Feeling Alone in Debt: I know exactly how it feels to be drowning in debt. I used to believe the lie that I was one of the few people weighed down by credit card and loan debt while everyone else seemed to live perfect lives on Instagram. But I soon realized how wrong I was.

The Reality of Debt: According to Bankrate, 50% of credit card holders carry a balance from one month to the next as of June 2024, and credit card debt hit $1.3 trillion for the first time this year. Unless all of that debt is yours, you are not alone! Sure, you might have more credit card debt than other people, but many are in a very similar situation. The best part? There's a better way to live, and becoming debt-free isn't an impossible dream.

Understanding the Emotional Toll of Debt

The Journey Begins: Reflecting on the beginning of my debt payoff journey, I always found it ironic that we celebrate the moments that put us into even more debt. Buying that first car or purchasing a home is met with so much fanfare. I often saw people flashing a new sneaker purchase or a nice watch, showcasing that they had “made it” financially.

But inevitably, months or years later, I recall those same people making offhand comments about struggling with the very loan or credit card payments that funded their purchases in the first place. Sadly, that is often as far as the conversation would go. Our society has a lot of guilt and shame around debt, and the taboo nature of the very conversation leads us to feel isolated when we want to do something about it.

My Journey to Debt Freedom

How It All Started: "In my family, personal finance was taboo, something that caused stress but was never openly discussed." Growing up, I learned that personal finances were a source of stress and that debt was a normal part of life. So, upon graduating from college and getting married, I quickly built up enough debt until it hit a breaking point at $55,000.

The Turning Point: The turning point for me was a failed escrow and returning from a dream vacation with more debt than I could comfortably handle. I realized I was falling into the same patterns that were modeled to me, and I knew something needed to change. I had built up a $55,000 debt balance and tried to address it by refinancing with a personal loan and multiple 0% balance transfer cards, but nothing seemed to work.

Ultimately, I had to decide that I wanted things to change and was willing to put in the work to get rid of the debt. Much like the three main steps Budge promotes—getting organized, making a plan, and paying down the debts—I did the same. After sticking with it and putting in an incredible amount of manual effort for 14 months, I finally paid off the last debt in my plan.

The Emotional Toll: While repaying the debt, my wife and I felt incredibly isolated. Others were out doing anything and everything they wanted. We saw others making expensive purchases that we could only dream of, knowing we couldn’t afford them without financing and bringing about more debt stress. We were sacrificing during those 14 months and had to turn down several fun but expensive trips to stay on track toward our plan.

It wasn’t easy, but upon paying off the debt, I felt a sense of relief that is almost indescribable. Much of the latent stress melted away, and the sense of accomplishment I now had empowered me to reach new career heights. I also had a newfound sense that debt was no longer taboo. I had slayed the debt, and now I wasn’t afraid to share what I had done with anyone who would listen. Before, I felt shame, but after repaying my debt obligations, the sense of pride was evident in my day-to-day conversations. Ultimately, the journey was 10000000% worth it.

Overcoming the Loneliness of Debt Repayment

Finding Community: "You don’t have to go through this alone." I want to emphasize that you don’t have to go through a debt-free journey alone. Although no one in our immediate community was struggling with debt the way we were (as far as we knew), we still sought out community support. We followed influencers like @savemycents and listened to personal finance podcasts. After a few wins paying off a couple of accounts, we started sharing with our close friends. This helped remove the stigma around our debt, and we found our community to be encouraging of our goals.

Sharing our wins destigmatized the conversation around debt. No one can deny the fact you are winning when you pay a debt down, and it led to many fruitful conversations in the debt-free community. This helped us stay the course and motivated us to continue focusing on our goal to pay off the debt!

Staying Motivated with Payment Strategies: To pay off the debt, I knew we needed momentum, as I had been discouraged by a couple of failed attempts to pay off the debt with other debt products. The snowball strategy worked extremely well. We paid off a couple of smaller accounts in the first few months, which gave us a dopamine hit but also gave my wife and me some wins to share with others.

We then switched to the avalanche method. We automated our minimum payments, and at the end of each month, we applied an extra payment toward the debt to speed up our payoff timeline. With every paid-off account, we found a way to celebrate those wins with others. Some low-cost celebrations included a Trader Joe's glass of wine with friends at home, a walk on the beach to share more about our journey, and visiting an out-of-town debt-free meetup. Each of these moments made us feel less lonely while paying off the debt.

A Call to Action: Join the Community

Take Action: It can be overwhelming watching YouTube videos, reading blogs, and listening to multiple podcasts to try and figure out how to pay off your debt. Because of my debt-free experience, I joined Budge to help others on theirs. If you don’t want to walk your debt-free journey alone, check out Budge.app, where you can eliminate your credit card debt quickly by getting organized, choosing a plan that fits your needs, and making payments all from one platform.

Paying off debt doesn't need to be a lonely road. Instead, make the journey one built on a foundation of community.

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