Dear Debt, I’m FIRE’d Up

Hey debt fighters! We have another dear debt letter for you from Meg. Meg is a financial independence convert and travel hacker who can be found on Tumbler (MegansMadTravel) exploring the hits and misses of flying for nearly free with only a backpack. Her 2018 goal, to visit 12 states in 12 months has blossomed into international travel and for 2019 she looks forward to finally completing her book on finance, debt, and personal value.

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Dear Debt,

It’s been a five year road with you and three years since I started keeping a journal to recount my journey. But in three short months I will have paid off $32k (and more in interest) of credit card debt and I am both excited and at a loss as I don’t know who I’ll be without you.

Debt, you’ve impacted the career choices I made. You’ve forced me to be creative, to step outside my comfort zone and to think outside the box. This year, even though I was almost entirely focused on you, I was able to travel, largely for free. You made me search for other ways to live my dreams, and as such I found an entire community of people.

You set me on FIRE debt. I have always wanted to work less, to live more and in paying you off I found Financial Independence, I found Early Retirement. You changed my world with travel hacking, and you gave me the tools I needed to forge a new path.

For years I thought of you as an albatross, the weight keeping me down. But I want to thank you debt, for all that you’ve given me. Even though now, I’m not sorry to say, our time together is over.

Meg

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Melanie

Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, Dear Debt. Through her blog, she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat, which helps bold women face their fears, own their dreams and figure out a plan to be in control of their finances. She is passionate about empowering women, helping others get out of debt, and focuses on the intersection of debt and mental health. Every September she organizes a Suicide Prevention Awareness Blog Tour, to help share resources for those struggling with debt and suicide. In addition to her love of personal finance, art and music, she is also a karaoke master and a cat mom to Miles and Thelonious.

Latest posts by Melanie (see all)

• Talking About Money and Mental Health - September 12, 2022
• Dear Debt, We’re Better Apart - June 27, 2022
• Announcing The Mental Health and Wealth Summit - May 4, 2021