If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try AGAIN!

Are you a debt-hating maniac like I am? Are you successfully working your way out of debt so that you can live a less stressful and more financially productive life? If you’ve been reading this blog for any time at all then you probably know I believe more than anything in your ability to eliminate the debt from your life. Keep chopping away at your debt and one day you will reap the rewarding benefits of that freedom.

Unfortunately, some people never find their stride. They’ve tried everything they possibly could, yet getting out of debt seems so unreachable to them that their motivation to continue is extremely effected. I can relate to that feeling. My wife and I made a few half assed attempts before we found what ultimately worked for us — Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. I say half assed, not because we didn’t want debt freedom, but because at the time our financial mindset wasn’t aligned with our financial goals.

If you want to get out of debt but keep failing, KEEP TRYING! Keep looking for the debt elimination method that will work for you because whether you believe it or not, it’s out there.

When it does surface, as long as you’re committed to changing your financial behaviors and making a few sacrifices here and there, you’ll be surprised to see your motivation sky rocket.

I have a much better example of struggle than my own debt free journey though.

My Struggle with Weight Loss

Some of you may know I’ve been trying to lose weight for quite some time. (over 10 years) It’s been a very frustrating experience for me to constantly fail at losing weight when I want to be healthy and fit so badly. I’ve tried countless “diets” — good and bad. I’ve even fallen for gimmick diet pills which I consider the financial equivalent of debt consolidation. Some diet pills may help you lose weight but if you do not change your behaviors in the process then you’ll end up right back where you’ve started. The same goes for you and your debt.

I stopped believing in “diet gimmicks” a long time ago and my weight loss journey has been very long and hard. Although I’ve made many attempts and had some success losing weight (as much as 150 pounds) I’ve struggled to stick to any one “diet” long enough to maintain the weight I’ve lost. With that said, I’ve never stopped trying! My desire to lose weight and keep it off is very strong but as with anything else my behavior has been sabotaging my efforts. Still I continued.

Recently, my wife and I decided we needed outside assistance and we were now willing to spend a little money for the right plan. After a little bit of research we found a heavily doctor-monitored low-fat program that got our attention. The only problem was that it was extremely expensive but we decided that our health was worth the cost. Still, being the financial nerd that I am, I wanted to see if there was something less expensive.

That’s when we stumbled upon the program we are using now which doesn’t really focus on the weight loss as much as building healthy habits for maintaining after the weight is lost. BINGO! This is what I’ve been looking for!

Not only is it the exact same type of program, but it’s thousands of dollars cheaper and we don’t have to drag our kids an hour away to the weekly doctor visits and nutrition classes. Plus we have full on-call access (for free) to registered dieticians, behavioral psychologists, doctors, as well as personal fitness trainers. We were also assigned a personal health coach to help keep us accountable and motivated during our journey to good health. Our coach is AMAZING!!!!

So had I given up, we’d never have found a program that I believe is going to finally help us achieve what we’ve wanted to achieve for so long. We are changing our behaviors and it feels so good.

As of May 31st, we will have been on this program for 6 weeks and I will have lost just over 30 pounds. Thankfully we didn’t give up because God knows we were so frustrated at times that we wanted to.

Keep Searching for the Plan that Works for You!

There are many methods out there for eliminating debt and something I’ve come to realize over the years is that there is no one-size fits all solution. Sometimes it’s a combination of strategies that get the job done but there is a plan out there for you. You just have to find it!

Don’t stop looking. Don’t stop trying. Don’t stop paying off your debt!

What you go through during your financial journey will strengthen you in ways you would never have expected. Like they say, what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Debt freedom is in your future. That future will give you more opportunity to live the life you really want. Don’t let failure stop you from finding success. Failure is nothing more than a stepping stone to success!

Good luck!

 

 

About Brad Chaffee

14 Responses to “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try AGAIN!”

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  1. Petunia 100 says:

    Wow, 30 lbs! That’s awesome. Best of luck to you and the misses with your health goals.

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Thanks Petunia! I feel great and the best part is that this program is SO EASY to follow. I’ll definitely keep updating everyone on my progress! ๐Ÿ˜€

  2. Great job with the weigh loss, Brad! I always enjoy reading posts that compare weight loss to eliminating debt….they’re so similar! There’s so many types of programs out there for each, and I agree that someone looking to do either one just need to find the program that works for them…..and then BRING IT!

  3. Congrats on the weight loss!! As you know I had attempted P90X back in January but what you may not know is that about a month and a half in I ruptured yet another disc in my back ๐Ÿ™ So my exercise has been severly sidelined–sometimes just changing your lifestyle and learning to eat healthy make the biggest difference–stick with it!

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Thanks Suzanne! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Yeah I’m not doing P90X anymore either. I had to stop exercising due to what I later found out to be a “thinning” tendon in my ankle. It’s been a rocky few months but my ankle is finally healing. Unfortunately, It’s very probable that I’ll need surgery at some point to repair the problem.

      I really can’t wait until I can start exercising again because I really love P90X and some of the other Beachbody home workouts I have in my collection including INSANITY. In fact I bought Turbo Fire for my wife and I to try out and my ankle got worse which was why I went to the doctor finally.

      Sorry to hear about your back. My mom has had back issues for years so I kind of know what you’re going through.

      This program that I am on is so wonderful! It’s one of the easiest (to stick to) programs I’ve ever tried. I feel like I’m building some real habits and changing some very old behaviors that obviously kept me overweight. I’m eating 6 times a day instead of 2 times and I feel like I’m learning so much. I’m sleeping better and the big kicker is that I will probably be able to come off of my blood pressure and cholesterol medication soon. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. J$ says:

    KEEP ROLLIN’ BROTHA!! That’s amazing!!!! So proud of you! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Thanks J Dinero! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Next time you see me you’ll probably have to check my ID to make sure it’s me, especially since we’re rooming together at FINCON12! Haha! ๐Ÿ˜€

  5. 30-pound loss in 6 weeks is an average of 5 lbs a week and that is indeed an achievement. Congratulations! Indeed, determination and hard work is the key to reach whatever goals we have.

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Thank you Cherleen! I haven’t been this excited since we started our debt free journey back in 2008. There’s something about results and the glimpse of hope that get me all worked up. HAHA! ๐Ÿ˜€

  6. Jan says:

    So what’s the program? Something like WeightWatchers?

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      No I am using a program call Take Shape For Life that uses a product called Medifast for the program. (Not to be confused with the more expensive Optifast — which is basically the same program without all the extras.) It’s a low low calorie program and the meals are medically formulated to ensure you get the 24+ vitamins and minerals you need to safely lose 2-5 pounds a week.

      I eat 5 medifast meals a day about every 2-3 hours and then what they call a “Lean and Green” which is a lean protein and 3 servings of specific veggies. The eating 6 times a day part is really helping my wife and I. No cravings. No crashes. And the best part of all is the weight we’re losing. haha! The TSFL company focus on the transition phase and the maintenance phase more than anything which I think is the key. As with debt, changing bad behaviors is the key. ๐Ÿ˜€

      I love it so much (obviously because of my results) that I became a health coach too so I could help motivate and inspire those struggling to lose weight. It’s something else I’m passionate about especially since it’s been one of my life’s biggest struggles. So now when someone either starts the program through me or gets sent to me from the Take Shape for Life site, I will be an integral part of their weight loss journey.

      The support and extras that come with the program are so comprehensive and my health coach has been super! We’re even working our way through a textbook with a workbook to help us learn all we can about nutrition, fitness and creating healthy habits. My wife is down 20 pounds too so the fact that we’re doing it together makes it all the more beautiful.

      Sorry to be so long winded about this I’m just so excited. Just like I was about debt I want to scream from the rooftops. LOL

      If you want to know more email me. (brad@enemyofdebt.com) I’d love to help. Thanks for listening to my story! ๐Ÿ˜€

  7. Thanks for inspiring Brad. I have been struggling a lot to repay all my debts.

  8. Brad Chaffee says:

    Thanks Get Rich Point and I’m glad you liked it.

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