I AM DEBT FREE!!! Paid off $101k!!!

I wanted to share my story to inspire others that this is possible and because I am just SO excited!

The idea to decide to change my life around started in early 2023. I was in my last semester of my MBA program and starting my dream job in the fall.

I knew I wanted to be more responsible with my finances, so I started educating myself first through books and then podcasts. I read several money guidance books "millionaire next door", "the psychology of money", and "total money makeover". The podcasters I listened to almost daily were Ramit Sethi and Dave Ramsey.

My debt consisted of student loans ($68k), credit cards ($25.8k), and a car loan ($7.2k)... totaling $101k.

I started in Sept 2023 paying down the debt with the snowball method. I also told my entire family and close friends that they would have to count me out of any travel in 2024. Declaring in this aggressive way really caught their attention, but it helped me focus and just get through it all. I cut off all subscriptions, did my own hair cuts and treatments, didn't go shopping, didn't go out to eat. I had a budget of $200 each pay check for food, moved to a cheap apartment building in my new city, and the activities I did for fun were movies with friends, grocery shopping at farmers markets, free museum nights, trail walks, free community events. Surprisingly, there are quite a few free activities if you look hard enough.

Most months I paid off a total of $6.5k between both pay checks. If I had an expense like needing to help out family or traveling to see a sick family member, I'd put a little less towards it but consistently contributed. My end of year bonus set me over the edge and I finished all payments on February 21st of this year.

I am so proud of myself for doing this and if I could give anyone any advice it would be that a little effort towards your goal is better than none at all and through being consistent and disciplined you can truly accomplish anything. DO NOT GIVE UP!!