#15: My Debt-Free Story and the Biggest Takeaways

Did you know millennials carry an average credit card debt amount of about $4,600? I’m proud to say that I’m credit card debt-free, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, I had gotten myself into tens of thousands of dollars in debt multiple times. It’s like I hadn’t learned my lesson the first time and kept coming back for more. Thankfully, I got myself out of debt for the final time and I’ve stayed out of it! The first time I got into debt, it was due to constantly spending more than I had. Over time, my debt continuously compiled on top of itself. It took years and thousands of dollars to undo the damage. My biggest takeaways from this experience were:

• It takes minutes to go into the amount of debt that can take years to pay off.
• Interest is a killer – it keeps you stuck in the debt payoff cycle – especially when you have high balances.
• Never go over the credit limit and never pay late – the fees aren’t worth it.

The second time I got into debt, it was because I convinced myself the money I was spending was good for my business…it wasn’t. I went down a blackhole of marketing that cost me so much time and money. I thought because had curbed my desire to spend on material things, I’d be safe. I convinced myself that paying for all this website traffic was helping my business – only to realize I had spent all this money on traffic to FEEL good. My desire to spend up until this point was always based on how it made me feel. Now I’m finally at a place where I spend based on how it impacts my budget and goals. I make sure to budget in fun money, so I can feel good when I spend but NEVER to the point where I’m not in control. Thankfully now I can control my thoughts, which control my emotions and I’m never driven by that feel good desire to spend – especially when it comes at the expense of something else. I eventually paid that debt off and have managed to stay debt-free ever since. If I can do it (twice), anyone can do it!

Here’s a glance at this episode:

• [02:10] Credit limit increases can be dangerous territory as they give you a false sense of security that can lead to more spending.
• [04:31] Learn from my mistake…making minimum payments and continuing to use credit cards, combined with interest fees, can quickly take you over the credit limit.
• [06:52] If you’re not careful with your credit card usage, it can take minutes to overspend and accumulate debt, and then take years for you to get out of the debt payoff cycle.
• [08:49] If you do not get to the root cause of your overspending, you will end up back in debt.

Click here to listen!

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

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