Why You Can’t Finish Paying Off Your Debt | How to Stick With the Debt Free Journey

is a quasi half episode, half celebration, mostly episode. I'm just gonna be over here celebrating, but we are going to go through all of the parts of the book a little overview and help you figure out how to stick with a debt free journey. And if you are interested more, you can go get the book. M M. I'm so excited for you. Congrats Jen Man, I'm excited it's done. I did it. This is Jill. I have not written a book. I've written a bunch of papers,

probably a compile it to a book. Yes, your under way, you are, and when you write your book, we'll have a special book episode party for you. Thank you, but first we'll do our sponsors, also brought to you by hanging in there when you're definitely not killing it. But you're also not completely out of the game, like that little cat poster of a tiny little feline clinging to the side of a wall. So it can feel on this financial journey. But take heart and don't let go

tiny kitten. Hang in there when we don't know what else to say, but we know giving up as bad advice. Hanging their tiny kitten. Man, I wish I am. I wish I would have heard this months ago. I could have included that in the book, hanging in their tiny kitten. That would have been That would have been the ending. Someone will come rescue you soon. That would have been the last line of the book. Hanging in their tiny kitten. No context. Supposter always makes me laugh so much. It's

so good. All right, let's get into it. I am like there's so much excitement, like building out of my head. It's hard for me to focus. But we are going through two different headlines, just like we normally do, and they're all pertaining on why it's hard to pay off debt, what you can do to get through that journey, and they're kind of all just overviews of things that I talked about in the book. So we'll start with this article from the ballot, It's seven reasons It's so hard

to get out of debt. What do you think about this one, Jill? It was good. I think they gave some really good tips. The thing that didn't quite resonate with me about this particular article is that they seem to be writing to the person who is in debt

because of overspending. So I think that leaves out a whole segment of people who are in debt because of student loans or if you count your mortgage, which isn't frivolous spending, that you need to really rein it in and have some self control like you never have in the past. So I think it's worth saying that there are different reasons that we find ourselves in debt. One is not necessarily better than another, but then the way that we approach it might be different. But all said

and done, I think great tips. Yeah, I think that's an important distinction to make because I was in debt not from rivola spending. It was because it was my student loans and then a car, and and it was a Toyota Corolla used it was a you know, a very what you're into the luxury cars linked out girl. I do want Alexis one day, but it's I still couldn't own my participation in going into debt. I was still in denial, and um, like that caused such a

disconnect between me and my debt. I kind of I kind of identified as the debt, but I also thought, oh, I'm doing all these good things financially, I'm fine, this debt is fine. It was such a weird season in my life. But yeah, so it's just as important to figure out all of this stuff when you're overspending as much as when you're being quote unquote frugal. I was definitely just in a scarcity mindset, but we talked about that later. But yeah, so these seven things. The first

one is you have to change your lifestyle. So you definitely have to make some changes if you're going to get out of debt. Like what if you didn't have to make changes, you'd already be getting out of debt. You know, it's true. Yeah, So, um, in my book, I talk about how to use habits to change your lifestyle because your brain goes on autopilot and you either fall into your bad habits or you can fall into your good habits. And if you've got good ones, then

it makes changing your lifestyle really easy. Not to go off on too much of a rabbit trail, but what did you learn about setting new habits as you wrote your book? I so I really emphasized um, starting small and picking one or two habits, starting with healthy, and then once you've established those habits, or at least what they're going to be, then figure out the bad habits

you're going to replace those habits with. So if I want to stop spending at Starbucks, which is something I talked about a lot in the book because I love coffee, then my good habit was making coffee at home. So replacing that habit with the good habit and just kind of looking at it like a formula. You'll find that I'm very formulaic. I like to break things down and compartmentalize. That helps me wrap my brain around things better. And I think a lot of other people feel the same way.

That's excellent, And then the tangibles to it can make it so helpful to look it back and say, Okay, I did that. I did that one tangible thing and it helped. Yeah. But also so yeah, certainly starts small, but the second one on this list is sacrifice for now, and so certainly in this debt payoff journey, it is going to require sacrifice. So if we're not doing that, then yeah, the process is going to be a lot slower or it just won't happen. And but I like

how they said for now. And that's not to say that, Okay, we throw frugality or all these other healthy habits out the window once we pay off debt. But the degree to which we have to sacrifice can shift. But if we want to go hard at specifically paying off debt, it will require big sacrifice. Certainly cut out the daily latte, But those aren't the big sacrifices that are going to make the big difference here. So we're talking not getting

into big car loan payments. We're talking, uh, not buying a house possibly when you do have six figures you still owe back on debt. We're talking not spending a whole bunch of money on Christmas. These things that are actually going to make the difference to sacrifice in those areas. Yeah, I really like the idea of minimalis frugality. So only choosing a few things to cut back on versus you know,

daily lattes, which also are important. That's just like a mental lifestyle thing that you need to get a hold of. But um, I really four categories are most important, housing, transportation, food, and monthly bills. And if you can find a way to save on those things, then you don't have to be as involved in your day to day pinching pennies.

You will save hundreds like sacrificing for now, like renting a smaller apartment or moving a little further outside of the city, changing up the way you commute to work. So sacrificing for now is I think the for now part is something a lot of people tend to forget,

So I like their distinction on that one. Yeah, and I love your refocus on the four big areas housing, transportation, food, and monthly bills exact our first four episodes essentially, because those are the basics, the pillars of where we spend the most money, and so if you can focus in on those areas, you're going to be far better off in your debt repayment journey. Yeah. The third one is high finance charges take much of your payment and so

this is where your debt payoff method comes in. Whether you're choosing the debt avalanche or the debt snowball, And honestly, I used a combination of both. And I recommend people do what works for them. I know it's not very popular to uh fall in the radical middle when you're writing a book, um, but I think that people really need to take a good look at themselves, the way they act, the way they spend and decide, and how

they think, how they process things. And like math, people are really gonna love the debt avalanche and psychological like people. I mean, we're all psychological people, but people that are more in a psychology and like the dead snowball. So you just have to figure out what works for you. And you don't have to be married to either one.

You can you can go off with the other that you have not covenanted together nice And Number four of the reason that this article lists for why it can take so long or feel so difficult to run into so many bearers with that payoff is when you see everyone else spending. And this is a big one, especially

when it comes to getting together with friends. Everyone else is going out to dinner or I just saw somebody post in our Frugal Friends Facebook community group alliteration that everybody, all of our co workers, over lunch, we're going to be buying Christmas costumes or Christmas I don't know, Christmas costumes or yeah, something like that, or Christmas gifts or things to wear around Christmas. I'm like ugly sweater or the matching pajamas. Like that's a new thing, but you

only really use it one time a year. But then you've got this pressure with coworkers that we're all going to use our time off. And so if I'm not doing that, then do I really have a place to hang out with them? Can I sit there and watch them all one click by while I don't just an example. I think it's a great one, but it's it's a real thing. Everyone else is spending and they just anticipate

that you're going to jump in on it. So that's where a lot of personal boundaries and determination towards your own goals is really important. And this depends on each individual of how exactly you're going to approach that, whether hey, I'm going to stick this one out or yeah, I'm going to join, but here's what I'm going to do, Here's what I'm not gonna do. Yeah, I'll join you out for dinner, but I'm going to get a soda and that's it. Or I'm going to get an appetizer,

or hey, I already eight. But I love to sit and chat with you all who to find your area of comfort without necessarily sacrificing relationship or for a season, hanging out with people who have similar goals as you. Yeah, I think that's it's a very important topic to talk about relationships when you're paying off debt, because that is the biggest thing nobody told me about when I started paying off our debt is that my relationships that I

had prior would change. So that's a big thing I talked about, and it kind of ties into the next one is that others five as others may not support your debt repayment. So whether it's not just people like outright being negative, but just not being supportive of you, like encouraging you, and just being overall um just like a neutral or quasi negative presence. So I wish there was a tip that I could give you that this is the three things you do to make sure that

your relationships are healthy. But part of it just comes down to like building thicker skin, like you really do become more emboldened. Um. I think boundaries, like you said, are on the path to that how you get to boldness and thick skin. So I talked about that in the book. And one of the great things though, is that while some of my relationships changed, I gained these

other relationships that I would have never had to. I would have never had the reason to make these new friends if I hadn't been trying to spend less money and spend more time in my area. So it's not just a bad thing that everyone else is spending money and they're just not in the season to where they're

paying off debt. That's not a bad thing. So you also can get judgmental when you're trying to pay off debt, thinking like everybody else should too, it's not their season, it's not their season, and and don't bring that negative d to their life either. But just support yourself and surround yourself with others, and sometimes it's family and you can't get away from that, and boundaries come in there too.

But yeah, that's another thing that the article mentions is not even those on the peripheral, but even within your own family. Certainly, if you've got kids or a spouse, then they have to be on board with this too. If you're planning to cut the cable, well, that affects everybody. Or if you want to move to one car, that affects everybody. So there's other aspects too that can be barriers to how quickly you can pay off debt, depending on how many other people are impacted by some of

the decisions you make to cut spending. Yeah, it is. It's difficult, but it's not impossible, so you just have to be aware of it and factor it in to your debt repayment. Yeah, and we've got an episode on getting your spouse on board. And I know there's plenty of articles online about this too. But which cut leads

us next to number six, which is unexpected expenses? This one is massive, and Jen and I will share our own barriers, things that have cropped up and I don't know, thrown us off track a bit and our debt payoff. But this one's a big one of Yeah, the car needs fixing, or something on the house breaks, or you've got to do some last minute travel or you name it. There's constantly unexpected expenses coming up, and of course having an emergency fund helps with this. That's absolutely a recommendation

that we have is to have an emergency fund. Decide what amount makes sense for you and your family. But yeah, this can throw us off our goals really easily. And that's where it's not letting it completely wipe you out and be an excuse to not keep going. But this does come with the territory and it's a shame, but

it doesn't necessarily mean that we can't still reach our goal. Yeah, when Jill and I were in Nashville last month, Jill, do you remember the story that I think it was Ken Davis told about how he went to hang out with those Navy Seals. I don't know if it was Yea and so he um, no, no, No No, I think it was Chris Hogan and he was asking them like, how do you know, how are you so tough? Or whatever? The Navy Seals like we plan for obstacles, like we

expect them. We trained for them, and we plan for them, and and that is their whole job is to plan, train, and expect obstacles in their missions. And I feel like it's the same for our death free journey. You have to plan, train, and expect obstacles. And if you do that, if you plan for them in advance and you expect them, you will be leaps and bounds ahead of everybody else trying to pay off debt. Yeah, they will not throw

you off as much. Yea. Not only will you potentially have the money to pay for it because you've planned for it, but the important aspect of what it does to our psyche, which is so much of what we're talking about of staying motivated in determination and habit formation and all these things. When something comes in that's unexpected, it has the potential to wipe us out because we feel defeated or we want to give up. But if we've expected them, then we just keep moving right along.

I knew this was coming here, it is and I'm not thrown off and I don't need to give up right now. So what that can do for our mental status and this process is super important. Yes. Yeah. And the very last one on this list is it's hard to pay off debt because it can take a long time and we under estimate how long it will take.

Sometimes we overestimate. We thought we would pay off our debt in five years and it ended up taking twenty three months once we got our momentum going, even through all the obstacles that we that should not we should not have paid it off in two years and is yeah, but it can take a long time, and you have to be ready for that. It will take typically several years.

And to go from living one lifestyle to doing a one eight and living another lifestyle for several years, you are literally the worst at money you are ever going

to be while you're paying off debt. Think about that, you are the worst at money you are ever going to be, and you're trying to do this huge thing, and so you got to give yourself grace and you've got to accept it's going to take some time, good word, and prepare your mind to be in it for the long haul that I'm going to wish I was there quicker, and maybe use that as fuel to incorporate other things to help you do it faster. But know that this

is not going to be an overnight thing. Right, So that's why it's so hard to pay off at Our next article is how to get motivated to keep going. So part of the book is understanding why our money mindset is like it is, and the other part is practical tips to make it through and they're all interwoven

into this like twenty one days of action steps. So this one is from psych Central and it's twelve tips to get motivated when you're stuck in a life ret And I love the opening line on this one, don't worry it's only a temporary rat because it so is, and people let people let it derail them so easily, even though it's really usually shorter than we anticipate. So the first one on this list is to write on

paper how you're spending your time. I liked this one because I talk a lot about writing down your goals and writing down your why. Like writing things down and seeing it, having it tangible and visible is so important. Um, and that's why I created a workbook to go along with the book for free, because I'm so passionate about how important it is to write things down and so, but I didn't think about writing on paper how you're

spending your time. I talk about simplifying your schedule and uh this method called bandwidth blocking, so you can schedule your time. But I never thought about having like a time inventory, So I think that's really important. Similar concept to that the app you can check your At least on Apple, you can check how you're spending your screen time, which is a scary thing, but can you help us

know where is my time going? I might think that I'm spending a lot of time on my goals and not a lot of time on entertainment, but you might find that as you start tracking it that it's different. Same with spending money, tracking where it's going to actually get an accurate handle on where you're spending versus where you think you're spending. I liked number five on here,

which talked about overcoming the fear of criticism. If we are able to overcome this fear, then we are better able to stick to our motivation, stick to our goals. And so the suggestion that they give here is to just not basically essentially not share what you're doing with those who disapprove, assuming that it's a healthy thing, right,

We're talking about healthy goals here. And if you know that this is gonna be something beneficial for you and your family, but you know that it might others might fundamentally disagree with you based on their background, whatever, then they might not be the person to get feedback from or to constantly be going to thinking that maybe this

time they'll understand and they'll be supportive. If that, if that just consistently tears you down, then don't go to them, don't look for their approval, just stay quiet, share it with people who you know are supportive of it, because those things, those people who are very critical, who aren't getting on board, that can really slow us down in our motivation towards goals. Yeah, definitely, if it's not their time, it's not their time. You just have to be patient

and really lead by example. Do your thing, and then they'll really do your thing in silence. And then one day you'll be debt free and you'll be doing all of these things that they want to do, and then they'll see it that will speak louder than any words you could have said to them. Oh my word, if I was if I tried to convince people about me living in an RV being a good idea while trying to make the move into an RV, that would have

been so overwhelming. I needed to focus on moving into an r V, not also getting everybody around me on board with the idea. It's like it's it's the same concept. So if people are on board with it. Then don't talk about it. Just do it. Usually that's more effective anyway. Just just do it, yes, Nike, just just do it. Not sponsored, not sponsored, but if you're listening, come at us um. I also liked number four Overcome the fear of failure with small risks, and I think this speaks

to resiliency rise. Biliency is the ability to bounce back to the same capacity or stronger after failures or mistakes, and sometimes coming out of a setback, some people can just take them in stride. And those are the people that pay off their debt quickly, and and you're like, oh, it seems so easy for them, but honestly, it was just they were just resilient. And so if you didn't develop a natural resilience growing up, because not everybody does,

you can actually train your mind to become resilient. And that's by taking small risks and failing small and then bouncing back from that and looking at your progress over time to show yourself that you can bounce back as strong and stronger than before. I also like number eleven on here, which was says stop using distractions as an excuse, and they use examples like I don't have any support, or it's just too hard, or my job keeps me

too busy, which to me is just excuses. In general, I think this is a big one that can keep

us from getting at goals. And similar to I think we had this conversation with Rob Berger when he was on the show a couple episodes back, just about that the difference between extrinsic versus int intrinsic motivation, and how so often the people who aren't doing this thing have all the excuses in the world of why they can't while I have kids right now, or I'm not married, or I am married, or I live in an expensive area, or I'm still in school or what like whatever you

can fill in the blank, essentially their excuses. It doesn't mean that it's going to look exactly the same as your neighbor who is paying off debt. But it also doesn't mean that you can't do it yourself in a way that makes sense for you. So finding that motivation inside yourself to say, yeah, I can do this through these small changes versus just staying where you're at because you think you can't do any different. Yes, good word.

So I liked two more on this list. So the first one I liked was hang out with the right people. So we just talked about relationships and how I got these friendships while we were paying off debt and they didn't know the old spending version of me they had. They didn't expect anything from me because they didn't know me, and so I got to essentially not like kind of um, but yeah, I I gained these new friendships on the basis of like doing free things and being frugal and

spending time instead of money, which was so great. But I think another part of putting the people in your life is having an accountability partner. And probably my my favorite thing that's come out of the book so far is that my editor, who when she was reading through the book, got to the chapter on finding an accountability partner and she called up our old co worker and she's like, we're going to hold each other accountable to pay off our debt. And I was like, yes, you

took action, and that's amazing. You're inspiring even your editor. Wow, I gotta get this book. It was just so cool to hear. And so, but like, an accountability partner isn't

going to necessarily be your best friend. It's going to be somebody who's invested in your success will actually tell you know, and vice versa, you are invested in their success and you are willing to tell them no. And it's not they don't necessarily have to be paying off debt, but they have to be working towards the goal, and it may not be the entire length of your debt payoff.

Accountability partners can be seasonal, and I say you should always be looking for your next accountability partner because you know, life happens, and sometimes those relationships have to dissolve, you know,

for better or for worse. And so, but having someone whether it's your spouse, whether it's an acquaintance or just a regular friend, or even somebody from the debt free community on Instagram that you can check in with weekly or bi weekly to make sure you guys, are spending in your within your budget and reaching your payoff goals is so critical to success. And yeah, there's so many people if you search for hashtag debt free community, so

many people on Instagram they're trying to do this. Lurk around for a little bit, put a call out that you're looking for an accountability partner, and you should be able to find one. Yeah, what's the other tip you like down here the past one? Number twelve is identify those fears and walk right over them. Yes. So I talked about my scarcity mindset before, and that was a

big barrier to me to paying off debt. I thought that I was never going to have a lot of money, so that I would never be able to pay off my debt, even though I had, like my income was rising, I was living at home, and then I lived in an affordable apartment and all this stuff. Even when I was on the cusp of getting married and you know, doubling my income probably hopefully we're talking about that later. Um, I still felt like I couldn't pay off debt because

I didn't have enough money. That was just ingrained in my head from childhood, and I had to separate myself from that let it go. I also had a lot of like shame and guilt around taking out my loans because I knew they were loans that I had to pay back, but I didn't realize the magnitude of them until it came time. So they gave me a lot of anxiety, and so I had to let go of those feelings too. So it was that scarcity mindset, the feelings of guilt that I'm bad with money mindset and

walk right over them. And when I let go of them, I'm now able to take pride in everything that I spend money on. I am able to take pride in where I'm at professionally and what I make and so many more non financial things. Yeah, the ripple effect. You know what I'm proud of, and I think I do. The bill of the weed. That's right, it's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is Williams. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy

to not have to pay that bill anymore. To Bill Buffalo Bills, Bill Clinton, this is the bill of the week. Hey, Jenn and Jill, and my name is Gala, and I'm a new listener, so I'm catching up on all your podcasts and loving it. You both do such a great job, and I think your voices are very cool. Um. I there's no actual guy named Bill in my Bill of the week, but there is a guy, and I am head of her hills in love with him, and he and I were just discussing our dream bed, and yes,

we are moving forward in life together. So um, shopping for furniture is something that we do. And UM, I just paid, happily paid a hundred and twenty five dollars through Facebook marketplace for our dream bed, which is an Italian canopy brushed nickel stainless or something or other bed.

Not the canopy time when you're a little girl with ruffles, but really square, looks like a box, really modern, our dream bed that we were just talking about and looking for one hundred and twenty five dollars or I couldn't pay it fast enough to make sure I got that beds Anyways, you're doing a great job. Have a wonderful week. Thankst Oh it sounds luxurious. I love the way that that bed sounds. I had a bed like this, I

mean the little girl version that you're describing. So this is the grown up version that you got at a Steel's Facebook marketplace. I get so many things there. It's so good. I love the way you talk about that. I love your voice too, and thanks for talking about our voices since apparently they get attacked. But you're building us right back up. I know we are. We are stereotypical valley girl voices. But we're not even That's the thing. I know. People have to man explain valley girl voices

to me. I'm done, Thank you, goodbye. Oh thanks for sharing your bill of the week with us. If anyone else out there listening wants to submit your bill of the week anything, whether it's related to a bed or a Facebook marketplace bill, or or a guy named Bill doesn't matter, head on over to Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash Bill and tell us what you got. Yes, please,

and now for the lightening you. This is our second favorite time of the week, and we are going to share with you our biggest setbacks on the road to debt freedom. Here you go get an authentic I learned best through other people's stories, and you will find a lot of my stories in the book. And because I feel like stories. You can read a definition and an explanation online, but until you hear how somebody has interpreted it in real life, you don't fully comprehend it. And

so these are ours. My first one was we experienced drastic underemployment during our debt payoff. I was only working twenty five hours a week, is all I could get for me that was full time, and Travis was not even Lloyd when we got married. Hence why I said earlier, I thought I was getting a second income, but I wasn't sure. And I was employed for a few months and then got laid off. So yeah, we experienced one layoff and one unemployment and me being employed part time.

So through all that, we had to really hustle our butts off to make money because we did not have a lot of money coming in. And I've shared my shingles story before how I thought I could out earn my spending and then worked so many side hustles. I gave myself shingles, and that is how I became an advocate for frugality through that story. Is not a good look, Nope, it's not. And uh so, yeah, that was our setback.

So I see these people like we were making gosh, I was making thirty six grand and Travis probably made just around that and everything else we made up for inside hush souls um and cutting our spending, and we took a lot of the tips that I talked about in cutting the Big Four. And that's how we that's how we did it, very similar to what you're saying for us low income jobs combined with switching jobs. So when when Eric and I got married, I still was in school for a year, so that was a thing.

Oh my goodness. There was a time when we literally had eleven dollars in our bank account. That's it. That was what we had to our names, and I think we probably still went out to eat. I think I was like, I'm hungry. How much do we have in our account? Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. Uh. And then my first job out of college was at a nonprofit that paid me twenty four thousand dollars, and that was exactly when Eric decided that he wanted a career change

that we thought would be quick. His career change ended up taking uh a few years, you know, maybe like half a decade. But that's okay. He did make money in the meantime, but it was never stable. We are entrepreneurs to the core. So that's the whole other piece is not even throughout our married lives, not consistently bringing in income, not not being employed by somebody who is paying us a regular salary. So I mean, you name it. Uh, we just haven't made a lot of money for various

reasons and yet still paying off debt. Like, we still found ways that worked for us, which I share all throughout the podcast. I won't get into all of it, but so that you all know, I had eleven dollars in my bank account at one point and you can you cash flowed grad school as well through all this. Yes, so yeah, you're still you're paying off some debt, but you cash flowed grad school. Yeah. But that was another

bit of a setback. That money we could have thrown at debt and been debt free, but we decided in the midst of debt payoff, mostly because I there was a time it was time limited on when I could go back to grad school. Uh. Yeah, we didn't go into more debt for it, but it was something that kind of delayed and prolonged how long it took to pay off debt. Yeah. So our second setback was buying

a house. We I know, it's like passe to buy a house while you're paying off debt, but we were living in this tiny duplex that we were so happy living in. It was so cheap when we were fine with it, and then the landlord calls and he's like, I'm going to turn that into an airbnb, so I need you to be out in six weeks and we're like, m m okay. So we were looking at other rentals and we just in short notice couldn't find something as affordable, so we could. You know, there were other rentals, but

they were the price of a mortgage. And I hear the argument that's like, let me buy a house, it's the same price as rent. But I think if you have the time to look, it's always better to rent while you're paying off debt or own your own camper. But but yeah, So we had about thirty days to find a place, and we decided to buy because we didn't want to rent for another year. We knew we were going to be debt free soon. This was near the end of our journey, but we definitely wanted to buy,

so we bought our house now. And I think doing that was a really great decision for us because it made us buy on a budget. Had I been debt free, I may have had a higher budget and been able to save more for a down payment. But because we were in a crunch time, it forced us to buy

a less expensive house than we otherwise would have. But putting all that money towards house, just a down payment, like a small down payment that we were able to cash loow because we were putting crazy amounts towards our debt. H it set us back so much mentally because we stopped focusing on one goal and now we had to And I'm a big advocate for having one goal. I read the One Thing by Gary Keller and so now I'm this like one goal advocate, and it it really

was goal competition. So we put our debt payoff on hold for a few months and it set us back, um, maybe like a month or two because we were still able, we were cash flowing everything and we put a very small bound payment. But yeah, mentally it set us back. We were just not in the budgeting position or we were eating out, so we just put us in a

different headspace. And similarly for me, just big expenses I think I have There's been different points in this journey where I feel like we're in a good place and then something catastrophic happens with one of our vehicles, and thankfully we've had the money outright to pay for those things. We have not gone into debt for these big unexpected expenses. But it does set us back, or if I could

put it this way, slowed us down. And I think that goes back to the first article that we were talking about of expecting those things and anticipating that it will take a long time. You know. I I wish that I had the story of I paid off my debt in two years, But reality is, we don't make a lot of money, and there were other things that were also important to us, like me getting my master's degree, investing now so that in the long run we might be able to be a little bit better off and

be able to live more generously in the future. So there isn't I guess the point is that there isn't one right way of doing things. And if I can give this reminder to anybody listening, the people who have crazy debt payoff stories of I paid off a hundred seventy dollars in seventeen months, that's because they make a crap ton of money. Make no mistake, they are bringing in six figures. We have interviewed these people, We have

talked with these people privately, like that's what's happening. So if you are not getting after your debt payoff journey as fast as you see people are doing it on Instagram. It's probably because your life circumstances are different, not because you're failing in some way. Some people are better set up in their lives to take massive hacks at debt. So it's okay if that's not your situation. Don't let that be a reason or an excuse to give up.

Know that. Yeah, it's taking me five plus years to pay off thirty five thousand dollars of student loan debt. I'm still doing it. I don't have the two year story, but I also don't have the six figure salary. Girl preaches everyone should know what's going on behind the scenes, and the people, the people with regular incomes that are just trying to make ends meet and put more towards debt, they're doing this in three, four, five years. Like if you're you know, dual income, no kids, you can maybe

doing in two years like us. But we ha sold and I totally believe it's doable. But you just have to know you have to be okay and comfortable where you are in life and take the hand God's delta and go with it. Yeah, you've got to do what works for you, but don't use that as an excuse to stay where you're at, correct, can keep moving forward. I no longer make dollars a year. Praise the Lord. Yeah, those nonprofits, man, I don't know how they get away

with it. That's another story that's about the episode. So yeah, that is our encouragement to you, wherever you are right now, you can pay off your debt. We won't tell you how long it's going to take you. We won't tell you how much to put towards it, what percentages, whatever. We're not going to tell you what to do. But I know that you can pay off your debt if you are committed to it, and if you're committed to doing the things and all the things we talked about

in the first article. So and if you buy pay Off your Debt for Good now available on Amazon, Kindle, paperback, and audio buck And if you were listening to this episode on the weekend, it comes out through Sunday evening at about four pm Eastern. The book is ninety nine cents for the Kindle version. Yeah, that is the lowest price it will ever be. And so people still in this debt payoff journey, Yes, yeah, people have these twenty

dollar books. Fifteen books. My books are like because you're paying off debt and you just need a little encouragement along the way. You don't need to go broke. You gotta pay something for him because they are valuable to me. But they're quick reads. And yeah it's a quick read.

You'll get through it very fast, and then you'll be able to go through it with the workbook and really change your mindset from paying off debt is something I have to do to paying off debt is a journey that is shaping me for the best of my life, not just my financial life, but it is actually shaping me as a person, and I'm thankful for that. And you will get to that headspace eventually, and I'm I'm

going to try and help you do that. Nice. Speaking of books, yes we okay, so we are also reading I will Teach You to Be Rich by ramat Safety for our book club this month, and we have opportunity for you to win a free copy of this book by leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher. Screenshot that review and email it to Frugal Friends Podcasts at gmail dot com. And we give one book for every

five reviews that are submitted to us. So it takes all of you to do this for one of one of five to win a book, and we'll select those winners at the end of the month. Yes, and if you want an example of a really great review, this one comes to us from tests and says realistic content. This is one of my favorite podcasts. Oh yeah, it's five stars too. You gals are so funny and have realistic in all caps content that is relatable and so helpful.

I love that you cover several topics that I personally connect with in my own life. Minimalism, getting out of debt, budgeting, etcetera. Thank you, Thank you, Tests, thanks Tests. We love talking about those things. Thanks for your review, and y'all can join us over on the Frugal Friends Facebook community page where we have more talks about what we're talking about here and see you next week. I Frugal Friends is produced, edited and mixed by Eric Syrian Jill. How have you

decompressed since Nashville? Oh? Are you kidding me? I flew right to Kansas City afterwards and worked. I had one day home to quick do my laundry, pack up again, fly back out, work, came back home. Actually, I was supposed to be in Jamaica then this week for work again. I know it sounds exotic, but that got canceled and I'm real grateful. Normal circumstances, I would have been bummed, but I'm like, yeah, no, please, I'd love to stay home. How about you? I know you slept in a little

bit this morning. Oh my gosh. Yeah, um, I really so. I decompressed on the plane ride home. Um. When we went to Jill and I went to Ramsey Solutions in Nashville and we we had a great time. I just loved hanging out with you so fun. I loved it so much, And being away from my child for two nights was not bad either in your own hotel room curious Um, But I really had a good time touring Ramsey Solutions and hearing a lot from Chris Hogan and

there are other people. Um. I went in with some expectations and they were completely blown in a positive way. So that was my view of the event. Yeah, so generous, Such a generous and kind group of people, very laid back. I think I anticipated a bit a bit more stringent, legalistic, but that was just not the case. They believe in what they say and they stick to it Like I was appalled. I was imagining, all right, we're going to get there and like somebody's got a credit card, Um,

you know that. How did they book all these But it was not like they pay in their entire company. They got close to a thousand employees and everything they do. They just built a whole new building and they paid for all of the construction in cash Like that. To me, it's not one percent the way that I do things. I think it's a great model. You can't go wrong with it. But I love that they stick to what

they say. It's not oh, you guys do this because we think you can't handle anything else while we're over here doing our own thing. No, they're doing it. They are doing what they preach, and I could not admire it more for it. Yeah, and when you have an organization like that big it comes back to the one thing concept. You've got to be focused on one thing and that will take you further faster than being about several other things. I mean, and we're about several things

and we're okay, going slow, so that's us. But I admire what they're doing. Yeah. Um, and they threw a great party. Holy smunks. They throw a generous party. I don't need to say anymore. The food was fantastic. I've never seen tiny little Tabasco bottles, tiny little Tabasco. How many did you take? Actually didn't take anything, said, been there? How many would you have taken? Several? He would have put He would have taken a cup and filled it up with food and taken it back to the hotel.

You best believe. Oh, no, shame. Yeah. But Chris Brownie and I when they were kicking us out, we were standing by the oysters and the shrimp just like putting them all into our mouth. We were like leaving their like chipmunks with our cheeks full of food. I don't like oysters enough to do that. Props. Yeah and cut cut,