I gripped the steering wheel and began to sob. Why was I such a failure? Why had I broken the promise to my wife that I would be a provider and protector? It was November 2019, and we were expecting our firstborn in a month. We were finally settled in our young careers as teachers and brought home two salaries.
But, we had blown through a $600,000 lawsuit payout and gotten ourselves into over $200,000 worth of debt. We put the second half of every month on a credit card and had no clue what we were doing. We were in crippling debt and had no light at the end of the tunnel. We finally decided enough was enough.
The Beginning of our Journey
We started budgeting that night and knew we never wanted to be in debt to anyone, for anything, ever again. We quickly wiped away our credit card debt and moved toward our $130,000 student loan debt.
This may sound like your story. You may feel like debt is crippling, and you’d give anything for it to disappear forever. It’s understandable that that is where your heart sits, but let me tell you how the rest of our story goes.
Learning to Play the Financial Game
We started following financial content creators of all types on social media. Bloggers, podcasters, teachers, and anyone willing to share free information. We realized that our initial pains were valid. But there might’ve been another way to get ahead in the game. See, rich people call debt “leverage.” Why couldn’t we do the same? All it would take is a little bit more learning. Learning became addictive. We watched clips about how others navigated their student loans and low-interest rates. We read books about real estate investing and how it could provide us with something called “cash flow,” an idea completely foreign to us twelve months prior. We listened to podcasts about the wild logistics of hacking your travel by playing the game just as well as those who created it.
Letting your Mindset Evolve
Throughout our journey, we have changed our mindset around debt. No longer worrying about certain debts has allowed us to make financial power moves for our future. We still don’t agree with consumer credit card debt, but you don’t have to cut that card. Use it to earn your travel points and pay it in full each month. Oh, and those student loans? We took the money we had set aside to pay them off after the payment pause and chose to buy a real estate investment property out of state instead. We rent our current home but carry a mortgage on a property on the other side of the country. Our debts will be paid off in due time. However, while we’re on that journey, we’re choosing to build for long-term success.
Debt is uncomfortable, but not all debt has to be crippling. If you’re feeling this way, lean into the community and see how quickly your mindset can transform.
How to connect with Justin : Twitter: @PriceAvocado TikTok: @priceofavocadotoast Instagram: @priceofavocadotoast