$32,000 Paid Off In 5 Months!

"The idea that growth will remedy our debts is so addictive for politicians, but the citizens end up paying the price." - Michael Burry

"We can pay our debts to the past by putting the future in debt to ourselves." - John Buchan

All of us know that paying off debt is not an easy task. It takes conviction, a strong "why", a plan, a budget and LOTS of encouragement. And as a coach, I've seen that one of the best ways for our students to stay motivated is to hear other people's stories, listen to their struggles and live vicariously through their wins.

This is the whole reason I started this "Journey To Debt-Freedom" series. I wanted to curate a reservoir of personal stories that will help you "find your own story" and keep marching forward toward your personal finance goals and ultimately to debt-freedom and beyond. 

Along those lines, if you have a "debt-free" or "on-my-way-to debt-free" story, I'd love to share yours with our audience. It's always such a gift to our subscribers and fans to hear your particular story AND will help you, especially if you have a a blog/platform/YouTube channel you want to promote (although that's not at all necessary).

Next up in our "Journey To Debt-Freedom" series, meet Demeterius!

Introduce yourself, Demeterius.

Demeterius Harmon, DC Area (Maryland), growing my financial coaching business.

Give me a little bit of background about your financial situation and your decision to "tackle it". Tell me about how much debt you've paid off so far and in how much time. What is your debt made up of?

My wife and I paid off 32K in 2018, in JUST 5 months!

In 2017, my mother in law passed away. We accrued some debt visiting my mother law out of state (food, hotel stays, etc). So in 2018, after we caught our breath we said no more debt.

Our debt consisted of a credit card, bank loan, and two car loans. We were on fire. Out of that pain grew two very motivated people who were determined to get out of debt for good. Now we are debt free except our home. God is so good!

I was making over $100,000 a year and frivolously spending money on eating out and shopping. At the end of each month, I had little savings and I wondered where my money went.

I grew tired of being stuck in the same place financially even though I made a lot of money. My wife and I had a discussion about our future and decided we could not continue to waste money and expect to have a bright financial future.

We created a financial plan and got on a budget. We took control of our finances. We paid off our debt, fully funded our emergency fund, and we are currently building wealth.

My wife suffers from a debilitating chronic illness (lupus) and working full time was becoming too much for her. Now that we were debt free, I told my wife she no longer needed to work.

She resigned and she now enjoys staying home with our two children. This would not be possible if we did not stick to a plan and pay off our debt. Now I enjoy helping people take control of their finances. I have a B.S. and M.B.A. in Business Administration. 

Looking for a way to get started on your own debt-free journey? Check out my: 

 “Debt-Elimination Quick-Start Guide”. This free resource will have ALL the tools, forms and printables you’ll need while moving through this 30 day challenge.

What was "the moment" you decided, "enough is enough" and what actions did you take or resources did you use to get the process started?

Our “enough is enough” moment occurred when my wife had to travel outside of the state for an extend period of time with no emergency fund. So the credit card was the next option for us.

No more, "no mas".

The time was now to get our money in order. We used Dave Ramsey’s 7 baby steps and the debt snowball.

Looking for a ways to live more frugally and address your debt? Check out my: 100 Frugal Ways To Save Money And Get Out Of Debt.

What was your "why"? What kept you going when you wanted to quit? How did you stay motivated?

Our why was the following:

• Getting my wife out of law school debt free.

• To have an emergency fund.

• To reach financial freedom (we want to be in a position where we only do the kind of work that we enjoy doing).

• To leave a financial legacy.

Describe your "belief system" about money and (if/how) has it changed? Maybe even talk about how you were brought up to think about money and how that changed as you progressed through the process.

My belief system around money was that I always knew money was important, but I never knew how important certain aspects of money management was such as budgeting and living on less than you make.

We really had a whole mindset shift. That is where I came up with my slogan “change your mindset, grow your money.”

Lastly, I truly understand what it means to be a good steward with God’s money.

What have been the biggest/toughest sacrifices you've made in your personal finance/debt-elimination process?

• We cut up the credit card (you gotta take that option off the table or else you will go back to it).

• I worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

• We got rid of cable.

• We got a new phone provider.

Describe how it feels to be  debt-free. 

To be debt free except our mortgage feels incredible.

When you are in debt the debt starts to make decisions for you.

But now we feel stress free.

This “$1000 In 30 Days Challenge and Resource Pack” is designed to help you find, cut and/or earn $1000 inside of 30 days so that you can: pay off debt with it, save it or invest it.

Here's the free downloadable/printable PDF.

What are some pieces of advice you would give to someone who's ready to get serious about tackling their finances?

1. Start budgeting like yesterday (no excuses) 
2. Find out your financial why
3. Be prepared to sacrifice

You can win with your money but it’s going to take grit and patience.

Where can we find you (website, social media, etc.)?

Website: www.harmonfinancialcoaching.com

YouTube: Harmon Financial Coaching

Instagram: @harmonfinancialcoaching

Call To Action

Now that you've heard Demeterius' story, maybe you're ready to take a closer look at a "framework" to start your own "journey to debt freedom". And, if you’ve hung out on this platform for any length of time, you’ll know I’m all about helping you to take action. And here are two very easy next steps to keep you moving in the right direction:

1. Download our free PDF guide that goes along with this series: “Debt-Elimination Quick-Start Guide”. This has a very comprehensive and dedicated video on establishing your “why”.
2. Head over to YouTube and start with the “Day 0” video. You can totally binge-watch the whole series if you want. That “first pass” will give you an idea of where you are and what it’s going to take for you to get to the next level with your own personal situation. And again, starting with your “why” is the absolute most important step.

I want for you to capitalize on any and all emotional momentum you’ve gotten from this piece of content by committing two just getting started by completing those two actions I mentioned above. If you’ve done that, congratulations, you’ve started! Now just follow the breadcrumbs and please let me know what’s helpful and what you might need more detail around.

Struggling Or Feeling Alone?

Join Our Private FB Group: Zero Debt Tribe

Now, if this decision process is something you struggle with and you constantly feel isolated about, I’ve got some great news for you and it’s free.

Our private Facebook group, ZeroDebtTribe. It’s a group of like minded people that are all somewhere along this P2P/debt-elimination/on their way to FI continuum. So click the image above and apply to join us. :)

Call To Action 

So, we’re all about taking action around here, so I wanted to offer you this free little resource that will help you get your finances organized an on track in less than 4 hours. It’s called our “Debt-Elimination Quick-Start Guide” and the link is in the video description below.

Looking for a way to get started on your own debt-free journey? Check out my: 

 “Debt-Elimination Quick-Start Guide”. This free resource will have ALL the tools, forms and printables you’ll need while moving through this 30 day challenge.

How can ZeroDebtCoach help you? 4 ways...

1. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and click the notifications bell to make sure you get our new videos every week. 

2. Download one of our free personal finance guides. You’ll learn some of the exact strategies I teach my private coaching students on how to organize and optimize their finances, obliterate debt and move on to financial independence by starting and growing online businesses.

3. If you’re looking for a community of motivated and like-minded people, go ahead and get on the waitlist to join our private financial coaching community. We only open it for new students a couple of times a year, so make sure to get on the waitlist.

5. If you need some help right now because you’ve got a burning issue, you need a problem solved, you want to talk through a complex situation, click on the button below.

All that said, let's keep on building your financial acumen and make this your best year yet!

Thanks so much for reading and we’ll see you in the next video post!

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