debt free

Tons of so-called personal finance “gurus” advocate never going into debt, but for most people that’s simply not an option (and that’s ok).

If you’re ruling your own kingdom and try to apply another king’s methods to your kingdom, it’s not going to work because your kingdom is different. Your kingdom is your finances.

I’m a firm believer that just because you’re trying to get out of debt, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. And

Right now, millennials are in our prime years for earning, saving and investing. For most of us, the next ten years or so of financial management are going to set the tone for the rest of our lives, and that’s a pretty big deal.

It takes an incredible amount of care to make decisions that affect you — decisions only you can make. Whether big or small, when you’re reaching for big financial goals, every decision matters.

The first thing we had to do, once I added up all the debt, once I had my UGH-Sick-and-Tired Moment, we had to get real with our spending. So, I needed to see where exactly all this money had gone. We don’t live in the lap of luxury. Yeah, we have a flat screen television. The couch behind me? Bought that secondhand. Fancy car in the driveway? Nah, at the time we were driving an ’07 Honda Odyssey minivan. We really didn’t have anything to show for the almost-$60,000 in debt that we in fact had.

Starting on the right path as a young family is important. Many are getting first jobs that pay decent money, finding partners, and maybe …

It’s so clear how these principles can affect an entire generation of African Americans. We consider the wealth gap to be a crisis, and we’ve seen firsthand how transparency around money has changed our marriage for the better, and improved our financial outlook. And raising a son in a debt-free household changes the way that we parent, it changes the choices that are available to us.

Well, in a world where we can see our friends every accomplishment, vacation and home upgrade on social media 24/7, it’s tough not to get a little jealous from time to time.

So no, I don’t have a sexy debt payoff story at all. I didn’t save half of my income right out of college so I could pay off my debt right away. I didn’t pay off truly intimidating and inspiring amounts of debt in a single year.