Saving For A Rainy Day
- FREE Cash Flow Calculator
In this episode of Your Money Your Life, I dive into the often misunderstood impact of debt on your business and personal success. I’ll explain why debt itself isn’t the true silent killer, but rather the guilt and shame surrounding it. I’ll share strategies for utilizing credit as a tool for growth and the importance of a positive mindset. You’ll also hear about practical steps to manage and pay off debt, including the debt roll-down method. If you’ve struggled with debt and the emotional weight it brings, this episode will provide the insight and encouragement you need to move forward confidently.
LISTEN OR SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE IN YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RSS
Resources:
- Cashflow Calculator: https:/aimeecerka.com/cashflow
- What’s The Best Debt Payoff Method – https://aimeecerka.com/147
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/aimeecerka
- Work With Aimee: https://workwithaimee.com
Podcast Key Points
0:00 – Episode Overview
1:29 – Utilizing Credit Responsibly
4:28 – Decisions Were Made in the Past
5:32 – Regret Around Decisions
9:37 – Resources and Financial Education
11:38 – Cashflow Calculator
Grab The Cash Flow Calculator
Uncover the right work (that you’re probably already doing) in order to finally see consistent cash flow month after month
Let’s find out in just 90 seconds!
Get started today ????
Fill out your information below to get instant access
Introduction to Debt
Debt is something that can kill your business, but probably not for the reason that you’re thinking of. We’re going to talk about how debt and business debt, really personal or business? You know, just debt in general, how it affects your business and your success and what you need to know about it. So let’s get to it. This is the your money your life podcast.
What Is Debt?
I’m your host, Aimee Cerka, a money confidence coach for female entrepreneurs on the path to six figures. After over ten years in the personal finance industry and multiple personal, financial and medical crisis, I was fed up with the lies that are being shouted from the rooftops by the gurus and the media. So now I help you simplify, solidify, and scale your money. By blending tactile money strategies with mindset work, you can create unstoppable finances.
How Debt Affects Your Business
Together, you’ll finally figure out the money thing, so you can make more money in less time without living off of beans and rice or sacrificing your lifestyle. Episodes here on the podcast are short and sweet. Being married, having four kids at home, homeschooling, being a CEO, running the household. I’m kind of busy, and I know you are, too. So let’s keep it simple and get to the point.
Debt Can Be a Business Killer
Welcome back to the your money your life podcast. I’m your host, Aimee Cerka. We are talking about debt today, whether it’s business debt, personal debt, but from the lens of how debt affects your business and your business success. And it is a silent killer within your business. But probably for, not for the reason that you’re thinking, right?
The Problem with Debt
Because most the time we’re probably thinking if we have a lot of debt, like that’s the lack of cash flow, having to pay back the debt, that’s what’s going to kill your business. And that has not been the case from what I’ve found. Yes, I’m sure there’s circumstances, but we have to look at the reasons behind it, the core, the principles, all of those things. And we’re going to get into that today.
Using Credit to Grow Your Business
So obviously, you know, when you’re in debt, we have to be mindful, whether it’s high interest rates, you know, paying more in interest long term, that’s going to cut into profits and some of those things. But utilizing credit to grow your business or utilizing credit even on your personal side can be a superpower. Like, it can be a tool. There’s whole budgeting systems built on, like your credit and even like, ways to pay off your debt. It’s still utilizing your credit cards.
How Debt Feels
And those can be amazing tools. I utilize them as well, but it goes back to the thing that does actually kill the business, and it’s the way that we feel about it. How do you feel about money? How do you feel about the debt? Are you ashamed of the fact that you’ve accumulated this business debt? Are you ashamed of the fact that you have this personal debt? Or do you feel guilty about it? Do you feel this obligation, the stress, the pressure to move forward because that debt is in place? If so, that is what’s going to silently kill the business, not the debt itself. Because there’s tools, there’s strategy.
Simple Steps to Pay Off Debt
It’s really simple. It’s the step by step. We’ve talked a link to it in the show notes. We’ve done episodes on, you know, the best debt payoff method. We’ve got videos inside just updating this inside Money Mastery Academy, which of course you get if you’re inside the Unstoppable Experience as well.
Paying Off Credit Cards Faster
But like the actual payoff plan or repayment plan is really simple. And I’m even going to share with the unstoppable experience members when we officially launch that this new. I don’t know that it’s new. It’s kind of like a strategy that I’ve utilized with banking specifically to pay off your credit cards faster and like it, but you’re utilizing your credit cards at the same time. It’s a rather intuitive system because essentially we’re using the banking system really against them, but we’re using it as a superpower, that tool, and paying off debt as we go.
Learning from Past Mistakes
So I’m pretty excited about getting to share some of that and some of those things that we’re learning there. But when it comes to your debt, like those decisions that you made, they’re already in the past. So even if the decision didn’t turn out the way that you wanted it to be, maybe you were spending on your personal side where you weren’t shouldn’t have been. Maybe you were going out to eat too much, you were buying too many things on Amazon. Whatever it might be, that’s all in the past, doesn’t matter anymore, right? Like there is nothing beating yourself up over it is going to do to change it.
Moving Forward
Now we need to take the steps, the principles, the strategies to make sure that we’re buying things that we want to buy things within, like that we can afford budgeting all of those things, right? We’ve got all of those tools. That’s all there. But that’s like a current problem. We’re not worried about what we did in the past, because worrying about what we did in the past isn’t going to change it.
Using Credit as a Blessing
So when we feel guilt or shame about things that we did, what, how powerful is it? How amazing is it that you’re able to even use a credit card, that you’re able to get some, have something now, receive something now on credit that you can pay for later? Like, what if you looked at it like that? What if you looked at it as a blessing, something that you were able to utilize regardless of how you feel about the transaction, regardless of if you feel like it was a poor decision, which we’ve got an exercise that I’ve taken clients through. Let’s just go through it.
Finding Benefits from Purchases
Okay, so let’s say you did make that purchase that you kind of regret. Shouldn’t have done that. I knew better. Whatever you might be telling yourself there, that purchase itself, if it’s a large purchase, I want you to find ten things. If it’s a small purchase, three to five. Okay?
What are benefits?
What are positives, learning experiences, whatever it might have been, positive things that came from that experience.
Recognizing Triggers
What did you learn about yourself?
Did you see your power and understanding, where you let go of that?
Maybe you see what. What triggered you to make that decision to buy something that you know that you shouldn’t have bought?
So what was it in the moment? Are you. Maybe it’s the within human design we’ll talk about. Like, you have an emotional authority. There’s different authorities, but if you’re an emotional authority, you’re not supposed to buy on the impulse like that.
Understanding Emotional Authority
We’re supposed to wait because we feel the waves of the emotion, right? So we don’t want to buy in the high of the way, the really high excitement, right? Or the low of the wave. That’s really what the 24 hours rule does for you, is helping you to stop and take a minute, take a breath, and really hear yourself on what you truly know is best. Okay? So that purchase that you’re like, I should have known better. I shouldn’t have done that.
Learning from Mistakes
I had to do this with a car, actually. I know. Like I tell you all the time, right? We talk about the 24 hours rule. I know. Not to impulse purchase something, but when I was pregnant with Wyatt, my second, we knew my husband at the time, and I knew we were gonna have to get a new vehicle. Like, it just wasn’t gonna work. I was driving a little Toyota Corolla, so I needed something that was bigger, right? We went in just a look, right?
The Car Purchase
Just to look. But ended up that we left about a Dodge journey. There was so many things that I did not like about that car at all. At all. There were so many stupid things about it, like, just didn’t make sense and you know, it, again, like, we knew better, but we went through the purchase and was able to find the things that I’ve learned from it, the things that I took from it to make it, to see the positive, see the blessings, see the things that did come from it, instead of focusing on. I can’t believe I did that.
Finding Gratitude
I should have known better because that’s not the energy that I want to stay in. Right. It was thankful for the way that I was able to transport me and the kids for years. It worked. We had it. And not thankful for where the battery was at. It was so dumb, like you couldn’t take the battery off or something like that. It was behind the wheel.
It was just random things like that. Wherever. Just didn’t make sense. You know, you buy the bigger vehicle because we needed more space for the car seats, but we didn’t test the car seat. So then it was like, still squished. But you know what? We were able to fit. We were able to take family trips. And when I ran over something in the road one time and there was very minimal damage to the vehicle there.
Positive Memories
And there’s so many little things like that that I can look back and appreciate the car for its little quirks and the little silly things that didn’t work and didn’t make sense. But I find the gratitude in that. So when I think about that cardinal, that’s what I think about. When I see a Dodge journey on the road, that’s what I think about are those positive things, the things that I took from it, the memories that we have. Even that’s another example.
Finding Positives in Every Situation
So maybe it’s something that you did with your family and you were able to have the memories of the trip, or maybe it’s relationships that didn’t work out. Finding those positives and those moments and focusing on that instead of the negative when we get caught up in those decisions. Okay, so with your debt, we’re not going to think about it.
Finding Benefits in Debt
The guilt to shame, all of those things. We’re going to remove it. Find the positive, the benefits, the things that you’ve gained, whether it’s knowledge, memories, whatever it might be, and sit in gratitude for what you have. Then we’re also going to look at the strategy, like tactical strategy. We’re going to link to that other episode in the show, notes for different debt payoff methods.
Debt Roll Down Method
The one that I recommend across the board for most people is the debt roll down method. It makes sense for most. It’s like the best thing. You can also negotiate. You can do things asking for support, like hardship support.
Negotiating Debt
Most of the time they’re going to close the account. So you have to be mindful of that when it comes to your credit. But there are avenues to success, and it’s the guilt and the shame that we feel about it that shows up that prevents us from doing what we need to.
Positive Financial Education
I was with a group of ladies today with the forest school community co-op that we’re a part of. They were talking about. There was a couple of them that said they were learning about the podcast and that they needed to work on their financial education. But we have to speak about it in a positive manner because you’re making the steps to move forward instead of beating yourself up on the negative, giving yourself the grace that we give others, the things that we tell ourselves.
Giving Yourself Grace
This was a conversation I was having yesterday, actually. If people heard the things that you tell yourself, like, would you say that to somebody else? Probably not, right? Because we’re pretty hard on ourselves. So giving yourself that grace, that space to really move forward without the shame and the guilt.
Reframing Debt
All right, that’s kind of what I got for you today. It was a very impromptu episode. I was about to walk away, was going to be done recording, but we need to talk about debt from this lens. All right. If you’re working on your business, though, and you just feel like you have not got the consistent cash flow figured out, like you just need to make money consistently in your business, check out my cash flow calculator.
Cash Flow Calculator
I’ll put the link in the show notes as well. That is my assessment style calculator that helps you find the blind spots on your strategy, things that we might be missing, that is keeping you from that consistent cash flow month after month, because you know what? You’re here, you’re taking action, you’re doing the things, and that is critical. It’s key, right. But often we’re missing just a little things, and it’s probably not something that you think that you’re missing. A all right, takes just 90 seconds. https://aimeecerka.com/cashflow links in the show notes as well. That’s it for now. We’ll see you next time.
Work With Aimee
If you’re struggling with shame and guilt around your finances, whether it’s debt, impulse spending, mistakes from the past, or the fact that you still haven’t hit your income goal, then it’s time for you to work with me. There are different levels of support and price points that you can use on the path to removing that guilt and shame so you can step into your unstoppable life.
After all, your finances are unique to you, and your support should be too. Go to workwithaimee.com to get started with one of my most popular programs, or you can book a Q and a call with me. We’ll figure out what your next step should be. And of course, all those links are hanging out in the show notes as well.
