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If you have debt or have had debt in the past, you know how it controls your life – stress, 
embarrassment, uncertainty. Debt causes all these feelings. It’s not fun being in debt. Instead of worrying about how you will get out of debt, let’s focus on the benefits of being debt free. Below are 9 reasons to imagine a debt free life.
The original article has been edited here for length (…) and clarity ([ ]) by munKNEE.com – A Site For Sore Eyes & Inquisitive Minds – to provide a fast & easy read.
#1. Improved Health
When you are in debt, you experience a lot of stress. How are you going to make ends meet? What if you lose your job? What household repairs and upkeep? It’s a proven fact that stress does shorten your life. As a result, the less stress you have, the healthier you will be.
By paying off your debt, you immediately remove a huge amount of stress from your life. No more worrying about the bills coming in the mail. No more sleepless nights trying to figure out how you will make ends meet. All this leads to a longer, happier, healthier life.
#2. Better Outlook
When you have the weight of debt hovering over you, you see the bad all around you. Your mind is filled with negative thoughts and you see your life as a wreck.
When you start living debt free, your outlook reverses and you have a positive outlook on life. You start seeing things in a positive mindset. You see great things for your life and you’re more apt to push through things.
#3. Stronger Confidence
When in debt, you doubt your abilities. You wonder how you will cover the bills each month or how you will ever afford Christmas presents. Simply put, you lack confidence in yourself and your abilities.
The good news is that your confidence grows as you overcome obstacles. Paying off your debt is a huge obstacle to overcome and when you do, you will be prouder and more confident because of it.
You will walk around with a new sense of pride. You will believe in yourself and your abilities, constantly increasing your confidence.
#4. Personal Growth
As your confidence rises, you doubt yourself less and less. When a new challenge comes along, you won’t think that you can’t overcome it. You will know that you can. You will be growing as a person, bettering yourself all the time…
#5. More Success
The final benefit of paying off your debt is more success. As you begin to pay off debt, you achieve success. This leads to your confidence growing and you growing as a person. You will then be motivated to try more things and experience more and more success. The more successful and financially secure you become, the more the cycle repeats itself, and that’s a great cycle to be in.
At some point in this repeating cycle though, you are going to fail. Will everything come crashing down? Hardly. With your new found confidence, a setback won’t matter to you. You will see it for what it is, a bump in the road, and you will push through it.
#6. Financial Advantages Of Being Debt Free
Up until now, the benefits of being debt free have been more emotional, but there are some great financial advantages to being debt free.
The first is a simpler financial life. Think about your life now as you live in debt. You worry about what bills to pay first or when you are getting paid next. You even spend time wondering about choosing to save for a vacation or putting the money towards your debt.
All this worrying takes up a lot of your time and energy. Now imagine life without debt. These questions and worries are gone. Your biggest concern now is whether to save your money in a savings account or invest it in the stock market.
#7. Reduced Cost of Living
When in debt, you have to earn a lot more money each month to pay for your needs and still make your debt payments, but debt free living means you can earn less money and still be able to live happily and save money.
This can lead to more happiness. You might hate your job but be stuck in it because you need the income to cover your needs and debt payments, but if there is no debt, you might be able to change careers and do something that excites you and pays you less.
#8. More Choices
Life without debt allows you to have more choices in everything you do. By having money saved, you afford to experience more life has to offer.
You can take advantage of opportunities too. When opportunity knocks, you can take advantage of the offer. This is because your money isn’t tied to paying off debt.
#9. Ability To Achieve Financial Independence
When you live debt free, you increase the chances of being able to afford retirement. With fewer living expenses, you need to save less to cover you during your retirement years.
If you are buried in debt, you might not have been able to save enough to retire, but without debt, you now have hope.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of living a debt free life are immeasurable. If you accept the challenge to get your financial life in control, the world is yours. The increased confidence and personal growth will take you places you never imagined.
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