Last month I declared my big, crazy, audacious goal for all to see. I was fearful of pressing publish as so much can happen in a year. I didn’t want to set myself up for failure. But I knew that I wanted to keep myself accountable to paying off debt.

Even if I “fail”, I promise to always be honest and forthright with where I am at and what is going on.

I know I am not alone struggling with debt. Many of us are fighting tooth and nail just to survive and reclaim our money, time, and financial lives.

It’s hard and it’s a journey full of ups and downs. Now, with this goal, I find myself on another journey.

In my last debt update, I said starting June 1 I was going on a cash budget and giving myself $100 in fun money each month.

I am proud to say that I’ve stayed within my budget, but at some points it has not been easy. This past weekend, it was so nice out and my boyfriend and I just hung out at a park. We were driving back and I asked him, “Should we be bad and go to happy hour right now?” (a summertime favorite of ours).

Luckily, he had the strength to tell me “no.” While I felt frustrated at first, the urge to go out waned as we settled back at home and relaxed.

Making any big change is all about knowing your spending triggers. I constantly want to go out on nice days. In Portland, it’s gloomy so much of the year, my inner party-animal just wants to release.

But I’m learning to channel that energy in other ways with walks, and bike rides, and wine from the grocery store (lol). I am also trying out new recipes and making sure I always have food in the house. Half of the time when I want to go out, it’s because there is no food in the house and I’m too lazy to go to the store. Now, I start monitoring the food situation, so I can anticipate when I need to go to the store and be proactive, rather than reactive.

This past month, I am also happy to say I have met my goal and put $2,000 to debt. I am actually hoping to put another couple hundred, but am waiting on some payments.

My current debt total:

Undergrad loan: $5,331.64

Graduate loan: $21,530.92

Total: $26,862.56

I love how close my graduate loans are to being in the teens! The good thing about paying this amount is that I actually see the progress I’m making. Even when I was paying $1,000 per month, it felt like the debt was not going down that much. Then again, at the height of my student loans, I was paying around $300 in interest per month.

Things are moving along and I am working hard to just take it month by month, day by day. I don’t want to overwhelm myself, but I also don’t want to lose sight of my goal.

I am so ready to be done with this debt.

How are you doing with your financial goals?

Hey party people! I hope you are doing well. I’ve been writing up a storm this week and have been busy organizing the blog tour for The Road to Financial Wellness. 

I’m so happy to be working with others that are also passionate about personal finance and spreading the message of financial empowerment.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Andrew Schrage, who is also passionate about personal finance. He is co-owner of the wildly popular blog, Money Crashers. I got to talk to him about paying off debt and avoiding the comparison trap. I hope you enjoy!

1. What tips do you have for people who are sick and tired of paying off debt?
Create mini goals along the way of achieving your ultimate goal of living a debt-free life, and reward yourself when each one is reached. Staying motivated is one of the major stumbling blocks when paying down debt, but if you treat yourself to a meal at a nice restaurant each time you reach a benchmark, you’ll be able to stay on track.

2. Do you believe in the debt snowball or avalanche method?
The debt snowball method is best for folks who need the motivational boost of crossing smaller debts off their list first and then attacking the others. For people who don’t need this psychological lift, using the debt avalanche strategy where you address your debts in order starting with the ones with the highest rate of interest, saves you more money in the long run. It all depends upon your personal preference.

3. What are the first three steps people should take AFTER they get out of debt?
Commit to never carrying a balance again. Live by one simple rule – if you can’t afford to pay for something by the time the bill comes in, then you just can’t afford it. Get going on creating an emergency fund. Start with an initial goal of one month’s worth of living expenses and make your ultimate goal at least six months. Use an online calculator to find out where you stand in terms of your retirement savings, and ramp up those contributions as necessary. Get yourself on a budget, reduce your monthly bills, and send in the surplus to your retirement fund.

4. What’s the biggest money mistake you have made?
My parents did a good job of educating me on the importance of smart money management and how to do it from a rather early age. It took me a bit of time to get on a personal budget once I graduated college, though. I probably should have done that sooner, and I also should have begun saving for retirement at an earlier age.

5. How can people say no to the Joneses and be happy with who they are?
Stop worrying about what other people think as to whether you own the latest smartphone or have a 60-inch curved TV in your living room.  Live by your own rules. If you’re happy with your current electronic arsenal and those items are functioning fine, stick with what you have. Remember – you’ll be a lot better off in the long run with a solid emergency fund set aside, little to no credit card debt, and having your retirement goals within reach, compared to living from paycheck to paycheck

Andrew Schrage is the CEO and co-owner of MoneyCrashers.com, a financial education website dedicated to educating its readers and subscribers on ways to better handle their finances. The topics covered include how to create a personal budget, reducing and eliminating credit card debt, saving for retirement, the importance of an emergency fund, and much more.

One of the best things that happened to me on my trip was that I got really inspired to pay off debt.

Being able to really be alone and sit with my thoughts made me realize a lot. More than anything, I really want to be out of debt.

I started thinking of how I could be out of debt as soon as possible and not the 2-3 years I’ve been thinking of. After looking at my income and doing some soul-searching, I set a crazy goal of getting out of debt in one year.

My mind is still grappling with this goal as it seems so crazy and out of reach. My debt is currently at  $28,737.59 (I just recently put $2,200 to debt).

In order to accomplish this goal, I need to make 4k or more each month. I want to pay at least 2k to debt each month, live off of roughly 1k (see my low expenses here) and put 1k to insurance and taxes. If I make more, I will put more to debt and savings — and perhaps even investments. I’m getting the urge to dip my toes in the water and get started.

After a year of making 2k+ payments, I want to throw some of my remaining savings at debt and be done.

Once I did the math, I felt so motivated. Because my income was stalling for months, my debt free date was constantly 2-3 years away. But in March, I made some drastic cuts, and started focusing relentlessly on higher paying work. And I’m so freaking glad I did. Because for the past two months, I’ve made more than I have in my whole life.

If I can keep up at this pace, I’ll be looking at a $48,000 or more salary. That may be a modest salary to some, but considering my salaries have all been low to mid thirties, this is a huge jump. A palpable jump. I can see the difference in my bank account and it’s the only way I’m able to afford to put 2k to debt each month. It just reminds me that as much as I like being frugal and saving, sometimes it really is about earning more.

So how in the heck do I plan to make this happen?

Well, the move is off. I realized I cannot accomplish this goal if I moved to LA or NYC. At this point, both of the cities have lost their charm after my enchanting affair with European cities anyway. I’d love to move to Europe some day. But that’s a story for another day. The point is, I’m staying put in Portland for at least another year, or more to get my financial life in order.

Secondly, I’m going to continue to work my butt off (while continuing to prioritize self-care and rest) so that I can keep my clients happy and also secure more work when I need it.

Also, starting June 1 I am mostly giving up credit cards and opting for cash. I say mostly because I will still have my insurance and other auto pay things on my card. But I don’t want to be tempted at all to spend more, so I am sticking to cash for everything else.

I am also giving myself a strict $100 budget each month for fun. I plan on significantly reducing my restaurant and happy hour expenditures.

These are the strategies I am going to use to try to knock this debt out in a year. A year seems manageable. A year seems like if I work really hard and stay focused, I can be done with this forever.

I can start saving and investing 2k each month. I can travel for longer periods. I can rid myself of 99.9% of spending guilt.

Before I was burnt out and just surviving. Now I’ve had time to rest and really evaluate my priorities. I know money is a tool to help you get what you want out of life. I want freedom and travel and adventure. I know I can have all of those things, while still setting myself up for a nice future, if I get out of debt asap.

It feels weird and scary to share this goal. Especially because my income depends on me. I don’t have a cushy job where I can sit back and make $50k. I have to work, hustle, pitch, edit, revise, and manage my work to make a buck. And I’m so grateful for that. But I know that things can change with clients — budgets change, directions change, etc. So much feels out of my hands, but I will do my best to continue to work hard and if things fall through, make something else work.

Self-employment is for the resilient.

So, there you have it. My big, crazy, audacious goal. I am nervous, but I’m ready for a challenge.

I will be debt free by May 21, 2016. Let the countdown begin.

What if you had a friend that was always begging you for money — hitting you up for $3 here, $10 there. You know, nothing big, but they were very consistent. You felt bad for them, so just kind of kept them around as your friend.

Now imagine this. Your new lover just simply adores you and cannot stop calling you. What you thought was love, is quickly turning into harassment. Unwanted calls and letters — you feel like you lost your sense of self and cannot escape.

Let’s consider another situation. You go to a job and do all your duties, but when you get paid, you only get half of your check, because your employer thinks you owe them for giving you a job.

Would you put up with any of these situations?

I hope there is a resounding HELL NO.

And if that’s the case, why are you putting up with the same crap from debt? Debt is personified in all of these scenarios. Debt is your conniving co-worker, your harassing lover, and your broke friend.

You wouldn’t put up with that, so don’t put up with the same crap from your debt.

It’s time to DUMP DEBT.

Break up, already.

Debt is SO out of style.

Don’t think about how you don’t know what to do with your life without debt. You’re so much stronger than that. Your life will mean so much more without debt and you’ll finally be able to see all the beauty you alone possess.

I want to preach the gospel of getting out of debt, because I too am sick and tired of being in debt. I’m sick of feeling used and sick of seeing my hard work go to debt.

I know I can reclaim my life, my finances, and my future at the end of this journey. And so can you!

Are you with me?

Hey everyone! Last week I talked about why I can’t wait to get out of debt and discussed my dreams for life after debt.

Now, I want to hear more from you! I’m excited to partner with Payoff and host the Debt Free Dreams Twitter contest. We’re teaming up and want to know:

What will you do when debt isn’t holding you back?

Think about that for a second. Let it sink in. Imagine your life after debt — what will it look like?

Share your answer with us and get a chance to win some sweet swag. We’re giving away a Payoff prize package filled with a Payoff sweatshirt, t-shirt, and water bottle, along with a phone session with one of the Payoff experts, Tanya Thomas. How rad is that?

Tanya is a Customer Success Advocate at Payoff and is an excellent advocate for financial freedom. She will walk the winner through a 1-hour conversation to evaluate their personal financial situation and come up with helpful solutions to obstacles. Not only that, but we’ll be giving away a copy of Farnoosh Torabi’s When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women, which is a must read, especially for us breadwinners.

How to Participate

• The Debt Free Dreams Twitter contest will run from Monday, February 2nd to Sunday, February 8th.
• Follow @payoff and @DearDebtBlog on Twitter.
• Tweet your answer to the question: What will you do when debt isn’t holding you back? Don’t forget to include the hashtag #DebtFreeDreams in your tweet! We won’t have a way to track your response unless you use this hashtag.
• Get creative with your response! Carrying a balance and being in debt is a burden. How will your life change for the better, and what is your dream when you’re free from debt?
• We’ll select and contact one random winner on Monday, February 9th!

I hope you participate in sharing your #DebtFreeDreams!

Have fun and good luck!

Sorry for the radio silence, folks. After last week’s successful Twitter chat, I was blown over with illness. I have a pretty strong immune system, and this thing just hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to cancel work in some cases, had to ask for extensions, and just lay around and nap and watch movies. As fun as that sounds, it seriously cramps my workaholic style.

After 6 days of only feeling worse and not better, I finally went to the doctor. Apparently, I didn’t have the flu like I thought, but two separate infections. Fun times!

I am telling you this because I had plans last week to tell you about WHY I want to be debt free — I wanted to share things with you about my dreams of travel, moving, and giving back. I wanted to regale you with talk of a life I don’t have yet, but aspire to have once all this debt is gone.

But let’s have some real talk and deal with this unproductive misery of an illness I’ve dealt with for the past week.

First — being sick is expensive.

At one point, my boyfriend and I were both sick, and despite having food in the house, we both had zero energy to make it. So, we went out. Then, I tried to cure this thing on my own and stock up on cold medicine at the drugstore and bought new toothbrushes. After that didn’t really help, I decided to go to urgent care. I was desperate for relief. I hate when anything comes in between me and my work, and let’s face it, I don’t wear sick well. I can’t relax, I feel like I’m being lazy, and I’m quite frankly, pretty bored. Yeah, I’m the worst.

After paying my co-pay and the fee for the tests to determine what this is, that was a cool $50. After I got my prescriptions, that was another $50. Of course, this is all money I had no intention of spending, but I had to.

I can’t wait to be debt free, so that I don’t have to think twice about canceling work when I’m sick. I can’t wait to be debt free, so that spending $100 on health seems reasonable, instead of something that stresses me out.

I can’t wait to have my money be my own, so that I am truly in charge of what I do and where my money goes.

I know that in situations like this, I should be trying to recover and be grateful for my overall health. But when stuff like this happens, it just exacerbates my money woes and reminds me of my WHY.

Money should never come between you and your health — yet for people in debt, it can be a struggle to pick the right answer, even though it’s obvious.

So, my WHY of getting out of debt still includes traveling and a better lifestyle — but on a more practical level, it means a lot less worry.

Worry is a poison on the soul and I’m so done with it.

What is your WHY? Why do you want to get out of debt?

This post is part of the #DebtIsNotForever series by Jackie Beck over at the TheDebtMyth.com. Share your WHY on social media using the hashtag #DebtIsNotForever

Hey debt fighters and money mavens! It’s been a wild ride in 2015 and we’re not even at the three-week mark. I’ve experienced the good, the bad, the ugly, along with the strange and unfortunate — it’s been a whirlwind.

I’m so grateful I took that time off to be with family and friends for 2 weeks in LA over the holidays.

But aside from everything that is going on, you know that I’m committed to paying off debt right? I’m so excited to say that in the last month, I put $1,000 towards my debt! It’s been a while since that happened, so I’m super jazzed about it.

My student loans are now at: $33,740.36

Woo hoo!

I look forward to getting rid of more debt this year, so I can accomplish my financial dream. What is my financial dream — or life after debt? It means more traveling and less worrying, more generosity and less fear, and more security. Later this week I’ll be talking about WHY I want to get out of debt, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, come join me and LaTisha Styles for a fun and inspiring Twitter chat this Wednesday, January 21st at 8pm EST/5pm PST. The chat will be with Payoff, an awesome company that focuses on uplifting people and empowering them to think about life after debt. They merely don’t want to focus on debt payoff but life after payoff.  We’ll be chatting with the CMO, Carey Ransom, who is a pretty rad guy. We’ll be talking about making progress on your financial dream in 2015 and how dumping debt can get you there.

We’re hoping the later time will help folks who work during the day be able to attend — and you won’t want to miss it! It will be great fun AND we are giving away $125 in prizes (SUH-WEET!).

If you can attend, please RSVP here (you can still attend if you don’t, but it is suggested): http://goo.gl/forms/fFlaFlPkyx

If you can’t, would you mind sharing? Thanks debt-fighting friends. May all your debt free dreams come true.

Are you ready to #DumpDebt? Join us on Wednesday, January 21st at 8pm EST for strategies and tips to make progress on your financial dreams in 2015.

RSVP Here: http://goo.gl/forms/fFlaFlPkyx

Then follow @DearDebtBlog, @YoungFinances, and
@Payoff to join in on the conversation!

To participate in the Twitter chat other than using Twitter by searching keyword #DumpDebt; you can use
http://twubs.com/dumpdebt. Sign in using your Twitter account for an easy way to keep up with the chat.

(http://www.tchat.io/rooms/dumpdebt is also an option)

During the chat, you’ll have a chance to win! $125 in prize money will be awarded. (Must RSVP to be eligible)

Share the info and send out a tweet to share how excited you are to participate in the #DumpDebt chat on Tuesday. Ex. “I’m ready to #DumpDebt on Wednesday @ 8PM EST w/ @YoungFinances, @DearDebtBlog, and @Payoff”

I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. I’ve been working hard to get my client work done, side hustle, and try to get things done early before the holiday.

The past two weekends I worked as a brand ambassador for one of my favorite companies, Columbia Sportswear. I worked for them three years ago in NYC and got tons of free clothes, and was pleasantly surprised to get more free clothes. I hate shopping and never buy clothes, so it was a nice bonus. I’m very happy as the $500 I will get from this gig will go straight to my Spain fund, and now I have $400 in free clothes, which includes a nice jacket, boots, scarf, hat, and a shirt. I’m telling you, I love being a brand ambassador.

I have also had some fun writing opportunities that deviate from the normal blog posts. I wrote a video script for a financial literacy nonprofit (using my theater degree, woo hoo!) and also did some copy writing for a friend. I love tinkering with words, and am looking for more projects that are outside of the box.

Aside from that, I also just confirmed a sweet opportunity that I’m beyond excited about. I’ll share the details once everything is ready to go, but it was a nice, early Christmas gift.

This weekend, I am working an epic 11-hour shift for a holiday event, and then Monday I fly to Los Angeles for the holidays.

I will be in SoCal for a whopping 2 weeks. I’m excited and nervous. It will be the first time that I’ll really be utilizing my location independence to work and I’ll be staying with my partner’s family. I love them to pieces, but I will also need to carve out some personal time.

We are flying down, but we are taking the train back up to Portland! 31 hours of train time — that may sound insane, but I love trains. I love that time stops and that you have nowhere to go. It forces you to be in the moment. Last year, I applied for Amtrak’s writers’ residency and they rejected me — so I’m creating my own!

Aside from all this, debt repayment is going okay, but I keep chugging along.

In the past month, I’ve paid $827 towards my debt and my current debt totals are:

Grad loan: $28,725.93

Undergrad loan: $5,819.42

Total: $34,545.35

I’ve paid off about $10k in debt this year, on a minimal salary! Every month it feels like I’m barely progressing, but when you look at the totals, I am! It’s always important to look at the big picture.

Lastly, I know I haven’t been writing here as much as I’d like. It makes me sad and I want to try to change that. I’ve just been dealing with client work, some ups and downs, and an intense need to take care of myself first. I didn’t want to force writing here because of some self-imposed schedule and deliver content that didn’t have any heart or soul in it. Dear Debt is still my baby and I have big plans for 2015 — but I’m still figuring things out!

If you do want more things to read, check out my work elsewhere:

4 Non-Traditional Ways to Increase Solopreneur Income and Productivity via Careful Cents

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before the New Year via Retire by 40

5 Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Finances via Personal Income

21 Tips to Overhaul Your Finances for the New Year via The College Investor

Hobby to Business: How to Grow Your Hobby into a Serious Income Source via NarrowBridge Finance

How Your Relationship with Money Affects Spending and Earning via Money Ning

3 Steps to Avoid Financial Infidelity in Your Marriage via The Savvy Duo

How Not Having a Smartphone Cost Me Money via Cell Phone City

Also, I got with the program and am now on Pinterest and Instagram. Still figuring it all out, but you can find me there!

What’s new with you? What are your plans for the holiday?

Hello frugal friends and debt-fighting warriors! I’d like to cordially invite you to another awesome #DumpDebt chat, co-hosted by myself and LaTisha from Young Finances. Our guest this week is Jackie Beck from The Debt Myth, who paid off $147,000 in debt! Talk about an inspiration!

Here are the deets:

Are you ready to #DumpDebt? Join us on Tuesday, December 9th at 12pm EST for strategies, tips, as well as success stories from those who have made the commitment to dump debt!

RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/fFlaFlPkyx

Then follow @DearDebtBlog, @YoungFinances, and
@TheDebtMyth to join in on the conversation!

To participate in the Twitter chat other than using Twitter by searching keyword #DumpDebt; you can use
http://twubs.com/dumpdebt. Sign in using your Twitter account for an easy way to keep up with the chat.

During the chat, you’ll have a chance to win a free copy of the Pay Off Debt app!

Share the info and send out a tweet to share how excited you are to participate in the #DumpDebt chat on Tuesday. Ex. “I’m ready to #DumpDebt on Tuesday @ 12PM EST w/ @YoungFinances, @DearDebtBlog, and @TheDebtMyth”

If you can’t make it, please share via social media, or invite a friend! Thank you!