One Snarky Chica with Issues

I think a key component of successfully meeting a goal and just staying on track to meet your goals is having a rewards system.

For people on a weight loss or fitness goal a reward system might have things like a “cheat day” or a special treat. Or you hear about people that have their eye on some new piece of clothing that they will buy once they reach a certain size.
For people trying to pay off debt a reward could be something like a night out or a mini-trip some place or something. Or maybe someone wants to buy a Wii when they pay off a certain amount or something similar.

While I do think that having a rewards system is important, I can’t help but notice that most of the time a reward means spending money. And this seems to be the case even with people that are paying down debt.

And I am guilty of it too! And you know what? Since I am trying to pay off debt it is a bit counterproductive.

My rewards system looks like this:

Debt pay off milestone #1 = weekend trip with a cost of approx. $500

Debt pay off milestone #2 = sell my PC and get a new MacBook with an end cost of at least $700

Final debt pay off reward = cash in my airline miles for a free flight to France with probably an incredible cost for all other expenses considering the exchange rate.

What you might notice is that I do not have a lot of rewards and that they increase in cost. I am thinking that I need to make some amendments and add in some freebie rewards. Have you taken a look at your rewards system?