$90k Paid Off In 5 Years! | REAL DEBT FREE STORIES

Pretty much everyone and their grandma knows 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 Ericka Young!

Introduce yourself, Ericka.

I'm Ericka Young, a financial coach. I live right outside Indianapolis in Fishers, IN. My hubby and I have been married 23 years and we have 2 daughters, Faith and Olivia who are 21 and 17. I enjoy helping families get out of debt and live life on their terms.

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?

When my husband and I got married in 1998 we had over $60k in debt. We wanted to change our family tree and that meant we needed to gain control over our money. We got pregnant 6 months after we were married and sadly we went further into debt before committing to getting out of debt. Our debt grew to over $90k by the time our 2nd child was born and we'd had it! Finally, our resolve met our intentions and we created a plan to conquer this debt. With a budget and the debt snowball we paid off all the debt in 5 years. This included 2 cars, student loans, and 7 credit cards. We haven't looked back since!

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?

We have a new born baby and our car broke down. We didn't have enough money to get the vehicle fixed. That was the moment we said "enough is enough". We could continue to live on the financial edge.

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?

We wanted to ensure our children had better financial outcomes than we did. It was important that their start in life didn't begin with debt like ours did.

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.

Paycheck to paycheck living was a big part of both my husband growing up and mine as well. Our mother's were single parents and that affected their ability to make ends meet. We had to process and unpack the feast and famine lifestyle in order to believe something greater was possible.

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

My husband took my credit card and froze it so that I couldn't use it anymore. This was before you could save your data online... :) My husband also took a 2nd job to accelerate our progress.

Describe how it feels to be debt-free? 

Being debt-free brings peace. We now have money saved for emergencies and I don't have to worry about how I need to get things done. If an emergency strikes we are prepared and can focus entirely on what needs to happen without concern about paying for it. It also allows us to dream about the future again. I have the space to create the future I desire and leave a legacy that my parents were unable to provide. I love knowing that tomorrow will be brighter because we made sacrifices today.

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?

Begin by looking in the mirror... have a reality check with your money. Find out where you are today by objectively viewing your finances. Stay the course by creating a clear vision of the financial future you desire. You won't make progress if you don't know where you are going. 

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

www.tailormadebudgets.com

Instagram: @tailormadebudgets

FB: @tailormadebudgets

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erickayoung/

Call To Action

Now that you've heard Ericka's 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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