Thanks to Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider program for sponsoring this post and inspiring us to make a positive change in our lives!
I’ve been meaning to write this post for awhile. I don’t talk money a lot around here… actually most people don’t like to talk about money. But paying off credit card debt is a huge accomplishment, especially when you’re in deep. It all started when my husband and I both lost our jobs within the same month back in 2008. Worst time of our lives. We had a 1 year old daughter, a mortgage payment, 2 hefty car loans, no savings and no income.
By the time we both found new jobs, we were deep in debt. Then add a couple rounds of infertility treatments and our grand total came close to $20,000 in credit card debt. Then it hit us. If we ever want to retire and not live paycheck to paycheck, we had to do something. And not next year, not next month… but NOW.
So how did we pay off $20,000 in credit card debt in 6 years?
Pay attention. It’s about to get good.
1. We made a monthly budget spread sheet.
I’ve had the same Excel spreadsheet since 2008. Not even joking. I can look back at every month over the past 6 years and see exactly how much money we earned and how much money we spent. I update it everyday and plan for 3 months out at a time. This way if I have a major purchase in the future, I can easily plan for it in the budget.
2. Pay off your credit cards fast.
The most frustrating part of trying to pay off our credit cards in the beginning was paying $100 towards every credit card, then having $50 go right back on in interest rates. Annoying. So Ben and I used Dave Ramsey’s snowball plan to pay off our credit cards, yes… all $20,000. Basically we paid off the cards with the smallest balance first. We paid a minimum on the rest of the cards to put as much as we could towards the smallest credit card each month. It was the BEST feeling the world to knock out a credit card one by one. Yes, it took some time to complete this process but seeing big chunks of debt disappear into the abyss kept us motivated.
To help the process, we cut up every single one of our credit cards except for one with a $500 limit (and the credit card company asked us repeatedly if they could raise the limit and we told them NO). We would never use this credit card, but just keep it as a parachute in case of dire emergencies.
3. Look at your balances daily.
I’m kind of obsessed with budgeting, checking my balances daily, and paying off debt. Looking online at my daily credit card and checking account balances helps me keep my budget spread sheet up to date (I like to color code things to know what charges are pending and what has cleared). If I check daily, it’s almost impossible to miss a purchase I forgot to write down or have any surprises or overdraft fees.
4. Negotiate interest rates.
Did you know you can call your credit card company and sometimes negotiate your interest rates? Yep, we did this. After Ben and I both lost our jobs I noticed we were paying close to 30% interest on some credit cards. Yikes. Basically threatening to switch credit card companies helped get that number down. You should also have an easier time if you’ve had a long working relationship with the same credit card company. Use this to your advantage.
5. Use cash.
The best way not to overspend? Use cash for everything. If it helps, distribute your paychecks into envelopes: mortgage, utilities, gas, groceries, entertainment, etc. My husband liked to buy energy drinks at the gas station back in the day. When I told him he only had $75 for gas stations every week, that habit was quickly squashed.
6. Eating out.
Ben and I used to both eat out everyday for lunch. That added up to nearly $70 a week! I know sometimes it’s just so darn convenient… I totally get that. But we didn’t need to spend $7 on a French dip drive thru lunch. Now we take our sack lunches almost everyday. I cook a little extra at dinner to provide lunch for the following day. If a group from our office is going out, of course we splurge. We’re not hermits. But if we go out together we’ll often split an entree or have Ellie eat off our plates. No alcohol with dinner either.
7. Groceries.
Now that we were not eating out as much and saving tons of money from our daily fast food visits, it was time to get our groceries in check. First plan of ours was to use everything from the freezer, fridge and pantry. It’s amazing how much food you collect and never actually eat. This is why there are so many “pantry makeovers” out there. Because we buy stuff, forget about it, and then run out of storage space. Yes, dinner got quite creative during this time (tuna mixed with macaroni, peas and carrots) but it got us into menu planning: buying what we only needed for the week, and nothing extra. And if you know what meal you’re preparing next, there’s no need for the last minute fast food run to Taco Bell.
8. Cell phones.
Yeah, I know everyone in the world seems to have a SmartPhone. If you’re really looking to cut costs, scale back to an old school phone without all of the apps and data packages. That can save you a pretty hefty penny each month.
9. Cable or satellite TV.
I believe once upon a time our satellite TV bill was around $170 a month. Not even joking. Then it all of a sudden hit me that we don’t even watch that much “live” TV. Most of our shows are on Netflix these days since we like to serial-watch older seasons. While we didn’t completely get rid of cable, we were able to knock our current bill down to $55 (and it seems like the only reason we keep it at this point is to watch Cardinals baseball and Big Brother, ha).
10. Entertainment.
While date nights are important, we don’t feel the need to go out once a month for a pricey dinner and movie. If anything we’ll cook something special in (we switch turns for cooking) then snuggle on the couch with a movie or one of our TV show marathons. If we’re looking for some weekend fun, we search online for festivals, events and special outings that don’t cost a lot of money. Plus a lot of our favorite activities are free, including hiking and music concerts at the local park.
11. Insurance.
When we purchased a new home this past year, one of the things we double and triple shopped was insurance companies. It was unbelievable the savings we earned when we lumped our automotive and homeowner’s insurance together. We found a company to work with through Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider program. When we closed on our home, the mortgage company underwriter even mentioned to us the fantastic rate we had and asked for our contact’s number!
12. Health insurance.
Oh boy, we’ve been dealing with this topic in our home this past month. Ben, Ellie and I have always been on an insurance policy through my company. Well August 1st it was up for renewal and I decided to see if we could save a couple bucks by switching Ben to a policy through his own company. Turns out switching him and Ellie will now save us $135 a month!!! And this is with bumping up the life insurance policy on all 3 of us. Shop around people. See what is available to you! If you need help, check out Dave Ramsey’s health insurance ELP Program.
Another thing we use every year is our Benny Card (flexible spending account). It’s pre-taxed dollars taken out of my paycheck and put on a debit card to be used for out of pocket medical expenses (co-pays, dentist visits, prescriptions, etc.). I was nervous about putting $2,500 aside for a family of 3, but if you know you have big medical expenses coming up like the birth of a child or lasik surgery, it can really help! You never miss it out of your paycheck, I promise.
13. Car loans.
As I mentioned, when Ben and I both lost our jobs we had 2 hefty car payments. OK, probably not hefty to the rest of the world but it seemed like it to me.Well one of our cars was pretty much worth what we owed (like worth $6,500 and we owed $6,000). Instead of keeping with the monthly payments, we decided to sell it and pay it off. Then we used a little bit of cash and bought a junker. A 1999 Lexus with 175,000 miles on it. Yeah, we knew it wouldn’t last forever but it would last us through this rough patch. And that saved us from a $400 a month car payment. Turns out this car was the best purchase we ever made and lasted us 3 years.
Also remember that cars are horrible investments. They quickly lose value and cost a lot in upkeep, especially the expensive ones! Ben and I vowed to never purchase a brand new car again, and to never take out a full 100% loan on a car. We will pay cash when we can. Plus, just think what we could do with the $400+ car payment money each month!
14. Clothing.
Ellie recently needed white polo shirts for her school uniform. Target had some for $8 each… not too shabby, right? Uh no. I shopped around and found some for $3 each online. $40 compared to $15 for a week’s worth of shirts. $25 in savings might not seem like a lot, but it will quickly add up.
I don’t go out and buy new clothes just to shop either. My closet is filled with plenty of outfits and pairs of shoes. If I need something specific like a new swimsuit I will go out to purchase that one item. I do give myself two shopping sprees a year; one for fall/winter clothes, one for spring/summer clothes. And yep, that keeps me content.
15. And all the little things that add up.
Is that gym membership really worth it? How about walking around your neighborhood instead. Having a birthday party soon? Check out my 10 Ways to Save Money on Your Kid’s Birthday Party. How about your Friday night bar ritual with friends? Yikes, those bills always scare me. How about inviting a group to your house instead, BYOB style. Or swap babysitting with a neighbor to keep up with date nights so you don’t have to hire out. You can find little ways to save money.
16. Shop garage sales, thrift shops, Craigslist, second hand stores.
Yes, you can get awesome items and deals when shopping at thrift stores, garage sales and second hand stores. Furniture, clothing, accessories, home decor… you can find it all at a discount. If you need some tips, check out my How to Thrift Like a Pro tips.
17. Ask questions.
If you are buying through Craigslist or a local flea market, ask for the discount! You never know if you could save a buck until you ask. Also, don’t be afraid to ask if a sales associate knows when an item is going on sale.
18. Shop clearance racks.
Whenever I enter a store, I head to the clearance racks first. Honestly. There is pretty much nothing I will pay full price for, especially clothing. But don’t head there unless you’re looking for something specific. Otherwise you’re just looking to spend cash for no reason!
19. How to save on gifts.
With 20 nieces and nephews, it seems like I buy a birthday gift every other weekend. That money can really add up fast, especially if you don’t budget for them. One of my favorite gifts to give are framed printables (you can see ones I offer for free here). Otherwise get crafty and make something with love.
20. Shop around, including online.
I never buy something the first time I see it in a store, unless I’ve done my research beforehand. Case in point are my couches in the new house. I found 2 couches and 2 chairs at a local store that I simply loved and were fairly cheap. But what did I do? Went back home, researched online, and found them for 20% cheaper. Plus I found a free shipping coupon from the online store when the local place would have charged me $150.
21. Find extra income wherever you can.
When we first lost our jobs we received unemployment checks that didn’t come close to covering all of the bills. And of course it was during the recession so there weren’t a lot of jobs out there to quickly put us back on our feet. My goal was to find a job and find it fast, no matter what it was. Some money is better than no money.
I ended up creating some websites for local companies and picking up extra graphic design jobs where I could (birthday party invites, school newsletters, etc). When I finally found a full time job again, I decided to keep the side business. Why not make extra income while I’m able and willing? This helped us get back on our feet much faster than I ever thought possible. Yeah, working two jobs with a kid is no fun, but I knew I wanted to climb out of debt as fast as possible (whether it would have been through babysitting, cleaning houses, painting furniture or whatever I could find).
After we lost our jobs Ben decided to go back to school full time. He had never gone to college and this gap in employment gave him a great opportunity to go back and get his degree. It was actually cost effective for us for Ben to stay home during the day with Ellie (daycare was about $1,000 a month before that) and then he worked at a restaurant part time on nights and weekends. Yes, it was a tough time to be apart and work opposite schedules, but we did what we had to do. I was bored out of my mind being alone nights and weekends and decided to find a hobby (and that’s when How to Nest for Less was born).
22. Do It Yourself (DIY).
Doing things around my house has saved us a bunch of money: transforming old furniture with a coat of paint, installing our own moldings and millwork, building a fire pit or patio dining table. If you can’t DIY with the best of them, maybe you have a friend that will lend a helping hand. Just make sure you can return the favor in a different way (if I help a friend with her backsplash, then she helps me plant some flowers because I hate to garden!).
23. Use coupons.
I’m not talking about extreme couponing here and buying everything you can in bulk. But why not clip a few coupons from the newspaper or an online source to save some quick bucks? Even if it knocks $10 off my weekly grocery bill it helps.
24. Saving around the house.
There are tons of ways you can penny pinch around the house: install a programmable thermostat, turn off the lights before you leave a room, install LED light bulbs, keep your air ducts clean, buy energy efficient appliances, etc.
And I promise you, I don’t buy expensive furnishings. Every single piece of furniture in my home is from Goodwill, Craigslist, some online bargain outlet, or from local discount stores like Value City Furniture.
25. Make a 5-year and 10-year plan.
After losing our jobs and feeling like we would never climb out of debt, nothing felt better than hitting our 5-year goal: paying off those hideous credit cards. Our next goal (the 10-year plan) is to have no car payments, no school loans, and to have most of the house paid off.
Yeah, we still have a loooong way to go.
But I never thought 5 years ago we would be where we are now. We were upside down on our house, unemployed, with $20,000 in credit card debt.
And here we are now. Baby steps, people.
If you want to live the debt free and get on the money saving path like us, you can sign up to get free information from Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider program. See how much money YOU can save. I promise, it will change your life!
This post was sponsored by Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider program but all opinions are my own!
And check out my second post on this topic
where I answer some of the questions you asked!
CLICK HERE
Soff says
Hi there!!
I found your article extremely interesting and helpful since my family is in a tricky financial situation. This aside I wanted to point out or rather ask if the credit card thing is a very american thing to do?
I come from Southamerica but have lived pretty much everywhere from Europe to Asia and most people I know never spend much on credit cards.
My family practically only uses debit cards (where the money you spend is withdrawed directly from your account) and this luckily leads to us having no debt! We usually also prefer using “plastic” to cash because it helps having a better overview on the money spend (and on what it was spend) if you’re not as organised as you seem to be.
Best regards!!
howtonestforless says
Yes, this is one of America’s biggest downfalls I think! Too many people living off plastic. The only plastic we will ever use again is a debit card. But I seriously think cash is sometimes the way to go because when it’s gone, it’s gone!!
Bryn says
Way to go! So helpful to those in debt and also a reminder for others to keep a close watch. It’s always good to remember that you may be a month or two away from real money problems if a job is lost. Not everything is a “need.”
howtonestforless says
Exactly!! That’s why I look ahead 3 months at all times too. It adds up quickly and I never want to be in that position again (especially over buying crap I don’t even need!).
Sasha says
This article is so helpful. Thank you so much for sharing. What an amazing accomplishment that you have achieved. We spend too much money and don’t save enough. We all should focus on getting out of debt and start saving. You have really helped out in getting me started. I am going to send this to my family so they can start paying debt off too!
howtonestforless says
Glad to hear it helped you Sasha! I agree, we used to spend too much and not save at all. Learned an important lesson about it when we lost our jobs. Vowed to never do that again!
Jenny says
Congrats! We also paid off about $20,000 in credit card debt a few years ago. It felt great! We did buy a new van in 2013 and I hate having a monthly payment, but we put a nice amount down and it will be paid off 2 years early. It was actually better for us to go with the new van, to get 0% financing.
My goal is to have the van paid off by next year, have savings built up for when my husband’s car dies and to put more into his retirement.
Great post!
howtonestforless says
The new 0% financing is a fantastic deal on cars these days, especially if you have a nice down payment and can pay more than the monthly payment at a time. Great job!!! And love your plan too 🙂 Keep up the good work!!
Alyssa says
Hi! Would you mind sharing a blank copy of your budgeting spreadsheet?
howtonestforless says
Here is a link to an Excel sheet: https://howtonestforless.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HOME-BILLS.xlsx
I keep all of my pending bills in green, and when they’ve cleared I mark them in blue. All credit cards that have balances are kept in red, and once I get them down to zero I mark in teal (this will all make sense when you open the attachment!). Also, the current balance is the amount currently in your bank account, while the balance is what you would have left in your bank account if all payments cleared. I would suggest not spending this “leftover” money until your next paychecks. It basically serves as an emergency fund.
*please note: all numbers were quickly thrown in there. I was just trying to give everyone a quick sense of the balance sheet. Hope it helps!
Chandra says
Thank you so much for sharing! I have used spreadsheets in the past but always quit because they are too complicated or don’t fit our family well enough. I have tried to design one but with 4 little ones it’s hard to find time to sit at a computer. Thanks for the great post. It’s an encouragement to see someone who has made it through debt and is on the other side.
howtonestforless says
Glad it could help Chandra! It’s life-changing when you finally get the debt under control. Like a huge weight lifted off your shoulders! Keep going, you can do it!!
Jennifer Black says
I love this post! I love reading about how people pay off debt. I’d love to crack down and really do the same, but my husband isn’t as concerned about debt and thinks that it will eventually get paid off. So do you track every little expense? That is my problem. I think it would be too much to accurately track everything, meaning, when I go to WalMart, I have food expenses, personal care, etc., all on one receipt. Do you divide it all out?
howtonestforless says
Heck no! There’s no way I could track every single expense. That would drive me crazy. But I do update my budget balance Excel sheet everyday to see what my ending balance would be after all of my bills are paid. While the budget sheet I just uploaded shows separate spots for groceries and gas, I pretty much know how much we need to survive every two weeks (between pay periods) since I’ve been doing this for so long. So now my two week balance after all bills are paid includes gas, groceries, entertainment, and the “extras”. I just lump it together! Just starting out though I would suggest keeping them separate just so people can see exactly where their money is going and putting limits on things (like $200 at the grocery store when you really only need to spend $125). Hope that makes sense!
Heather says
I found your blog/story on Pinterest today. Catchy picture and phrase too by the way. We (hubby and I) are doing Dave’s “Total Money Makeover” plan right now! We are on baby step 2 (we kinda skipped step 1…..sshhhh). Sadly, this is our second go-around with the plan. Long story (and embarrassment) short, we bought/built a new house last year and got caught up in ‘all the pretty things’ for the new & much larger house and now have credit card debt (again). Buuuuut, just paid one off and keeping our heads held high and tackling that snowball!!
I do have a question…..does the 3 month planning ahead versus monthly budget planning help/wok better? I’m intrigued by this
Thanks
howtonestforless says
Urgh, I know the pain of owning a new home and wanted to fill it right away. It’s so hard at times to sit with empty rooms (especially the first two you see when you enter our house). But I know waiting to give them a makeover when we actually have the money saved will feel so much better!
As for the 3 month budget and planning ahead, I LOVE IT! It helps me see when I will actually have the extra money to spend. I realize quickly that I can wait 30 or 60 days for that new area rug or couch or whatever. It also helps me prepare for the holidays so I’m not putting everything on credit cards right before the holidays. Hope that helps!! and good luck to you!
Heather says
Thank you for for the advice! I am surely going to try a 3 month budget. With Christmas only 3 months away (eek!), now is a good time to plan ahead. There is no way in heck I’ll be using credit cards for the shopping either! Can we say ‘hello thrift store diy’? Yaay! ☺
Thanks again for your post! You rock!!
Linda says
These are awesome tips and I’m pretty proud that I follow most of them too. I think it’s sad that so many people these days don’t follow these tips because they think they deserve every luxury under the sun. One of my friends has had her parents and inlaws pay for their rent, clothes, groceries, furniture and car payments, yet she and her husband wouldn’t budge an inch on getting rid of cable, pay-per-view fights, booze, etc. I wish more people just got it that we can get these things if we can TRULY afford them, but if not, don’t think that the huge house, brand new cars, cable, the latest gadgets are what they have a right to.
howtonestforless says
Well said Linda! All the luxuries and money in the world can’t buy you happiness either. Just surround yourself with friends, family and loved ones and you’ll be rich in my book 🙂
Jessi Fearon (@TheBudgetMama) says
Dumping debt has been the greatest blessing to our family. I love Dave’s ELP program! So awesome. Congratulations on your journey to debt-freedom! 🙂
howtonestforless says
Thanks Jessi!! I agree, a HUGE blessing!
Julie says
I love reading these paying off debt stories!! My husband and I paid off 4 CC totaling roughly $30,000 in 5 years. We went about it differently though. Back in 06, I read my first DR book. We were doing alright but did have a lot of debt. My husband had a job but we felt he needed to move on for some serious reasons. He found another job but with our fast move I didn’t have a job. For 6 months,t we were trying to pay a mortgage and CC bills etc on one income. He got a job in a new state and we moved. Still had no handle on our debt/budget. Long story short, we were only able to pay the minimum payments to begin with which isn’t helpful in snowballing debt down. So over 2 years time I started discussing options with the CC companies. We cut them all up and signed up for a payoff plan with 0% interest. The smallest card we paid off with a tax return and agreed on a settlement. The other three I got the 0% interest and for four years, we paid $650 or so on the CC debt. The fifth year, we took our tax return and paid off the remainder of the balances. I will never forget that day!! I am saying this because the snowball effect doesn’t work if you can’t squeeze any more out of the budget.
Looking back, with the experience and knowledge I have now, I believe the snowball effect would’ve worked but at the time it didn’t appear that it would. Now, we are CC debt free and are working on a school loan of $8,000. We just purchased 2 acres of land with a trailer on it that will be paid off in 5 years. During that time we will begin to build a house behind the trailer and work on it as we have the funds to do it.
I am also interested in more details on how you budget three months out. Do you total the amount of income for three months just as you would for a month and go from there?
howtonestforless says
Wonderful story Julie! I love that you made a decision to actively pursue other options to pay off that credit card debt. Sometimes it’s amazing what those companies will do to work with you!
As for budgeting three months out, I pretty much know our set income every month. I have the same set of bills monthly and put them into my budgeting sheet (mortgage, school loans, car loan, utility bills, etc). I still work on one month at a time, but if I want to make a larger purchase I know I have to save money or “bank it” for the next month, two or three. It just helps me to see that I don’t need to make large purchases on a whim. For example we need a new mattress. I could easily purchase it now on credit, but using my budget sheet to save for the 3 months (or whatever) helps me get to that goal and not spend my extra cash on wasteful things.
Julie says
Thank you 🙂 It seems odd that it would be confusing for me but I was just wanting to make sure there wasn’t some trick you were doing that I was unaware of! LOL We recently moved so we can’t put our electric on a budget billing for a few months yet. So our budget still changes some from month to month but I work off an average so I should be able to make it work. Thank you for the quick response!
Laura Kocher says
I am wondering how long it took you to pay off all the credit card debt?
howtonestforless says
It wasn’t a short amount of time since we’re just an average family trying to get by month to month. We started the massive credit card debt in December 2008 and really didn’t start focusing to pay it off until about 3 years ago when we both had steady jobs again.
Heather says
Did you save $1000 before starting your debit snowball? I’m so anxious to pay off my debts but keep having to start over on the Baby Step #1-$1000 emergency savings.
howtonestforless says
Nope! I was too anxious to pay off the debts as well. I figured putting the $1000 towards credit cards with high interest rates was personally better for me.
Heather says
That’s what’s up!…Thanks so much for your quick reply and for the motivation:-)
Michelle OVERSTREET says
Extra income? Can you help me out on how you started this? Websites?????
howtonestforless says
Get a second job. Doesn’t matter if it’s at McDonald’s or building websites or starting a blog or babysitting. Do whatever you can to bring in extra income.
Michelle OVERSTREET says
Can you tell me how you did websites? Where to start? I can’t afford daycare for a second job and would love to possibly do what you did. Thanks for any guidance.
Tracie says
Never buy anything online without going to couponcabin.com first. Also, I recommend signing up for ebates and going through ebates when you buy anything online. I just moved and needed a new comforter. I got a cute comforter set with pillow and a bed skirt at Macy’s online. It was $99, I found a coupon for free shipping plus 15%, I bought it through ebates so I get an extra 6% cash back, plus i used my credit card to buy it which gives me 1.5% cash back. A little bit here and there adds up quick!
howtonestforless says
Awesome tips Tracie! Thank you!!
Andrea says
Do you get rid of your credit cards once you’ve paid them off? Or do you just cut them up? That’s where I always had a problem. Once it was paid off, it would be a good excuse to use it again…
howtonestforless says
I only left one credit card in my wallet, the one with the lowest interest rate and lowest limit (so I can’t get myself into trouble again!). I’ve heard to keep the cards open though so you keep your credit up. Hope that helps!
Maggie says
This was a great article. i think my struggle is knowing what to pay first. I have student loans and two (hospital bills and two credit cards with balances< these are not collecting interest) and a car payment. My husband is the only one working. i graduate with my Bachelor degree at the end of Oct 2015. I am all ready looking for work. We do have son that will need daycare. So that is another cost to add. We have even moved in with my in laws last year so I could finish school and stay home with my son. Please help me. I have cut where we can with our budget. I have so much aniexty when it comes to our budget. I just do not know what to do anymore.
howtonestforless says
Start with your smallest debt and knock it out. Then you can use that money towards the next bill. Once you graduate and get a job it will be much easier to pay off your debt. You’re so close to the finished line! DON’T GIVE UP!! Remember it does take time. My husband and I were both out of work and had over $20K in credit card debt alone (that doesn’t include cars, bills, our house, etc). Trust me, you can do this!!!
Hannah says
I’m not sure how active this thread continues to be, but I keep coming back to this post over and over again when I need encouragement. I thought I would just share something that I have found to be incredibly beneficial for myself. It’s the “You Need a Budget” software. This is the most simple and straight forward program I have ever used. I am a budget nerd through and through and this one is the one that I have found to be the perfect fit. You get a free trial and after that there is a cost, but I have found that the peace of mind that it provides me is worth every penny.
howtonestforless says
Thanks for the tip, Hannah! I’m sure others will see it and it will be highly beneficial!!
CRA says
I am in debt and it makes me physically ill. I am starting this month to knock it out. I’ve been in debt before, but I will never allow this to happen again. Thanks for your support. I plan on reading these posts on a daily basis to help me survive.
howtonestforless says
Good luck to you!! Stick with it, you can do it!
veronica says
Thanks for sharing this with me
Anna M. says
Thank you for posting this, reading how others pay off their debts helps keep me motivated when dealing with my own.
howtonestforless says
You’re welcome, and good luck!!!
Adrian says
Hello,
I really enjoyed this post. All of the steps you listed above are exactly the same things I did in order to get out of debt. I had accumulated about $22k worth of debt. From credit cards to auto loans, but it all started going down once I learned how to budget and track my expenses. Budgeting and setting up a small emergency fund is the key to getting out of debt. Great stuff.
howtonestforless says
Glad to see you got out of debt as well. Congrats to you!!