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I’ve been paying off debt for the last 8 years, and over this time, I’ve talked about debt a lot. In fact, one of the reasons I started this blog was because I talked about debt so much, my family got sick of it. “Go tell someone else!” they told me.
Since I had exhausted all my friend/family reserves, I decided to start this blog to document how I’m paying off debt, my challenges, and to figure out how others were successfully paying off their debt. A few things stood out to me, like:
- Having parents help pay off debt
- Huge salaries to pay off debt easier
- Inheritance from other family members to help pay off debt
Those are all awesome stories, and I’m excited for those people, but I feel like we see a lot of those stories in the news. “Yay, someone makes $150,000 a year and paid off $60,000 in debt in 8 months!” That’s a great headline, but isn’t realistic… for literally anyone I know.
When you have lower salaries (which my husband and I do – he’s a teacher!) and lots of debt (between the two of us, almost $100k), you have to be strategic about paying it off. When you have a lower salary and a lot of debt, this is what your journey looks like:
- Slow (I’m not paying off $86k in debt in one year… unless I win the lottery… which I don’t play)
- Consistent (we’re on debt-repayment plans)
- Not sexy (nothing is exciting about our debt repayment plan)
In fact, it can be downright boring AF. For the past 4 weeks, my husband and I have looked at each other on Friday night and said “what should we do this weekend?” We only went out one weekend in that time, and it was because I had a coupon for dinner and he had a coupon for an event. Super sexy, right? 🙂
But that’s life! Paying off debt can be monotonous, but every time we chip away at our debt, we feel lighter. We know we’re getting closer to that light at the end of the tunnel.
That said, it can be frustrating, boring, and you may grow to resent it. “Why do I have to stay in every weekend, when Person A and Person B go out all the time and travel and blah blah blah?” I have those feelings – more than I’d like to admit!
So today I’m launching a debt repayment series – I want – I need – to hear your stories. How are you paying off debt? How did you pay off debt, if you don’t have it anymore? Do you have any advice or inspiration for those of us still paying off debt?
If you’d like to participate, reach out to me at info[at]sunburntsaver.com and I’ll send some questions your way. I’d love to feature your story, even if it’s boring, to show myself and others that debt is a journey!
You can also contact me here. Thank you – I can’t wait to read your story and share it with readers!
A great way to make extra money is by selling your unwanted things online. I know it’s not an overnight solution to paying off large debts but lots of us should really declutter our spaces and often we can make money from our excess things!
That’s so true, Gaby! It can be a good way to get rid of some stuff and make extra money 🙂
I’m totally with you that it’s those realistic, consistent-every-month payments and stories that inspire! I’m not impressed either when people with 6-figure jobs pay off their debt quickly haha.
Haha, I’m glad we’re on the same page 🙂 Thank you, Julie!
I love that you talk about the realities of paying off debt on a normal, average salary. It’s slow, it’s boring and it can be painful, but you’re totally right when you say that each little bit of debt you unload makes you feel lighter. Thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you, Maryal! Yes, I can’t wait to share other people’s stories for motivation! 🙂
Ugh, paying off debt can take so long! I love learning any kind of new strategy.
Thank you, Julie! I can’t wait to feature everyone’s stories 🙂
Aside from one student loan and our house and cars, we don’t have a lot of debt. We are working on saving.
Nice job, Rachel! I’d love to share your debt repayment strategies 🙂
Ha, oh well, I am one of those people who paid off debt with a six figure income. But I love reading debt payoff stories! I’ll just sit here with my popcorn.