Speaker 1: Episode two sixty eight is Episode one eight Why paying
Speaker 1: off debt is important and attainable. Welcome to the Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity rights,
Speaker 1: and live with your life. Here your host Jen and Jill.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen,
Speaker 1: my name is Jill, and we are rerunning a very
Speaker 1: important and attainable episode for the end of the year
Speaker 1: and getting everyone ready for these goals that a lot
Speaker 1: of our listeners are making. So we think that this
Speaker 1: is a trend. You know, we haven't surveyed the place,
Speaker 1: the space, but we think paying off debt is going
Speaker 1: to be another popular goal for the new a year.
Speaker 1: And and this is why we started almost probably why
Speaker 1: we started this podcast. So it's a while not right
Speaker 1: for everyone. It is a topic that we're super passionate
Speaker 1: about and we think is important and attainable. Yes, and
Speaker 1: this is a great time of year to be setting goals.
Speaker 1: So if if you haven't already, maybe this is a
Speaker 1: reminder that it's a good time to think about it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: what do you want to focus on this year? Is
Speaker 1: it paying off debt? Great? Listen to this episode. We'll
Speaker 1: give you more motivation. Do you want it to be
Speaker 1: debt but you don't think it's right time, or you
Speaker 1: don't know what's the right time for what? Listen to
Speaker 1: this episode. It may help you figure things out so
Speaker 1: you know what your goal, your primary goal should be
Speaker 1: moving forward. But first, this episode is brought to all
Speaker 1: of us by leveling Up. I think it's similar to
Speaker 1: a glow up or something along the lines of experiencing
Speaker 1: success or some level of a eve min Not sure.
Speaker 1: I'm elder millennial trying to make it out here in
Speaker 1: this influencer world. Either way, leveling up sounds good and
Speaker 1: we think we have a way you can level up
Speaker 1: your finances at least with the one week spending makeover.
Speaker 1: This is happening very soon January second through the sixth,
Speaker 1: that is three. Get used to it, start getting used
Speaker 1: to say in those numbers to zero two three, we
Speaker 1: Jen and I, Jen and Jill are hosting a free
Speaker 1: one week challenge with daily live sessions in your inbox
Speaker 1: and exclusive pop up Facebook communclusive. It's going to be
Speaker 1: inclusive in a very exclusive kind of way. The goal
Speaker 1: of this challenge is that in five days or less,
Speaker 1: you have a clear picture of your past spending, a
Speaker 1: foundation for your values based spending, and a plan to
Speaker 1: improve and implement spending that makes you happy not guilty.
Speaker 1: There will be prizes, free pdf downloads, and so much more.
Speaker 1: If you want to kick off your twenty three financial
Speaker 1: goals with a bang, or if you just want to
Speaker 1: level up, join us for the one week spending makeover
Speaker 1: at Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash makeover. And did
Speaker 1: we say it's free? We should have it's free. It's free,
Speaker 1: al right, so as we head on, I know we
Speaker 1: still have you know, ten eleven days left of the
Speaker 1: eear depending on when you're listening to this, but it's
Speaker 1: not too early to start making those goals. And if
Speaker 1: you're in the Frugal Friends club, we have been spending
Speaker 1: all month in a goal challenge where we are thinking
Speaker 1: about our goals and more importantly, we're thinking about systems
Speaker 1: and habits to get to those goals. So not dream boards,
Speaker 1: vision boards, we're not we're wooing it over here. We're
Speaker 1: thinking about strategies of implementation and good goal setting, and
Speaker 1: so that's kind of what we are bringing over in
Speaker 1: the replay of this episode. If you want more debt
Speaker 1: Payoff Info content stories. We have something special for you
Speaker 1: coming up in the new year. Now you're gonna talk
Speaker 1: about it now, I'm not gonna talk about it now. Okay, Well,
Speaker 1: you kind of if you've been listening for the past
Speaker 1: few months, you kind of already know what it is.
Speaker 1: But we got plenty of it coming for you. Don't
Speaker 1: worry about it. We also have a ton of episodes
Speaker 1: on it. We've got episode to twelve, which is a
Speaker 1: rerun of our Kate from Living that debt Free life.
Speaker 1: She paid off a hundred and five thousand dollars of debt.
Speaker 1: We've got episode one which is paying off debt and
Speaker 1: your mental health, like dealing with all of that while
Speaker 1: paying off debt with Melanie Lockert. That was a really,
Speaker 1: really great episode we played. We did at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the year, so we have a lot. Just look
Speaker 1: through the archives Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash episodes.
Speaker 1: You can just search debt you can find all of
Speaker 1: our episodes on that. There are a ton And while
Speaker 1: we don't advocate that frugality is only good for paying
Speaker 1: off debt or reaching financial goals fast, we do realize
Speaker 1: that it is an on ramp that paying off debt
Speaker 1: is an on ramp to so many other good financial decisions. Uh,
Speaker 1: And so we advocate for it, we applaud it, and
Speaker 1: we want to support it. And that's why we have
Speaker 1: Frugal Friends Club, That's why we do so many debt
Speaker 1: payoff stories and and yeah, and we want you to
Speaker 1: know that it's important, it's not everything, and it is attainable.
Speaker 1: And so that's where we're going. Yeah, let's get into it, alright,
Speaker 1: So let's get into this topic about debt. I think
Speaker 1: most of the people who listen to Frugal Friends have
Speaker 1: a similar view that they want to be debt free.
Speaker 1: I think that is a view that many listeners hold.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna get to convince you that debt is
Speaker 1: bad because I feel like you already have your own
Speaker 1: reasons for knowing that, but we are going to reiterate
Speaker 1: and emphasize some of the reasons why you should get
Speaker 1: out of debt that are not just financial. So if
Speaker 1: you have been a little jaded by let's reinvigorate you
Speaker 1: and reinspire you to head down this journey that you
Speaker 1: already want to be on. And so our first article
Speaker 1: is from money Crashers and it's seventeen reasons why you
Speaker 1: should get out of debt. What do you think about
Speaker 1: this one, Jill? Yes, I think it's a fantastic motivator. So,
Speaker 1: like you said, Jen, this isn't supposed to convince you
Speaker 1: to become debt free, because I know that most of
Speaker 1: our listeners are are already in that space and really
Speaker 1: want their debt gone, but to help motivate us in
Speaker 1: that direction. And I like the holistic approach that they
Speaker 1: took in this article, giving headlines to different categories and
Speaker 1: listing out financial benefits, mental benefits, physical benefits, relational benefits,
Speaker 1: each supported by multiple bullet points underneath it. So I
Speaker 1: think we're not going to go through all of the reasons.
Speaker 1: It's definitely an article worth checking out, but I think
Speaker 1: big picture, there are a lot of benefits to our
Speaker 1: whole person, not just monetary, that can happen when we
Speaker 1: become debt free. Yeah. I had a lot of flashbacks
Speaker 1: reading this because I remember when I had fifty dollars
Speaker 1: of debt and I was a single woman making thirty
Speaker 1: five thousand dollars a year before taxes, and I felt
Speaker 1: a lot of these things and now that we are
Speaker 1: debt free, I feel freedom from a lot of them,
Speaker 1: and so I think it's so important. Like a lot
Speaker 1: of people will debate should I just go gung ho
Speaker 1: paying off debt and get it all gone, or should
Speaker 1: I balance it with other financial goals? And I think
Speaker 1: that decision for you really comes down to how much
Speaker 1: of these things on this list are you feeling. So
Speaker 1: if you're feeling a lot of negative mental, physical, emotional,
Speaker 1: relational things on this list, and I was, And so
Speaker 1: that's when going gung ho and pedal to the metal
Speaker 1: is more beneficial to you than any math equation that
Speaker 1: can show you you'll make more money if you invest
Speaker 1: over paying off debt whatever. So that's kind of my
Speaker 1: view on all of this stuff. I love that, Jen,
Speaker 1: that's such great advice to help figure out and suss
Speaker 1: out what is more advantageous for my whole person, again,
Speaker 1: not just monetarily, which direction should I head? For sure?
Speaker 1: So we'll start out with a few of the financial benefits.
Speaker 1: Um So for me, the first one on this list
Speaker 1: more free income. So people are always looking on how
Speaker 1: do I pinch pennies? How do I save money? Or
Speaker 1: like my budget is stretched so thin, I don't have
Speaker 1: a single extra penny, how do I save more? And
Speaker 1: I'm like, well, what if the answer is more money?
Speaker 1: And so paying up debt instantly gives you a raise.
Speaker 1: And so that was initial why for me because I
Speaker 1: thought I wanted to be a stay at home parent.
Speaker 1: Now as a parent, I realized that's the last thing
Speaker 1: that I want, but I wanted to have that option.
Speaker 1: And I knew if I couldn't make money, I needed
Speaker 1: to be a better steward of any money that we
Speaker 1: had coming in. So yeah, I liked number three within
Speaker 1: this category, which talks about being debt free. It creates
Speaker 1: less risk. When we are in debt, we are just
Speaker 1: one financial blow away from disaster, which is what this
Speaker 1: article talks about, that any one thing could really derail
Speaker 1: us financially. But if we are debt free, we have
Speaker 1: less risk because we're not in debt. We don't owe
Speaker 1: anything to anybody where they could collect wages or repossess
Speaker 1: your belongings, or you name it, going into foreclosure, being evicted,
Speaker 1: needing to file for bankruptcy. Those things are heightened when
Speaker 1: we carry debt versus when we don't. And then it's
Speaker 1: also linked to your point gen of having more income,
Speaker 1: so then we have more ability to use that income
Speaker 1: to save up for those emergencies. So it's almost like
Speaker 1: a win win, like a twofold thing, where not only
Speaker 1: are we at less risk when we're debt free, but
Speaker 1: then we have more money to put towards making sure
Speaker 1: we're even less at risk. Absolutely. I also like number
Speaker 1: four is being debt free gives you a better credit score.
Speaker 1: And credit scores are so mysterious even to credit experts
Speaker 1: because there are five components to a credit score, and
Speaker 1: we won't get into it, but the most important is
Speaker 1: your payment history. Obviously, if you are making regular payments
Speaker 1: that are over the minimum and trying to pay off debt,
Speaker 1: that increases your score. But people are scared to pay
Speaker 1: off debt because they think they need like a thirty
Speaker 1: percent debt to limit ratio that's just a max, like
Speaker 1: they prefer you have zero. And also they're scared of
Speaker 1: their credit length being shortened when you close out those accounts.
Speaker 1: That's a very minimal part of the score. It's like level.
Speaker 1: But the second most important part is the amount of
Speaker 1: debt you have compared to your credit limit, and so
Speaker 1: the more debt you pay off, especially like student loan debt,
Speaker 1: your credit score will start to increase. And then if
Speaker 1: you have a credit card that has no annual feed
Speaker 1: that you just keep in your closet underneath the shoes
Speaker 1: in the shoe box that you very rarely use, and
Speaker 1: you just use it to build up a credit history
Speaker 1: like the history length. You're going to be golden. You're
Speaker 1: gonna be fine. You will not have to worry about
Speaker 1: your credit score. And so it is not that hard
Speaker 1: to get a good credit score or an excellent credit score,
Speaker 1: and paying off debt greatly helps you in that. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that's really helpful advice to hear from you
Speaker 1: and to read in this article, because I think that
Speaker 1: was like a myth that I had always thought, especially
Speaker 1: if you're aimed at purchasing large items like a whole
Speaker 1: home or something. It's like, all right, how do I
Speaker 1: get a good credit score? And I don't know, should
Speaker 1: I pay it off? Pay off my decks? How's that
Speaker 1: going to affect? It's like, No, it's good to pay
Speaker 1: off your debt. Yes, yeah, And a credit score is important.
Speaker 1: It saves you so much money in the long run.
Speaker 1: It is important. It is not something that should be
Speaker 1: worried about so much though, pay off the debt, get
Speaker 1: those accounts closed, and then do it little by little
Speaker 1: after that. The last one under the category of financial
Speaker 1: benefits that I do want to highlight is that being
Speaker 1: debt free can create better job prospects, and I would
Speaker 1: add at least more rewarding job prospects. And the reasoning
Speaker 1: that they give is that if you are in debt,
Speaker 1: then oftentimes we can feel stuck to the job that
Speaker 1: we're doing and living paycheck to paycheck and not really
Speaker 1: able to do what we want with the money. But
Speaker 1: we need to just be giving it to all of
Speaker 1: our bills and the debt versus. If we take away
Speaker 1: that pressure, if we pay off our debt and we
Speaker 1: no longer have that bill, so to speak, there is
Speaker 1: greater freedom and that ability to not have to live
Speaker 1: paycheck to paycheck potentially or feeling more reward from the
Speaker 1: job that you're working because you're able to work that
Speaker 1: job and enjoy the benefits of what you're earning financially
Speaker 1: and not just giving it away every month or every
Speaker 1: other week. And also if you if you don't like
Speaker 1: your job regardless, then it does give you more permission
Speaker 1: and freedom to look elsewhere and not have to worry about,
Speaker 1: oh no, what's going to happen if there's a little
Speaker 1: bit of a lapse, or if I choose to take
Speaker 1: a pay cut to do something more rewarding, or if
Speaker 1: it's going to take me a little bit longer to
Speaker 1: build myself up to a certain amount of income. So
Speaker 1: it just creates greater freedom and flexibility and the potential
Speaker 1: of finding more reward doing work when you don't put
Speaker 1: those pressures on yourself. Yeah, and I would also add
Speaker 1: that better job prospects don't always have to mean you're
Speaker 1: settling for less money. It's estimated that if you stay
Speaker 1: in your career, in your job for five or more years,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure I'm going to misquote this, but you
Speaker 1: could lower your total income earning potential by fifty Whereas
Speaker 1: if you are increasing either being promoted or doing job
Speaker 1: hops to places where you can increase your income by
Speaker 1: ten every three to four years, you can make a
Speaker 1: lot more money over time. But if you're not financially secure,
Speaker 1: then it's going to make going to different jobs a
Speaker 1: lot more stressful. So you have the potential to take
Speaker 1: those risks. If you are debt free and don't have
Speaker 1: to worry about that bill in case of job hop
Speaker 1: go south. The next category is the impact that it
Speaker 1: can have on us mentally to be dead free, and
Speaker 1: the first one listed in this category is just that
Speaker 1: there's less stress. It is stressful to be in debt,
Speaker 1: and for some of us it's more stressful than to others.
Speaker 1: But still there's a degree of stress that comes with
Speaker 1: knowing that your money is not yours, a good portion
Speaker 1: is owed to somebody else, It is gaining interest that
Speaker 1: you also have to owe that. It just comes with
Speaker 1: so much mental space that it takes up emotional space
Speaker 1: that it takes up causing stress, and when we pay
Speaker 1: that off, we take away that very significant stressor mm hmm,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh. I remember having like being in an
Speaker 1: apartment and sitting in my living room with my couch
Speaker 1: that I got from Salvation Army that my roommate hated,
Speaker 1: and feeling the weight of that mental load of looking
Speaker 1: at like my profile and nabant and seeing all of
Speaker 1: those debts and knowing how little I made. That is.
Speaker 1: Every time I hear something like this, it takes me
Speaker 1: back to a very insignificant moment, but it takes me
Speaker 1: back to that moment. I'm just feeling completely overwhelmed and hopeless,
Speaker 1: and so now that I don't have that, like, I
Speaker 1: have so many other things to be stressed about, it's
Speaker 1: so so great I don't That's one less thing I
Speaker 1: have to be stressed about. That's a particular type of stress.
Speaker 1: When you realize that you are in debt beyond your
Speaker 1: means for repayment. That's overwhelming. It's an overwhelming pressure that
Speaker 1: causes stress and anxiety sometimes worry, which then can impact
Speaker 1: our sleep, our thoughts throughout the day. And we'll get
Speaker 1: into this more and more, but so much then of
Speaker 1: what we're now going to be identifying even throughout this
Speaker 1: article is related to the ways stress impacts us relationally, mentally,
Speaker 1: and physically. It's all related to the stress that debt
Speaker 1: induces and a massive reason to get rid of it. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: that leads into number nine on the list is paying
Speaker 1: off debt gives you better cognitive function. So in my
Speaker 1: course on cutting impulse spending, we talk a lot about
Speaker 1: how making better decisions means you make fewer impulse purchases,
Speaker 1: and that comes down to having better cognitive function, which
Speaker 1: means usually making fewer decisions during the day, YadA YadA,
Speaker 1: But having less debt naturally improves cognitive function. So at
Speaker 1: two seventeen study published in Frontiers and Psychology points to
Speaker 1: numerous studies showing that experiencing poverty, both in real life
Speaker 1: and laboratory conditions, impaired people's attention span, working memory, and
Speaker 1: self control. So in the article says, it's a problem
Speaker 1: that feeds on itself. Obviously, you want to have less
Speaker 1: impulse spending. You're trying to pay off debt. So it's
Speaker 1: just something that you kind of have to know at
Speaker 1: first you're gonna suck at like you have to be
Speaker 1: okay with that and say, Okay, I'm gonna suck at
Speaker 1: this right now, but I'm gonna keep trying. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: keep getting better. And then as you get better at one,
Speaker 1: the other one improves, and it just compounds on itself.
Speaker 1: And so then at the end, it says a two
Speaker 1: thou seventeen study at the University of Singapore found that
Speaker 1: when people paid off debt, it reverses these problems. It
Speaker 1: found that participants reduced their debt, their cognitive function rose significantly,
Speaker 1: and they felt less anxious and became better our decision makers.
Speaker 1: It's so interesting that this principle works both directions that
Speaker 1: on the one hand, it can compound upon itself the
Speaker 1: stress and the way that that impacts every other aspect
Speaker 1: of our lives negatively, and conversely, when we are debt free,
Speaker 1: it can have positive impact on every aspect of our
Speaker 1: personhood when that's no longer present. So there is hope
Speaker 1: in this, and that's the goal of what we want
Speaker 1: to walk away with is motivation and hope to become
Speaker 1: debt free. Yeah. I know people place and myself included
Speaker 1: a lot of blame on themselves for impulsive behavior and
Speaker 1: making bad financial decisions. It's like I want to do
Speaker 1: the right thing, but I always do the wrong thing.
Speaker 1: And so part of that has to do with where
Speaker 1: you are financially and the cognitive load that that takes
Speaker 1: on you. But know that you have the power to
Speaker 1: overcome it little by little. You just can't expect yourself
Speaker 1: to be perfect right out the game, yes, because it
Speaker 1: does take a toll on us, like we're talking about,
Speaker 1: it impairs our ability to think clearly, It has negative
Speaker 1: impacts on our bodies, and so we can't expect ourselves
Speaker 1: to be fantastic at this when there's a very real
Speaker 1: stress or happening. As it relates to physical benefits becoming
Speaker 1: debt free. Research has shown that those without debt related
Speaker 1: stressors have fewer illnesses, and the article sites a survey
Speaker 1: that was done by the Associated Press that showed people
Speaker 1: with high levels of debt related stress are more than
Speaker 1: three times as likely to suffer from things like ulcers
Speaker 1: or digestive problems than their counterparts with lower debt stress
Speaker 1: or no debt stress. And that's just shocking to me,
Speaker 1: the ways that our physical bodies can be so connected
Speaker 1: to our financial lives and the very real reality that
Speaker 1: it can have on our bodies. That the weight and
Speaker 1: the cost of this, right, it's not just financial, the
Speaker 1: cost is physical. And then how does that, I mean
Speaker 1: speaking of compounding itself, then that creates medical bills to
Speaker 1: be caring for our bodies in the midst of these stressors.
Speaker 1: It can feel overwhelming good. Again, I want to say,
Speaker 1: there's hope in this and it then benefits us physically
Speaker 1: to be out of debt because we don't experience that.
Speaker 1: There are fewer illnesses when we are not, when our
Speaker 1: bodies aren't trying to manage and deal with stress and
Speaker 1: anxiety and overwhelm. Yeah, I know that firsthand because I
Speaker 1: got shingles. I still can't believe this, Jen. I did
Speaker 1: so many side hustles, and I worked myself up and
Speaker 1: in two months had contracted shingles two months into our
Speaker 1: debt payoff journey. Yeah, and I actually I'm not the
Speaker 1: only person that has stressed themselves into shingles. You know. Yes,
Speaker 1: stress takes itself out on our bodies. Although I do
Speaker 1: think that's a bit of an example of being stressed
Speaker 1: about the debt repayment process even and I think that
Speaker 1: that's a fine line that Yes, let's allow us to
Speaker 1: motivate us to get out of debt and work towards it,
Speaker 1: but let's also be careful to not put unnecessary pressures
Speaker 1: on ourselves in the process. So, once you've bought into debt,
Speaker 1: like paying off debt and being intense about it, that's fantastic,
Speaker 1: But let's keep a pulse on this because it is
Speaker 1: also not a goal that is worth sacrificing every aspect
Speaker 1: of our personhood to achieve it as fast as possible.
Speaker 1: There's also quality of life that is necessary in the
Speaker 1: process so that there can be longevity in it, to
Speaker 1: pay it off quickly, but also to not overwhelm ourselves
Speaker 1: beyond the point of return or beyond what we can
Speaker 1: handle in order to get at that goal. I don't
Speaker 1: sacrifice yourself on the altar of becoming debt free because
Speaker 1: process can become stressful. Yes, that was so eloquently said.
Speaker 1: Don't sacrifice yourself on the altar of becoming debt free.
Speaker 1: Absolutely no reason to do that, thanks Jim. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: I want to jump into the relationship benefits. Are you
Speaker 1: okay with that? Let's do it. Okay, so better relationships.
Speaker 1: This is something I did not realize what happened during
Speaker 1: our debt payoff journey, And at first it was I
Speaker 1: don't know. It was kind of like the death of
Speaker 1: one person but allowed somebody else to emerge from the ashes.
Speaker 1: That's so dramatic. But the article says like being in
Speaker 1: debt stirs up like negative emotions and those can fill
Speaker 1: spill over into your relationships. I didn't realize that as much,
Speaker 1: but I realized that so debt kept me from doing
Speaker 1: things with my friends. The anxiety about debt, Like I
Speaker 1: remember my friends were going to Disney sometime and not
Speaker 1: even to the park, but just like went around Disney
Speaker 1: to support one of our friends that was doing half
Speaker 1: marathon there and I came at the last minute. I went,
Speaker 1: but like all day, I struggled with should I go,
Speaker 1: should I spend the money? And that was when I
Speaker 1: was not even trying to pay off debt, so it
Speaker 1: affected me then. I wasn't cognitive of it, but I
Speaker 1: was so scared to pay off debt because I thought
Speaker 1: stuff like that was going to happen, and it did.
Speaker 1: But I actually so I shed these friends that only
Speaker 1: wanted to do things that cost money, and then I
Speaker 1: found friends. I was forced to find friends that wanted
Speaker 1: to spend time with me and get to know me
Speaker 1: versus just do activities and go get drinks. And so
Speaker 1: I came out of it with really great friends, really
Speaker 1: really good relationships, and much more quality than previous ones.
Speaker 1: Very interesting. You really brought that full circle, even though
Speaker 1: it felt dramatic at first. That was with it though
Speaker 1: Yeah and yeah related to better relationships. They just kind
Speaker 1: of suss out the specific types of relationships that could
Speaker 1: see improvement, like a stronger marriage or being a better
Speaker 1: parent or being able to help others because you're able
Speaker 1: to turn more outward with your focus, with your finances,
Speaker 1: with your time and energy because you don't have debt
Speaker 1: taking up a lot of that. And I just want
Speaker 1: to highlight the marriage piece. I think that if you
Speaker 1: are doing this together with a spouse, the step payoff journey,
Speaker 1: even though there are for sure bumps and even land
Speaker 1: mines in the road throughout this process, if you do
Speaker 1: it and go through this together, you will come out
Speaker 1: stronger on the other side, more unified, more understanding of
Speaker 1: one another, an incredible feeling of accomplishment, which will bond
Speaker 1: you greater to one another, which then sets the stage
Speaker 1: for other goals that you can set as a couple.
Speaker 1: So my goodness, Yes, just even overcoming something, whether it's
Speaker 1: debt or anything else with a partner is incredible for
Speaker 1: that relationship. And this is one of the things that
Speaker 1: can be super helpful as you relate to one another.
Speaker 1: So I just affirm all of these pieces, and I
Speaker 1: think when we can learn to manage stress, whether it's
Speaker 1: debt related or otherwise, than yeah, we are we're better
Speaker 1: for our relationships thrive. As a result, we experience better
Speaker 1: mental health, emotional health, understanding, of ourself all of these things.
Speaker 1: So I think relating to debt stress, learning to manage
Speaker 1: it while we're in the midst of it, and also
Speaker 1: just paying it off and getting rid of that stress
Speaker 1: or is fantastic. Yes, absolutely so. Now that you know
Speaker 1: why it's important to pay off debt, our next article
Speaker 1: is meant to inspire you, to let you know that
Speaker 1: this is mathematically and mentally attainable for you to do this,
Speaker 1: because I think my biggest barrier before I started paying
Speaker 1: off debt was that I just didn't think it was possible.
Speaker 1: I had a lot of limiting mindset, like limiting beliefs,
Speaker 1: which we're going to talk about limiting beliefs next week.
Speaker 1: But I thought it wasn't possible mathematically, and so for
Speaker 1: some people it's not going to be I had fifty
Speaker 1: dollars of debt and I was making thirty dollars as
Speaker 1: a single person. Like yes, Like I understand if you're
Speaker 1: in that situation, it's gonna be hard. But I wanted
Speaker 1: to give you some inspirational stories that we featured here
Speaker 1: on the show, and then also some statistics that may
Speaker 1: make you feel better about your financial situation. I don't
Speaker 1: know they're definitely not meant to scare you. We're not
Speaker 1: using scared tactics on the show. But we have had
Speaker 1: a lot of people on Frugal Friends share their debt
Speaker 1: free stories from all walks of life. So Jill push
Speaker 1: of them, do you stand out in your mind? Yeah? Honestly,
Speaker 1: the debt payoffs that stand out to me are the
Speaker 1: ones where people pay off a lot of money on
Speaker 1: a small income. So we've got an episode it was
Speaker 1: back in our archives at this point, but Sarah paid
Speaker 1: off over thirty thousand dollars of debt as a single person,
Speaker 1: and so for her that was incredible given her life circumstances. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I have a list here of most of our debt
Speaker 1: payoff stories, not all of them, but if you want
Speaker 1: to write this down, this will also be in our
Speaker 1: show notes with links to these episodes. But we've got
Speaker 1: episode fourteen where Amanda her and her husband paid off
Speaker 1: six figures of debt living in California. We've got episode
Speaker 1: eighteen where Allison and her family paid off six figures
Speaker 1: of debt on two teacher salaries. We got episode thirty
Speaker 1: five where Merrily and her family paid off another six
Speaker 1: figures of debt on a single income and they did
Speaker 1: not do it super fast. I think it took them
Speaker 1: like six or seven years. So they were one of
Speaker 1: those stories where, yeah, it took a little while, we're
Speaker 1: a family of four on a single income, and they
Speaker 1: still did it. And I love to see Merrily she's
Speaker 1: easy budget on Instagram and now she posts like she
Speaker 1: gets her eyebrows done, and she gets her nails done,
Speaker 1: and she gets like all these things she values now
Speaker 1: she like does them, which is so fun to see
Speaker 1: because it freed up income for her. We've got Chris
Speaker 1: Browning from Popcorn Finance. He lives in like l A
Speaker 1: in the l A area. He and his wife paid
Speaker 1: off their debt. We got Debt Kick and Mom Angela
Speaker 1: her family paid off debt. She's got a great YouTube channel.
Speaker 1: And then Kate from Debt Free Life. She's an attorney.
Speaker 1: She paid off over six figures of debt. And that
Speaker 1: was episode. So people from all walks of life, all incomes,
Speaker 1: all living and financial situations, all time frames, all are
Speaker 1: capable of paying off debt, whether you're married, single, kids,
Speaker 1: no kids, whatever, Like there's a story for you. I know.
Speaker 1: We've got other stories in the archives. Where we got
Speaker 1: one she paid off debt in her forties, all kinds
Speaker 1: of things. Yeah, I think that the biggest variable in
Speaker 1: this is how much time it's going to take. Yes,
Speaker 1: it's not a matter of how old you are, how
Speaker 1: much money you make. These are all factors, certainly how
Speaker 1: much debt you have. I think it's not a matter
Speaker 1: of if I can do it, it's just when how
Speaker 1: long will it take? Based on the amount of money
Speaker 1: I make, the amount of debt I'm in, maybe my age,
Speaker 1: other financial responsibilities. It's possible regardless of what those factors
Speaker 1: are for you. It's just time is going to be
Speaker 1: the question to answer, how much time will it take? Yeah.
Speaker 1: So this article is from debt dot com and it's
Speaker 1: just personal finance statistics, and so we want to read
Speaker 1: some of them for you that will hopefully encourage you
Speaker 1: or put some perspective on what is average, what's median,
Speaker 1: and what is feasibly attainable. So the first one that
Speaker 1: I want to point out is in two thousand and sixteen,
Speaker 1: the average household earned seventy four thousand dollars and the
Speaker 1: average expenditures were fifty seven thousands. So that leaves around
Speaker 1: seventeen thousand and free cash flow for the average household.
Speaker 1: So the median income take home pay, which is more accurate,
Speaker 1: is sixty thousand, but that still leaves everyone, the average
Speaker 1: American with over eleven thousand in free cash flow every year. Obviously,
Speaker 1: there are very evovments of where you live and what
Speaker 1: your circumstances are and how many kids you have and
Speaker 1: all of that, but yes, talking about on average what
Speaker 1: this looks like and what we might have access to.
Speaker 1: And I think the point in looking at some of
Speaker 1: these statistics is to say a lot of our barriers
Speaker 1: to doing this, or to be even making this a
Speaker 1: realistic goal for ourselves is I just I don't have
Speaker 1: enough money or I'm not going to be able to
Speaker 1: I don't make a lot. And then to say, well,
Speaker 1: let's look at what the average American makes and whether
Speaker 1: or not it's possible. If income is actually a good
Speaker 1: reason to say that I can't do this, And I
Speaker 1: think our argument is, no, it's not a good reason.
Speaker 1: We can. Based on what the median salary is or
Speaker 1: take home cash, this could be possible. Again, might take
Speaker 1: a while, but it's possible. Yeah, I know, fifty seven
Speaker 1: thousands in average spenditures is high for ast. I mean
Speaker 1: we live in Florida, which is a lower cost of
Speaker 1: living state typically, but we live in a higher cost
Speaker 1: of living city for our state. And we without being
Speaker 1: on any particular financial goal, I think we keep it
Speaker 1: under fifty for sure. So it definitely varies, but this
Speaker 1: is attainable, this is feasible. Yeah, it is quite an
Speaker 1: interesting site because you can click on your state or
Speaker 1: various states and kind of see the statistics for what
Speaker 1: is the average amount of credit card debt, the average
Speaker 1: amount of student loan debt, the average amount of people
Speaker 1: who are filing for bankruptcy in that year, and so yeah,
Speaker 1: it could be a motivator in either direction, whether you realize, oh,
Speaker 1: I actually carry more debt than the average, or I
Speaker 1: carry less debt. I think either way it can be
Speaker 1: an encourager and and a motivator if statistics again are
Speaker 1: helpful for you, I know, doesistance are helpful for me
Speaker 1: more than like motivational speeches. So that's why. And the
Speaker 1: site is debt dot com. Slash statistics very easy if
Speaker 1: you are not driving, you can just pull it up
Speaker 1: on your phone and see. But yeah, the numbers motivate me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if I'm over, I want to be average, you know.
Speaker 1: And speaking of holidays, they talk about some of the
Speaker 1: statistics there, since we are smack dab in the middle
Speaker 1: of holidays, that the average Americans spends about one thousand
Speaker 1: fifty dollars on holiday decorations, food, gifts, shipping costs, all that.
Speaker 1: And two eighteen study from Magnifying Money reported that most
Speaker 1: Americans borrowed, or the average Americans borrowed about twelve hundred
Speaker 1: dollars to fund the holidays. So that's a significant amount
Speaker 1: of money just to go to holiday spending, like one
Speaker 1: time a year, this amount of money going there, and
Speaker 1: I think they can beg the question of, well, what
Speaker 1: if we did scale back in that regard to put
Speaker 1: some of that money to debt payoff. And again, that
Speaker 1: wouldn't be for the rest of your life, it would
Speaker 1: be for the season that we are in debt to
Speaker 1: be able to get creative and maybe trim a little
Speaker 1: here and there to get us closer to that goal
Speaker 1: more quickly. I know, and I know a lot of
Speaker 1: people are like, how could somebody spend a thousand dollars
Speaker 1: on the holidays, but like easily, very easily, Yeah, think
Speaker 1: about every candle you buy that you see on sail
Speaker 1: around the holidays. The extra food, whether you're taking it
Speaker 1: to a pot luck or maybe you're hosting someone, or
Speaker 1: maybe you just want those like pumpkin things or those
Speaker 1: peppermint things, gifts you're buying for coworkers that you don't
Speaker 1: care about. Things on Amazon like those. Every little thing
Speaker 1: adds up. Yeah, decorations, little things to have an outfit
Speaker 1: for a holiday party. Yeah, everyone's like, I gotta have
Speaker 1: it new every year. But the matching pajama pajama Oh
Speaker 1: my word, the pajamas. What a trap. Those pajamas are
Speaker 1: frick and they're too hot to actually wear. I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess you live in Florida. Yeah, but they are
Speaker 1: too much. So family photos, those photo shoots about the hiways.
Speaker 1: It adds up and you will realize that if you
Speaker 1: are budgeting and tracking your spending. So another statistic on
Speaker 1: this list is that a gallop Pole found that only
Speaker 1: one third of Americans maintain a household budget and only
Speaker 1: thirty have a long term financial plan that includes savings
Speaker 1: and investment goals. So if you have this, you're in
Speaker 1: the minority. Well done, right, But let's not land there people. Right,
Speaker 1: you are most likely to budget if you make at
Speaker 1: least seventy five dollars per year, which means the people
Speaker 1: that need it, most people with lower income MS. The
Speaker 1: majority are not budgeting. And I would venture to say,
Speaker 1: I mean at least when I didn't do it because
Speaker 1: I was scared of what I was going to see,
Speaker 1: so I didn't want to be confronted with that. But
Speaker 1: it's like this double edged sword. If you don't do it,
Speaker 1: you're going to spend a thousand dollars on the holidays,
Speaker 1: and then if you do, you get confronted with the
Speaker 1: fact that you spent a thousand dollars on the holidays.
Speaker 1: So it's like you still have to do it though,
Speaker 1: so that you can maybe next year spend eight hundred
Speaker 1: and then next year six and so on and so on,
Speaker 1: instead of going in the other direction. Yes, we all
Speaker 1: need a budget, every last one of us, in some way,
Speaker 1: shape or form something to keep us on track. But
Speaker 1: especially if we've got a significant financial goal like becoming
Speaker 1: debt free, it is all the more important so that
Speaker 1: you can even identify where do I have room to
Speaker 1: cut and what am I spending on things, and how
Speaker 1: do I put more money towards this, and I think
Speaker 1: ultimately too. We cannot always blame low income as our
Speaker 1: reason for financial hardship. Sometimes that is the reality. And Jen,
Speaker 1: you and I have both made less than forty thousand
Speaker 1: dollars a year, which is considered to be the poverty line.
Speaker 1: But of people at least in the States are at
Speaker 1: that point facing financial hardship and making less than forty
Speaker 1: thousand dollars a year. So unless we fall into that category,
Speaker 1: we really cannot blame our income as the reason for
Speaker 1: not becoming debt free or getting at financial goals. Yeah. So,
Speaker 1: on this survey of people that said they were facing
Speaker 1: financial hardship, one in ten of them earn more than
Speaker 1: a hundred thousand dollars a year, and twenty eight percent
Speaker 1: of these people earned fifty to thousand dollars a year,
Speaker 1: So we did even mention this on this article. The
Speaker 1: average amount of debt on American holds increases as their
Speaker 1: income creases. So you might think, oh, if I made
Speaker 1: more money than I could pay off debt. Now, if
Speaker 1: you made more money, you'd probably have more debt. Is
Speaker 1: what the statistics say, and a lot of it is
Speaker 1: consumer debt. So we won't just talk about student loans,
Speaker 1: because yes, high income earners typically have more student loans,
Speaker 1: but it's consumer debt as well. Yeah, I think that
Speaker 1: this is a helpful thing to even realize, all right,
Speaker 1: where is the poverty line? How are we defining that
Speaker 1: in the States, and what does that mean? And some
Speaker 1: of us might be there, right. I know that we've
Speaker 1: got listeners from a variety of backgrounds and finding themselves
Speaker 1: in a variety of situations. And so if you are
Speaker 1: below the poverty line, then okay, allow this to inform
Speaker 1: you for where you're at, and engage with our community
Speaker 1: and your own personal like local community to find resources
Speaker 1: to help you not remain in that place. If this
Speaker 1: is a goal of yours to rise above that poverty line,
Speaker 1: to be debt free. Also, especially if this is an
Speaker 1: actual reason for you to be in debt, all the
Speaker 1: more reason to say, okay, what can be done to
Speaker 1: get out of debt. So certainly don't use poverty as
Speaker 1: an excuse for being in debt. If you are not
Speaker 1: in poverty, and if you are in poverty, then there
Speaker 1: are resources. Take advantage of the free things in your community.
Speaker 1: Some of the resources that are available even just knowledge
Speaker 1: wise within the Frugal Friends community, within other financial communities
Speaker 1: as well, there is still hope. We don't want to say, Okay,
Speaker 1: if you're above the poverty line, then then great, don't
Speaker 1: use it as an excuse. But even if you're below
Speaker 1: the poverty line, there's still hope to increase your earning
Speaker 1: potential to still be able to get at some of
Speaker 1: the financial goals. And we want to be a community
Speaker 1: that helps to support you in doing so. Yes, absolutely,
Speaker 1: And we also want to be a community that supports
Speaker 1: you in other ways, like by improving your spirits and
Speaker 1: giving you what you want, yes, and giving you the
Speaker 1: bill that we that's right, it's time for the best
Speaker 1: minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born
Speaker 1: and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage,
Speaker 1: Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have
Speaker 1: to pay that bill anymore. That's built Buffalo bills. Bill Clinton,
Speaker 1: this is the bill of the week. Hi, I would
Speaker 1: like to nominate my uncle Billy for the Bills Week
Speaker 1: and also my cousin Bill Um. And also I'm from
Speaker 1: Rhode Island. So about your Williams. Thank you? Heyo short
Speaker 1: and sweet Smarrow has that I like Rhode Island, and
Speaker 1: I think part of what I like Rhode Island is
Speaker 1: because I can say the word arrogancet, like the beer
Speaker 1: whoa right because I went there once. Good job, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you. Way to make that Bill of the Week
Speaker 1: about you, Jim. Is also about smartest family and her
Speaker 1: state pride, little est state, biggest heart is what I say.
Speaker 1: So good thanks for nominating. Not only did you nominate,
Speaker 1: but you got it Smara the Bill of the week. Congratulations.
Speaker 1: If you want to submit your Bill of the week
Speaker 1: about your family, about your state, really about anything, you
Speaker 1: know that there's really no limitations. Visit for Cool Friends
Speaker 1: podcast dot com slash bill, leave us the bill, will
Speaker 1: listen to it and try not to make it about us.
Speaker 1: But no promises, no promises. Now when I'm around and
Speaker 1: now it's time for lightning. Mm hmm. It's here. You
Speaker 1: know it whether you like the intro or not. So
Speaker 1: today Jill and I are going to share our turning points.
Speaker 1: So why paying off debt became important to us and
Speaker 1: the moment we realized it was possible because those were
Speaker 1: definitely two different points, so amazing. You go first and
Speaker 1: all right, So I already told you guys, my debt
Speaker 1: was a super a mental and emotional burden for me.
Speaker 1: It was a real source of depression. And I do
Speaker 1: not struggle with depression to quickly. I wouldn't even say
Speaker 1: I struggle with anxiety, though I have had bouts where
Speaker 1: anxiety has given me seizures, so I guess I can't
Speaker 1: say that anymore. But so much so I compartmentalized and
Speaker 1: I hid from my debt. So it was always a
Speaker 1: negative thing in my life, which made it important, but
Speaker 1: it didn't become important to me to pay it off
Speaker 1: until it was important to my fiance. And basically it
Speaker 1: was like, hey, you agreed to marry me, and now
Speaker 1: I'm going to pay off my debt. And I was
Speaker 1: like why m hmmm. And we were still in that
Speaker 1: like newly engaged phase, so I was like, okay, anything
Speaker 1: you want to do, but I'm not really interested. And
Speaker 1: so that was the moment it became important to me.
Speaker 1: And then you may have heard the story. I've shared
Speaker 1: it before, but the way he got me on board
Speaker 1: was just talking about like, Okay, what do you see
Speaker 1: for our future and what do you want? And he
Speaker 1: got me to the place where I was thinking beyond
Speaker 1: debt because in my mind it was so overwhelming. All
Speaker 1: I can see was debt and I couldn't see beyond
Speaker 1: it so powerful, and he encouraged me to just theoretically
Speaker 1: dream beyond it. And so when I did that, that
Speaker 1: was when I said, Okay, this is also something that
Speaker 1: I want to do because I would actually like to
Speaker 1: see this version of my life that I've dreamt. I
Speaker 1: like that, Yeah, not just debt free for the sake
Speaker 1: of debt free, but putting more reason behind it. I
Speaker 1: think that's a helpful motivator too. For me. I don't
Speaker 1: think that there's ever been a time that I have
Speaker 1: felt comfortable owing people something that goes beyond finances. I'm
Speaker 1: not saying it's a good thing. You're a giver, so
Speaker 1: I get that you were. You were a giver, not
Speaker 1: a oh people. It needs to be definitely fair, if
Speaker 1: not skewed in the other direction. So and I also
Speaker 1: feel like debt kind of happened to me. It's probably
Speaker 1: how most people feel, too, like to wake up one
Speaker 1: day and realize, yeah, this is real. I never had
Speaker 1: a credit card. I think maybe I opened one in college,
Speaker 1: but I didn't even know like how to use it,
Speaker 1: Like I don't know. I think this is something good
Speaker 1: that I should do. Mostly I just had a debit card,
Speaker 1: so spending money that I didn't have wasn't quite a
Speaker 1: thing or an option that I even knew was available.
Speaker 1: Trust me, if I knew it was AVAILABLEY might have
Speaker 1: done it. But realizing and getting that final bill after
Speaker 1: I graduated college, I think, like, that's when it really
Speaker 1: hit me. All those years of just like signing the
Speaker 1: financial aid package and it's like, oh, yeah, yeah, but
Speaker 1: this will probably just like go away somehow. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know how my nineteen year old brain really
Speaker 1: processed what is going to happen to me at one,
Speaker 1: But when I finally got it, I was like, all right,
Speaker 1: and now you have six months before it starts gaining
Speaker 1: interest and then you actually do need to start paying
Speaker 1: us this money until all of this money has been paid.
Speaker 1: And that was my moment of realizing this is real,
Speaker 1: This is all real. It's not just this number on
Speaker 1: a piece of paper that I signed a way that
Speaker 1: allows me to keep going to college. This is real
Speaker 1: money I have to pay back and I am not
Speaker 1: gonna lie. I was really angry to be polite about it.
Speaker 1: I was really angry when I had to pay back
Speaker 1: the loans I took out. Part of it is that
Speaker 1: I felt like I didn't fully know what I was
Speaker 1: getting into because they presented to you like it's a
Speaker 1: financial aid package or not. It's money that you owe.
Speaker 1: So I was I angry about that, And then I
Speaker 1: was angry about the fact that they make it seem
Speaker 1: like a good loan. Oh, this is like a good loan. No,
Speaker 1: it's still gains interest, like you still owe interest on it,
Speaker 1: and a real decent amount of interest even though they're
Speaker 1: trying to make it. I'm getting angry again. You can
Speaker 1: tell who all right, Not even am Scott would give
Speaker 1: an eighteen year old a payday loan that big. Yes, right,
Speaker 1: so so there's your measurement. You can't even go to
Speaker 1: the bad part of town and get that much money, like,
Speaker 1: moving on, moving on. So so I think, yeah, that
Speaker 1: was my pivot point where I think, honestly, anger is
Speaker 1: a decent motivator for me. It got me angry and
Speaker 1: I was like, well, I got to get rid of this.
Speaker 1: But I was also really overwhelmed because at that point
Speaker 1: I had my bachelor's and social work, and I was
Speaker 1: stepping into a job where they were going to pay
Speaker 1: me twenty six thousand dollars a year and my loans
Speaker 1: were more than that, So that was overwhelming. So I
Speaker 1: knew that I wanted to pay it off, and I
Speaker 1: knew that it was real money, and I just resigned
Speaker 1: myself to the fact that this is just going to
Speaker 1: take me forever. This is going to linger over me
Speaker 1: for forever. And I did feel quite overwhelmed by it. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: I get angry as well thinking about it. I get
Speaker 1: so angry, still angry about it. It's predatory. I think
Speaker 1: the student loan industry is predatory. Okay, So when did
Speaker 1: I realize it was possible to pay off? Well, I
Speaker 1: don't think I realized it was possible. I think I
Speaker 1: was hopeful, And I think all you need at first
Speaker 1: is hope. That's it. You don't need anything more, you
Speaker 1: don't need math. All you need is hope. And then
Speaker 1: because you're gonna suck at first and the math's not
Speaker 1: gonna work out, but as you get better, then the
Speaker 1: math will start to work out. And that is when
Speaker 1: I realized that we could do it. We got married,
Speaker 1: Travis didn't have a job. I was making probably maybe
Speaker 1: for d k at that awful love. Isn't that what
Speaker 1: they call that? But love for sure, Um, I was
Speaker 1: so skinny. It was the best. And then we started
Speaker 1: making more money, and we and we started controlling our
Speaker 1: spending and budgeting and the math. What we thought was
Speaker 1: going to take us five years ended up taking us
Speaker 1: less than two because the math started working in our
Speaker 1: favor the better we got. But I didn't see that
Speaker 1: until we were like in it, like several months in it. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: sometimes you just have to start with that little bit
Speaker 1: of hope and put one foot in front of the other.
Speaker 1: I think it was similar for me. I started immediately
Speaker 1: right I had a job. I needed to start paying
Speaker 1: back this loan. I chose to do as much as
Speaker 1: I could. I did not do the minimum payment, but
Speaker 1: even you know, so twenty six dollars a year, I
Speaker 1: was not making much, but I did choose. I looked
Speaker 1: at what our other expenses were and what we're the
Speaker 1: maximum amount that I can do and also not shoot
Speaker 1: ourselves in the foot. So I paid more than what
Speaker 1: what we had to pay every month. But still I
Speaker 1: knew this is going to take me a really long time,
Speaker 1: but I think I started to see the reality to
Speaker 1: being debt free and the light at the end of
Speaker 1: the tunnel nowhere near the middle. But when I started
Speaker 1: to make more money and I realized, oh, life isn't
Speaker 1: always going to be me earning twenty six tho dollars
Speaker 1: a year, that in this debt payoff journey, I can
Speaker 1: gain a skill set, I can get raises, I can
Speaker 1: switch jobs, I can make more money and pay off
Speaker 1: more debt and be more financially free in this process.
Speaker 1: And I think that really spurred me on and gave
Speaker 1: me an even greater injection of hope in that process
Speaker 1: to realize, oh, I'm not stuck. This isn't a static,
Speaker 1: stagnant process where I'm only going to ever be able
Speaker 1: to pay so much off. There are possibilities in this.
Speaker 1: In that way, it almost gamified it for me, where
Speaker 1: I had these little benchmarks of oh, okay, if I
Speaker 1: just got a little bit of a race, which means
Speaker 1: I can increase the amount that I put towards my debt,
Speaker 1: and then oh, I just got a bonus or somebody
Speaker 1: just gave me a birthday gif to run it, And
Speaker 1: I was motivated to put the majority of that to
Speaker 1: my debt. And I have not regretted it. I have
Speaker 1: not looked back on the fact that like five birthdays
Speaker 1: in a row, any money that came in from any
Speaker 1: avenue went straight to my debt and GOLLI am I grateful. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And there's and it's stuff like there's financial stuff you
Speaker 1: don't learn until you're on that journey, or at least
Speaker 1: for me, I didn't learn until I was on the
Speaker 1: journey to pay off debt. And like, if you wait
Speaker 1: until you're in a quote unquote better financial situation, then
Speaker 1: you miss out on all of those lessons. And like, yes,
Speaker 1: you're making slower process in the beginning, but you're learning more.
Speaker 1: You have more time to learn, so that when you
Speaker 1: get to that better financial situation, you're already so ahead
Speaker 1: and you can do so much more with the more
Speaker 1: that you have. Yep. And I remember when you paid
Speaker 1: off your debt, you were at my house free and
Speaker 1: I became Yeah, I became debt free in goodness before
Speaker 1: the pandemic struck. And yes, but before the blessing that
Speaker 1: was and we say that right, like less risk. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was able to walk into the pandemic with a
Speaker 1: whole lot less stress on me because I didn't have
Speaker 1: that debt payment. I didn't know what was coming. Oh goodness,
Speaker 1: I'm so grateful for that piece. It was a hardship
Speaker 1: in other ways, but I didn't have that additional piece
Speaker 1: on my shoulders. I'm so grateful. Yes, yes, it hasn't
Speaker 1: worn off either. We're going to be coming up on
Speaker 1: a year of being debt free and man, yeah, still
Speaker 1: so thrilled. The thrill of it has not gone away.
Speaker 1: Riding that wave. I truly believe that feeling is available
Speaker 1: for everyone if you want it. It's a for you,
Speaker 1: and we're carrying you on every stage of life you're
Speaker 1: in because you can increase your income, you can cut
Speaker 1: out expenses, you can get better and better and get
Speaker 1: to that financial place that you want to be. It
Speaker 1: is possible, and so I hope that this episode was
Speaker 1: the motivation you need, an inspiration you need to either
Speaker 1: start that journey or keep fighting for it. I hope
Speaker 1: that you enjoyed that episode the second time around as
Speaker 1: much as so many people did when we played it
Speaker 1: the first time around. Nothing like serving up some leftover.
Speaker 1: Sometimes after it marinates, it gets even better. I think
Speaker 1: that's this one. And it's interesting for me even thinking
Speaker 1: about my views on debt now. I mean, we were
Speaker 1: debt free when we recorded this episode, but I would
Speaker 1: say I've even experienced shifts since then in I think
Speaker 1: how I think about debt and approach to it. I
Speaker 1: think I'm becoming less and less this kind of shame
Speaker 1: attached to it or super averse to it forever and always,
Speaker 1: and kind of more like radical middle understanding of sometimes
Speaker 1: it can serve us financially to take on a loan
Speaker 1: for something if done intentionally in wisdom and as a
Speaker 1: stepping stone for something else. So yeah, it's it's cool
Speaker 1: to see the different ways of approaching the way we
Speaker 1: can shift and change, and the flexibility for that. But
Speaker 1: also at the end of the day, it still is
Speaker 1: a fantastic aim for any one of us. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: I still remember talking in the Lightning Round how my
Speaker 1: debt was a mental and emotional burden and while maybe
Speaker 1: mathematically it could have made more sense to do some
Speaker 1: other things at the same time we were paying off
Speaker 1: the debt, it was really worth it for us to
Speaker 1: maintain that focus and get that off. And maybe if
Speaker 1: I had realized the scope of choices that I had,
Speaker 1: I would have made different decisions, but I didn't. And
Speaker 1: that's why we're here today with the show, UH, to
Speaker 1: share those to share you know what's could be right
Speaker 1: for you, what may not be right for you, and
Speaker 1: let you decide not a one size fits ang. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: So thank you so much for listening. I mentioned at
Speaker 1: the beginning we have the Frugal Friends Club, which is
Speaker 1: a private community for listeners who are trying to pay
Speaker 1: off debt. So we have money challenges every month. We're
Speaker 1: introducing like many courses and videos of our expert interviews
Speaker 1: so that you can learn this gills to get ahead
Speaker 1: with money and also keep the motivation and accountability that's
Speaker 1: so crucial when you're in a debt payoff journey that's
Speaker 1: going to last you more than like three weeks. So
Speaker 1: this is the goal of for Girl Friends Club, and
Speaker 1: so we want to congratulate one of our members for
Speaker 1: a big one. This is Brittany. Brittany actually leads our
Speaker 1: open accountability group every month and she says, I have
Speaker 1: been saving the past six months so I could do
Speaker 1: a lumps on payment for my car insurance. Usually when
Speaker 1: I pay my insurance. I have to use my checking account,
Speaker 1: but I was able to use my credit card on
Speaker 1: this one. I was already saving money, so I have
Speaker 1: the money to pay it off. But now I'm getting
Speaker 1: cash back on this big payment I was already making.
Speaker 1: And girl, that's just that's just stash it stack in rewards, sting, savings, hacking.
Speaker 1: Well done that you anticipated this expense, you do see
Speaker 1: it coming. It's not an emergency expense. You know what's happening.
Speaker 1: You were able to save ahead of time and then
Speaker 1: utilize the tools and resources you have to make it
Speaker 1: really advantageous and something kind of fun to make a
Speaker 1: lumpsome payment and excited to see what you do with
Speaker 1: some of that cash back. Yes, absolutely so congrats Brittany.
Speaker 1: If you have made it your goal to pay off
Speaker 1: debt in the new year, then please please please check
Speaker 1: out the Frugal Friends Club. We have a lot of
Speaker 1: fun in there. There's a lot of great resources on
Speaker 1: not just saving money. Actually very little on saving money.
Speaker 1: That's all in the free stuff, but we have resources
Speaker 1: on side hustling, investing, increasing your income, negotiating, so a
Speaker 1: lot of the peripheral stuff that's going to help in
Speaker 1: the long run. So Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash
Speaker 1: club see what We've got coming up for you? See
Speaker 1: you next time. Frugal Friends is produced by Air Exeriality
Speaker 1: gen Jill. Is there any type of purchase or circumstance
Speaker 1: where you could see yourself reasonably going like taking on
Speaker 1: debt for it? Yeah? Car? Yeah, yeah, when we the
Speaker 1: next car we get, we'll definitely take on a loan
Speaker 1: for not a huge loan um, but there are other
Speaker 1: places where we want to allocate the savings we have,
Speaker 1: and so we have really good credit sour rates would
Speaker 1: be really low, and depending on how low those rates
Speaker 1: are would be like how much we take out. But
Speaker 1: but yeah, we fully planned to. I fully planned to.
Speaker 1: Travis does not yet know that we fully planned to.
Speaker 1: Travis plans to ride a unicycle round Travis. Travis thinks
Speaker 1: it's two thousand twelve, and so he keeps showing me
Speaker 1: like cars from two thousand three and two thousand six,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, this isn't bad, but it's not good. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so yeah, it's a twenty year old vehicle. At this point,
Speaker 1: I think I can still have that in my mind.
Speaker 1: Anything over two thousand's like born within the two thousand's
Speaker 1: feels like, yeah, that's newer. I remember it's almost And
Speaker 1: I realized that the prices of cars have gone up.
Speaker 1: But I don't think he's he's maybe hasn't had a
Speaker 1: car payment in fifteen years. It's been like it's been
Speaker 1: like seven or eight for me, but it's been much
Speaker 1: longer for him, and it's a hurdle. And yeah, and
Speaker 1: so I realized the price of cars have gone way
Speaker 1: up from the last time we purchased, and so and honestly,
Speaker 1: if didn't have renovations and other things where we wanted
Speaker 1: to put our money, then we would pay cash for sure, um,
Speaker 1: like we have done in the past, but we didn't
Speaker 1: have a bunch of things we were trying to pay
Speaker 1: for and not. You know, it's much better to take
Speaker 1: out a car loan than it is to put those
Speaker 1: things on a credit card or personal loan. So that's
Speaker 1: kind of the deal. But I'm trying to avoid the
Speaker 1: car purchase as long as possible, So that's right, Matt,
Speaker 1: stay tuned.