There’s no doubt about it, getting out of debt is WELL worth it. It’s the best!
But sometimes we all need a little inspiration and encouragement along the way.
So if you’d love to get a dose of debt-free inspiration, these 6 get out of debt stories will do the trick.
As a side note, the get out of debt stories featured here are from people whose incomes run the gamut from way below the average American income to quite a bit above it.
There are all kinds of inspiring experiences!
Read on to see how these folks paid off a combined $2.3 million in debt.
1. Tired of Being Broke, They Paid Off $52K in 7 Months
Chris & Andrea made good money and seemed to have it all, but in reality they were living to paycheck to paycheck like so many Americans.
Their debt free story has a super-embarrassing start. But sometimes the things that mortify us are exactly what turns our life around! And that was definitely the case for them.
As Chris says, “That feeling of shame, embarrassment, and overall fear of the future caused something radical to happen.” It was a major turnaround.
Check out their whole story here! It details exactly how they got fed up with being broke and paid off $52K in 7 months.
2. Paying Off Their $195,000 Mortgage in Less Than 4 Years
Meet Andy & Nicole: They are debt-payoff superstars who managed to pay off their $195,000 mortgage pretty darn quick! (In just 4 years, to be exact.)
They were intentional about paying off their house from the get-go, which really helps. What you pay attention to matters!
And being able to say “No one will ever take away our house.” because you’ve paid it off is amazing.
If you’d love to get inspired and see the exact steps they used, click here to read their story of paying off their mortgage in 5 years or less. Plus, they did some fun stuff to celebrate with their kids :)
3. This Doctor is Paying Off $1.9 Million Dollars
This is one of the coolest get out of debt stories, because Dr. Jenn has tackled WAY more debt than the average person even dreams of paying off. And she’s already knocked out $1.2 million of it! (And counting.)
Sure, she’s got a low six-figure income, but that pales in comparison when you’re staring such a massive level of debt in the face. The funny thing is, she wasn’t really even aware of it until she got an unexpectedly huge tax bill that triggered her to take a closer look at her finances.
“I had the bright idea to make a spreadsheet of all of my debts in order to figure out how this happened,” she explained. “Well, there it was. I owed a total of 1.9 million dollars. And, I was just starting my career. I don’t cry often, but that night I did.”
So Dr. Jenn did something about it. Here’s her story of paying off 1.9 million dollars in debt, along with tips anyone can use.
4. Paying Off $28,000 in Student Loans on $30,000 a Year
Zina is a freelance writer who did what many people might think is impossible: she paid off a TON of debt on a lower income.
“My debt was financial, but it was also emotional,” she said. “It was a burden I couldn’t shake. How could I justify going on vacation with my friends, buying new clothes, having a nice apartment when I owed just as much as I made?”
So she made changes. She paid off her $28,000 in student loans in 3 years, back when she was making just $30,000 a year.
It just goes to show that determination and a willingness to stay focused makes a huge difference. (Even if you’re fresh out of school and not yet making as much as you’d like.) Read what it takes to be debt free on 30K a year.
5. Paying Off $43K in 2 Years — In One of the Highest Cost of Living Areas
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you live in a high cost of living area — especially if you have $43,000 in debt.
But newly-engaged Kaysha wasn’t going to bring debt into her future marriage. She didn’t think that should be her future husband’s problem. So rather than stress out about it or shrug and move on, she decided to do something about her situation.
She took a three-pronged approach to it: cutting back, getting support, and making more money. (That making more money part is often forgotten, but it can make such a difference.)
Kaysha switched jobs and got promotions — doubling her income over 2 years — and kept her budget the same. When she got a bonus at work, she didn’t spend a single penny of it. All that went toward debt. She also did tons of random things to make extra money on the side. (At one point, she made money sampling ice cream!) During all this, she and her boyfriend also cash flowed their wedding.
She’s a shining example of working extra and focusing on making her debt-free dream come true. Read on to find out some of her tips and the rest of her story.
6. Completely Debt Free! (House & Everything)
Yup, this is our debt free story! We paid off around $147,106 in debt — including our mortgage. About $52,000 of that amount was consumer debt. We had the usual: credit cards, a student loan, car payments, etc. And we were sick of it!
After coming off a long bout of unemployment (about 4 years), I started down the path of freedom by paying off my student loan. From there, things kind of snowballed. Along the way, we had life.
You know, hospital bills, vet bills, car problems, college tuition, travel (because fun!), more unemployment. You name it, we probably did it.
But there’s one thing we didn’t do: borrow money to fund any of life.
We were DONE with debt, and we meant it. So we stuck to my mantra of “only spend money you already have”, and it worked.
While ours is by no means the fastest of these get out of debt stories, it’s probably the most doable for anyone. You don’t have to put your life on hold to be debt free. You can find out exactly how we paid off over $147,000 in debt right here.
Which of these debt free stories is your favorite?
I hope you’ve found these super-inspirational, whether you’re just starting your debt-free journey or making progress along the way. There are definitely plenty of tips and takeaways from each of them. Please save this post to Pinterest or share it with a friend if you enjoyed them!
