Ramsey Plan 2.0 - Slack and Rewards
In my last rant about the famous Dave Ramsey, I talked about his plan to get out of debt, how it followed simple logic with simple-to-understand solutions and pushed you to get there at gazelle intensity. Everything he teaches is great on paper, but he doesn't take into account those that struggle to remember basic self-care, let alone commit to a years-long endeavour of sacrifice for better financial security at some point in the future.
ADHD brains don't feel that good hit of dopamine as often. We're lucky if we get it at all, and when we do, it's incredibly underwhelming. Motivation is a problem and long-term tasks/projects are near impossible most of the time. So today I propose a set of rules to add to Dave's amazing plan to make it more attainable for the neurodivergent crowd or even those with other conditions like anxiety and depression that will affect long-term motivation.
1. Rewards must be frequent, immediate, and usable.
To follow his plan to a T, you don't spend anything not necessary until you're debt free. When in debt, you're in the negatives, you're broke. Even if you have a paycheck coming in and physically can spend your money on things, you're just choosing to stay broke longer.
But we need to fill a major motivational gap. Having no rewards to reinforce the behaviour will lead many to abandon this as quickly as they abandon that gym membership in February. We need rewards along the way. But more than just needing them, they need to be frequent enough to keep us going. Maybe that's when you pay off a certain debt, maybe it's every time you pay off 250 or 500 dollars worth. Whatever that period needs to be to help bridge the gap.
If we burn out, it's all over. Rewards must be immediate. Promising myself a future reward for every interval I hit isn't helping motivate me now, when I have to overcome that motivation gap. Rewards should be usable. What I mean by this is preferably food, money, or an experience. Something you can get and use right then.
Let's say I set a goal that when I pay off this debt, I give myself that video game I've been wanting forever. Sounds good, but I'm working overtime to get as much money as I can coming in, so I don't get the time to actually play it. I own it now, great! But by not actually being able to use it at the moment with my schedule, I've essentially made it a future reward as I'm not able to access the feeling of using it until later. Something like a nice meal out is a great way to reward yourself. I get that feeling of being rewarded right then and there. The experience of enjoying a meal can be associated with hitting those milestones, further reinforcing it. Spending the money to have a day out experience, like the zoo or an escape room, could fill that same need.
2. At each debt paid, one month's worth of that payment is put into rewards.
So if you've been paying 400/month for a car payment and you finally own the car, that month you take that 400 and you enjoy it. How far you can enjoy that payment will let you feel what you've been missing every time you have to pay. You will want even more to get rid of more, knowing how much of an impact they can have. Even just a 30/month payment is a meal out for you and a partner. Doesn't seem like much but when this is all over it's every month. Those experiences can give you the real desire to get over the motivation gaps. And because this is the snowball method, the next thing you payout will be bigger and likely make a bigger impact for you. Maybe the next payment will give you enough for a vacation to really take a rest after how far you've come.
Right now these are the 2 needed improvements, but if I think of something else, I'll make another post about it. In the meantime, remember to give yourself some slack and celebrate your victories frequently so you never feel the need to give up and burn out.
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