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And we are talking a lot of debt…
Are you currently in debt? Does it seem like there is no light at the end of the tunnel?
You are not alone. Today, we speak with Brian from the personal finance blog: Debt Disciple. Brian and his family had a ludicrous amount of consumer debt – $109,000 to be precise!
Hopefully our interview with Brian can give you some inspiration for your own journey to financial freedom!
1. How much debt did you have? What kind of debt was it?
We had a total of $109,000. Now, we only have $6k remaining and we plan to be debt free in 3 months’ time. The debt was mainly consumer debt and a lot of stupid on our part. We lived well beyond our means for more than 10 years.
2. How long did it take you to get out of debt?
A long time – 52 long, hard months. Over 4 years of waking up every day and my main thought being getting out of debt.
3. What was the hardest part of getting out of debt?
It was the time it took. There were many ups and down along the way.
We had to say “no” frequently to our children, which was tough. However, it was well worth it as we get the end goal of being debt free in mind.
4. Can you give a real example of where you had to sacrifice a “want” in order to achieve your debt-fee goal?
We typically took family vacation to California to visit family each summer. We were unable to fully do this over the 4 years we were paying down debt. This was a big sacrifice. Its pretty tough to tell your family that vacation is cancelled again this year!
5. How do you think it will feel to become debt free feel?
We just want the last 3 months to be over already! We’re so excited. We are anticipating the change: we know we can’t be careless, but know our hard work has finally paid off.
6. How different is financial planning now that you don’t have debt? What are the new challenges you are facing?
I think that the hardest part will be staying just as focused as we were whilst we were paying off debt. Its going to be hard not to slip back into old habits once we don’t have our debt to focus on. However, we understand that paying off debt is just the first step: there is still plenty of work to be done on our journey towards financial freedom.
7. What is your number one tip for people trying to get out of debt?
Everybody’s journey is different. Therefore, you should always remember that your journey will be different to other people. That is why they call it personal finance. So, don’t get caught up in comparing yourself to others and just keep your eye on your own goal of being debt free.
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Money Beagle says
Great job! I’d love to see some thoughts about how they plan to avoid debt after they complete their journey. Many times people set ‘getting out of debt’ as the end goal, but in reality, if you don’t put focus on staying out of debt, it could be easy to fall right back into some of the traps that got you there in the first place.
Brian @DebtDiscipline says
Getting out of debt is just the beginning for us. Lots of other things to do for us in the future. After all of this hard work, we can never go back to the bad habits we had before.
Michelle says
I love this, so true for everyone’s journey being different. Great job in paying off that debt! I would also be anticipating the next few months to see the balance of $00.00
Brian @DebtDiscipline says
Thanks Michelle! Just wish it was over already. 🙂
Prince James says
I agree, everyone has different circumstances, but one should stay positive and try to pay off debt by making it on the top of the priority list.