How They Paid Off $300,000 In Debt!

"Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt." - Henrik Ibsen

"This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt." - Earl Wilson

Getting out of debt is no 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 Amanda!

Introduce yourself, Amanda. 

My name is Amanda. I live in Illinois. I'm a mom of two boys and nurse practitioner.

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 husband and I have accumulated hundreds of thousands of college loan debt. I started out as a nurse and recently became a nurse practitioner. He is a chiropractor. We decided to tackle our debt when we realized how much we were paying in interest alone per month on our college loans. We have paid off nearly $300,000 of college loan debt over the last eight years.

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?

After learning that we were paying hundreds of dollars per month just towards the interest on our college loans, we decided to start paying more than our minimum monthly payments and really start tackling our debt. I read Dave Ramsey books about budgeting and personal finance. We decided to use Dave Ramsey's debt snowball method to pay off our college loans.

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 be able to enjoy the lives that we worked so hard to create and not have to pay thousands of dollars every month in college loans. The debt snowball method helped keep us motivated as we would keep eliminating loan after loan.

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

I worked so many extra shifts as a nurse to pay off our debt. I missed out on spending time with family and friends on several occasions so we could put our debt behind us. My husband now asks jokingly if he can't find something if I sold it. If we have a large bill unexpectedly or I decide to be more aggressive in paying off our college loans, I find something around the house and sell it.

Describe how it feels or how it feels to be "on your way" to debt-freedom. 

Knowing that we are on our way to being free of our college loan debt feels amazing. It is such a relief being out from under so much of the debt already.

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?

Evaluate your monthly spending. Look at where your money is going. Do this every few months. Never pay full price for anything. Wait for items to go on sale. Buying used can really help you save money.

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

You can learn more about how my husband and I have paid off over $300,000 of college loan debt and how you, too, can tackle debt at my blog- www.ourdebtofgratitude.com or follow me on Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/ourdebtofgratitude/

Call To Action

Now that you've heard Amanda'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.

What To Do After That

After you complete the "quick start", maybe you'll be ready to take a closer look at a "framework" to continue your own "journey to debt freedom". So, I want to offer you another completely free resource that will help you map out your money with even more confidence.

Ready to get total control over your money? Introducing My FREE 8 Steps To Erase Debt Guide

These are the steps I personally followed to obliterate $43,000+ of debt in 2.5 years. 

Maybe your number is bigger, maybe it’s smaller. Either way the principles are the same and I want you to have them.

1. Stop All Retirement Investing (Until Step 4)
2. Build A Budget
3. Starter Emergency Fund of $1000
4. Eliminate Debts Smallest To Largest (a.k.a The Debt Snowball)
5. Full Emergency Fund of 3-6+ Months’ Expenses
6. Invest A Minimum of 15% Income Into Retirement Accounts (and increase savings rate to 50%+ if possible)
7. College Funding (if applicable)
8. Pay Off The Home Mortgage
9. Build Wealth, Serve, Be Ridiculously Generous And Go FI (Financial Independence)!

I’ve created a simple, easy to follow “8 Steps To Erase Debt” guide that you can use as your foundation as you navigate the absolute annihilation of your debt forever. 

Here are some additional options to help you accomplish your personal finance goals:

1. Check out our YouTube Channel for "how to" video guides.
2. Join our Zero Debt Tribe Community on Facebook, a group of friendly, like-minded personal finance enthusiasts, budgeting nerds, debt-eliminators and “FI-ers” who are there to help each other succeed? Click here to request to join for support and encouragement!
3. Our library of Free Products & Printables.

What do you need help with the most right now?

And finally, I want to encourage you and challenge you to get started in this process. You can do this by downloading this blogpost as your guide. The downloadable pdf contains all the printable forms and instructions you need to get this process started.

So, I’d LOVE to hear from you. The biggest compliment you can give me as your coach is to share your progress and your takeaways in the comments below.

I wish you nothing but great success in your personal finance endeavors and please let me know how I can help you accomplish your goals.

To your freedom,

Brad

Your Virtual Money Coach

[email protected]

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