debt reduction

I always say there are two resources when it comes to investing for your retirement: time and money. Money, most of us don’t have when we’re young, right? So you don’t have a lot to invest, but you do have a lot of time, and you should take advantage of that, because the more time that your money is in the market, is invested, then the more it’s gonna grow.

So you don’t want to necessarily give up on those years of investing—at the same time, you have this debt to contend with and it seems kind of silly to… start investing when you’re still paying off debt, right? I think that’s kinda the psychology that most people have.

Allison Baggerly and her husband partnered together to pay off $111,000 of debt in 4 ½ years. They completed this difficult feat on two teacher’s salaries with two little kids at home.

Today, we’re going to be talking about something that is, for some reason, extremely taboo. So, I made sure to get my Taboo Tea here! *sips* Because, we’re going to be talking about debt. And, for some reason, bills and money and debt is something that is just not talked about.

I just… I didn’t like how it felt. I knew we had all these student loans that we had carried with us from college, and so that was the real event that got us kicked into gear and started our debt-free journey.

Chris explains how he racked up so much consumer debt without even realising it. After paying for his wedding and simply not keeping track of his credit card, he ended up $26,000 in debt. It wasn’t until he took a good look at it that he decided to get rid of it: by moving in with his parents and keeping on a strict budget.

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.

A myth about the people going after financial independence is that they’re all dudes in high paying tech jobs.

Penny defies all those stereotypes. Her and her husband are teachers on the path to financial independence. It’s almost as far from high paid tech bro as you can get! They live simply and cheaply after getting their finances off on the wrong foot. Literally. Penny had a problem buying designer shoes.

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.

I’m not used to failing to achieve goals I set out for myself, and I was really upset until I looked back at the past year.

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.

We are here to help you continue your debt journey… because it can be a long one!

The season of giving is upon us! Whether you’re considering giving away some of your money, some of your time, or even something else, …

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.

I soon discovered that not only was I spending significantly more than I estimated on food, but also that I would be unable to hit any savings goals until I was ready to be more deliberate in my spending on food.

Over 44 million people in the United States have student loan debt. If you’re paying off student loans, we’re right there with you! These …