Everyone knows the best way to remove a Band-Aid, right? Of course, just rip it off! Fast! That’s the principal behind “Gazelle Intensity” described by Dave Ramsey in The Total Money Makeover. And it’s particularly important during and the Debt Snowball.
I have a confession to make. Carol and I were not always the most Gazelle Intense people during our Debt Snowball. We were doing an “ish” makeover. That is, we peeled the band-aid off slowly.
While we made it, we took 5 years and 3 months to clear our debts. I reckon that living on beans and rice (never eating out), postponing all vacations, and never having a date night would have shortened out Debt Snowball. In retrospect, I’m not unhappy with how our current situation.
But then again… had we finished in 24 months, we’d have saved and then invested an additional $1000 a month the last 39 months of our Snowball. According to my calculations, not ripping the Band-Aid off had an opportunity cost of roughly $500,000 at retirement ($548,761 to be more precise, but that’s just depressing). Throat punch! Ouch!
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. - Hebrews 12:11 Click To TweetWhile I can’t build a time machine, I can share what I’ve learned. And what I’ve learned is that ripping off the Band-Aid may mean a short duration of unpleasantness, but the cumulative long-term effect is astounding.
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