My journey to financial freedom stared with becoming debt free. Debt free is not owing anyone. Paying utilities and other bills (e.g cell phone) are almost unavoidable, but consumer debt (credit cards, car note, etc.) and student loans can be avoided. In May 2016 I started on this journey to clean up my debt. However I was not taking it serious. Birthdays, Christmas gifts, or personal wants prevented me from becoming debt free.
I was never late on credit card payments, my student loans were in deferment, and I didn’t have a car note. So I thought I was doing good. However, I realized that I was one pink slip away from being outside. Or moving back in with my mom. Essentially I was living paycheck to paycheck. I did have a substantial amount saved. In my mind as long as I had enough money available to pay off my consumer debt, I was good. But then there was Sally Mae, and I could not keep her in deferment forever. My net worth was already negative and steadily declining. I needed a wake up call.
One day at work one of coworkers told me I should check out the Dave Ramsey Show Podcast. I read his book the Total Money Makeover prior, but I was only halfway following his recommendations. I listened to the Podcast and heard my first debt free scream and I was forever shook. There were actually people that made the same money as me or even less who paid off large debts in short periods of time. At that point it was game on.
In January of 2017 I started the journey. First I paid all my consumer debt. How did I do it? A budget. I figured out how much I needed to pay rent, utilities, and other bills (car insurance, cell phone, etc.). I took everything extra and paid off my credit cards. I was able to get extra work, so I was done paying off my credit cards by March 2017. The next step was to pay off the my student loans. I created a plan and was done paying off my student loans in March 2018.
Becoming debt free was no easy fret. I had to believe it was possible. I created a plan and stuck with it. If I can do it, anyone can. If you had a smilar experiece comment below. And don’t forget to subcribe.