Today, I want to share some amazing stories about families that have learned how to become debt free. These are some amazing debt payoff stories that will motivate you to become debt free!
According to the Motley Fool, the average American family has $7,630 in credit card debt, $11,244 in student loans, $8,163 in car loans, and $70,322 on a mortgage.
However, if you think these amounts seem low, these figures also include those who don’t have any debt. For example, when you only factor in those with a credit card balance, the average amount shoots up to over $15,000.
By reading other people’s debt payoff stories and learning how to become debt free, I believe that you can find motivation to pay off your own debt, learn new ways to become debt free, and realize that paying off your debt is possible.
Learning how to become debt free can lead to many positives, such as:
- You may finally feel less financial stress.
- You can stop living paycheck to paycheck.
- You may be able to use that money towards something more important, like saving for retirement.
- Reaching debt freedom may allow you to pursue other goals in life, such as traveling more or looking for a better job.
If you want to learn how to become debt free, I recommend downloading this free debt payoff plan worksheet.
While some of the debt payoff strategies may seem crazy or impossible to you, remember that everyone has to start somewhere. Even if you can only pay off a fraction of what the people below are able to do or if it takes you twice as long, that’s still better than not trying at all.
Here are some great debt payoff stories that I’d like to share.
How to become debt free:
This couple paid off $62,000 in debt
James and his wife paid off $62,000 in debt in just seven months! Their debt payoff story involves turning a profit on their wedding, combining their finances, and paying off $62,000 of debt in seven months. Their lives changed drastically once they learned how to become debt free.
Here’s a quick summary of how they got into debt:
“I was 22 years old, only four months into my Army career, and had racked up over ~$115,000 in debt. All I had to show for it was a fancy diploma, a 3-year-old Mazda, and $1,100+/month in debt payments.”
Read more at How My Wife and I Paid Off $62,000 in Debt in 7 Months.
How this couple paid off $10,000 in 10 weeks
Cassie paid off $10,000 in debt in 10 weeks and shows you how to make this a reality too.
Here’s a quick summary of her debt freedom story:
“While we knew we had student debt, we had always assumed that we would simply pay the minimum until it was gone and that would be that. What did we find when we did the math? It turns out that my wife and I owe a grand total of almost $200,000 in debt (OUCH!). Even worse? The minimum payments don’t even begin to cover the interest which means that no matter how many payments we make, we will never escape from this debt’s grasp.”
Read more at How We Paid Off Almost $10,000 in 10 Weeks.
Getting back to the basics: We were happier when we spent less money
This is one family’s journey to eliminate $66,000 in debt by discovering that changing their attitude and spending habits would help them become debt free.
“Just over one year ago, my husband and I started on a journey. We had over $66,000 in debt from a second mortgage, a car loan, furniture purchase and student loans, not including our first mortgage. Planning to pay off our debt was only part of the solution, however. Changing our mindset and our spending habits was actually the first step in our journey. As our income increased over the years, we had increased our expenditures proportionately.”
Read more at Getting Back to the Basics: We were happier when we spent less money.
How I paid off over $100,000 in debt with the help of eBay and garage sales
This is a great story about how side hustling can completely change your life.
Here’s a quick summary:
“To date, we have completely paid off $96,500 in student loans, our $15,000 wedding, $5,000 in credit card debt, a $6,500 car, and over half of our mortgage- $76,600 and counting! No, we didn’t receive an inheritance or win the lottery. Our secret? An extremely frugal lifestyle supplemented by re-selling second hand items on eBay. The second hand items come from the weekly garage sales, estate sales, and auctions that we attend.”
Read more at How I Paid Off Over $100,000 in Debt With the Help of eBay and Garage Sales.
How this couple paid off $204,971.31 in debt
Claudia and Garrett sold their 1,500 square foot house, downsized to a 500 square foot home, sold 80% of their belongings, side hustled like crazy, and were then able to pay off $204,971.31 in debt.
You can read their story at How This Couple Paid off $204,971.31 in Debt.
How I paid off $40,000 in student loans in 7 months
Okay, this story is my own, but I’m still very proud of it 🙂 Here’s how I paid off my student loan debt.
When I graduated with my Finance MBA, I had around $40,000 in student loan debt, which included debt from my undergraduate degrees as well. I was able to pay it all off in just seven months because I was able to find ways to make extra money!
Read more at How I Paid Off $40,000 In Student Loans in 7 Months.
Do you want to learn how to become debt free? How far away are you from debt freedom?
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