April 29, 2025 • 29 mins
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Join Debt Free Dad founder, Brad Nelson, in today's episode as he welcomes Gina, a single 51-year-old accountant analyst, who turned her financial life around by paying off tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Gina shares her emotional and powerful journey from struggling with credit card debt and wage garnishment to making incredible financial progress. Learn about the pivotal changes she made, the support she received from the Roots community, and her strategies for budgeting and cutting unnecessary expenses. If you're feeling trapped by financial stress and unsure where to start, Gina's story offers the inspiration and motivation you need to break free from living paycheck to paycheck, build savings, and achieve financial peace.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Nelson (00:00):
Hey, so are you feeling the weight of a
financial stress in your life?
Does it seem like there's noway out and hope is slipping
away?
Now, Gina knows that feelingall too well, but over the last
several years, you guys, sheturned things around, paying off
tens of thousands of dollarsand making incredible financial
progress.
In today's episode, Gina joinsus to share her powerful journey
(00:22):
, offering the inspiration andmotivation that you need to take
that very first step, even whenit feels like it's impossible.
You guys, stick around.
You've got to listen to thisjourney and Gina's story.
Stay tuned.
Announcer (00:39):
You're listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(01:00):
tricks and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:05):
Hey everyone, welcome to today's show.
I am Brad Nelson, the founderof Debt-Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt-free now formore than 12 years now.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
over the years save and pay offtens of millions of dollars with
the work that we do here atDebt-Free Dad.
(01:26):
Now, after listening to thisepisode, you guys, if you are
ready to take things to the nextlevel, you're ready to break
free from living paycheck topaycheck.
You want to reduce financialstress in your own life.
You'd love to build a savings.
You'd love to finally pay offthat debt for good, right, but
you're just not sure where toget started.
Don't worry, we've created someincredible free resources here
(01:48):
at Debt Free Dad to help you getthere, and we'll be sharing
some details about how you canget started with those later on
in today's episode.
Now, as I said, I would love towelcome Gina to the podcast.
Now, gina is 51 and single.
As the oldest of six siblings,she grew up on a farm in
southeastern Minnesota nearRochester.
These days, she still callsRochester home, where she lives
(02:12):
with her two beloved cats, bellaand Bernie, and Gina works as
an accountant analyst at a localmanufacturing company.
In her spare time, she enjoyshanging out with family and
friends, diving into a good book, watching TV and movies,
listening to music and exploringher passion for genealogy
(02:33):
research.
All right, well, hey, gina,welcome to the Deaf Free Dad
podcast, or I should say welcomeback.
You were on our show severalyears ago sharing your first
year journey, and now it's beena few years since then and I'm
excited to have you back.
Thank you, I'm looking forwardto it For our listeners because
if you haven't listened, thiswas many episodes ago.
We had you on and at that timein your first year, you had
(02:56):
saved and paid off.
I think it was like rightaround $30,000 or a little bit
more.
Incredible progress.
But can you share with ourlisteners?
Before you joined Roots, beforeyou got started with Debt Free
Dad, what were some of thethings in your life that you
were struggling with when itcame to your finances?
Gina (03:13):
I think the biggest thing was I had a lot of well and I
still do.
I still have a lot of creditcard debt that I kept
continuously, you know, notreally paying off anything, just
kept kind of rolling through it.
The thing that instigated megetting into Roots was I had a
(03:34):
garnishment that came up from anold past due collection effort
and it really put a kink in myfinances and everything got
behind and I was struggling totry and figure out what to do
and it just happened that I sawthe planner on Facebook at the
time and I thought, well,that'll be a good way for me to
(03:55):
get organized.
Brad Nelson (03:56):
Yeah.
So I would guess you wereprobably like me and a lot of
other people where you knowyou're just kind of living day
to day, just getting by, andthen all of a sudden, like you
said, this wage garnishment hitsand it's like this house of
cards begins to fall right.
So that's kind of where you are.
Can you share emotionally, howare you feeling about your
finances?
I'm just doing stressed.
(04:17):
I mean, can you give us someinsight about what was life like
for Gina back then?
Gina (04:20):
Before the garnishment happened, I was just always
worried about if I was going tomake it to the next payday,
where the money was going tocome from, if I had enough to
pay all my bills and I didalways pay my main bills all the
time because I knew I neededthem to live yeah but I always
had collect credit cardcompanies calling asking for
(04:43):
money.
You know it was really stressful.
And then the garnishmenthappened and it just amplified
that like 10 times because now Ididn't have that extra income
every month and I reallycouldn't pay.
I could barely pay what Ineeded on a, you know, day to
day basis for just living.
Brad Nelson (05:03):
Yeah, yeah, it's interesting, as all of us have
experienced this, myselfincluded.
As you described this like Ican feel in my own experience
those feelings that you'retalking about right now and man,
it is just so heavy on you andman, I remember in my situation,
just not being able to sleep.
It was the first thing I'dworry about when I wake up.
I get to work and I worry aboutit, my drive, I'm worrying
(05:23):
about it.
It's just hard to even be fullypresent in life because it's
just this constant stress allthe time, and money is just
involved with so many areas ofyour life.
It's just hard to escape any ofthat.
Right, yeah, but as youmentioned, you ended up finding
our Debt Freedom Planner.
You made that investment andyou started using that.
Can you share how that helpedyou get started with some of
(05:45):
this stuff, or what was mosthelpful there?
Gina (05:46):
I think the biggest thing looking at the planner was just
seeing how the budget was set upto focus on the essential stuff
and how it prioritized things.
I did struggle with trying toset up my first budget and I
think at the back of the plannerthere was a spiel about roots.
I'm like I need help, I needsome kind of support.
(06:09):
I'm an accountant by degree soI know numbers, but when it's my
own stuff it's harder to dealwith and I just knew I was going
to need the support.
Brad Nelson (06:23):
Yeah, and I'm glad you brought that up because you
say there's a difference.
Because you are an accountant,you work with numbers all the
time.
But why do you personally feelthere's a difference between
doing other people's numbers orother businesses' numbers versus
doing your own?
What do you feel is thechallenge there?
And the reason I want you totalk about this a little bit is
because there is somewhat of anemotional I shouldn't say
(06:45):
somewhat a big emotional part ofmoney that a lot of us don't
always recognize and we think wejust focus on the math.
And here you are, you do thisfor a living and you're still
struggling on the personal side.
Can you share a little bitabout what was harder for you
there?
Gina (07:00):
It's exactly what you said .
It's the emotional part of it.
It's what you said.
It's the emotional part of it.
It's how are you going to getby day to day?
How are you going to make endsmeet?
You have limited funds.
I work for a company waygreater than what I would have
ability to, and I don't need toworry about where that's coming
from, unlike my own.
So it's definitely theemotional side that makes it
(07:24):
harder for me to do my own stuff.
Brad Nelson (07:26):
Yeah yeah, and when you mentioned you saw Roots,
you mentioned a key word there.
I needed the support and somany people are looking for it.
Because people will say, brad,I generally know what to do, or
I've been a part of some of yourfree workshops, or I have your
planner, I listen to yourpodcast.
I generally have an idea ofwhat I'm supposed to do, but a
lot of us have a hard timeputting it all together.
(07:46):
Right, you decided to join usin Roots and so can you share.
Early on, like I said, in yourfirst year, you crushed it.
I want you to share a littlebit what you did in that first
year.
But what things do you feel?
Because there's peoplelistening to this, probably in
your same situation or similar.
They're stressed, they'reemotional, wondering how they're
going to make next month'sbills, and they're probably
saying like, well, if Gina cando this, how can I do this?
So can you share with them,like what were the key things
(08:09):
that you feel that once youstarted in Roots that made the
biggest difference for you andreally starting to gain some
traction?
Gina (08:16):
Well, there was two things that in Roots that you asked us
to do in the beginning, and theone is to go back through your
expenses for six to 12 months,three to six months, whatever.
I think I did six months and itwas such a big shocker to me
that I spent so much money oneating out, and that was
(08:38):
probably the biggest thing ishow much money I spent eating
out and picking up things hereand there and not really making
a plan for it.
So that was one of the firstthings I really cut back on to
help with my money was making apoint to have groceries and make
food and eat out and not grabbreakfast on the way to work,
(09:01):
and it really helped thatinitial couple months when I was
still struggling going throughthe garnishment part.
It helped free up a lot ofmoney that I didn't even realize
I was spending.
Brad Nelson (09:13):
Yeah, Well, I think it shows how that emotion can
really influence your spendinghabits.
Food is such an easy thing toemotionally spend because it's
everywhere, right, I'm guiltyfor it too, and when you're
stressed, it can be such aweakness point for so many
people.
I love that you obviously wentthrough it and looked at your
expenses, and I think this isthe other part.
(09:34):
That's hard, because this ismore than money you mentioned.
I had to make some differentchoices when it came to eating
out.
I had to go grocery shopping.
I connected to personal finance, but it isn't personal finance.
Going through those habitsobviously hard at first, right,
I mean, it's hard work whenyou're getting started.
Gina (09:54):
Yeah, that was the other thing in the beginning of Roots
that really helped me was thebehavior module and learning
your choices and behaviors andall that stuff goes into your
finances.
I did learn a lot that I have avery and I still struggle to
this day on impulse spending.
(10:14):
I see something I'm like, oh,that would be great, and then
you know I would go out and getit even though I'd probably
really didn't need it.
Actually, as I've been movinghere lately, I've found a lot of
things that I bought on impulseand I don't even use them.
The whole behavior modulereally helped me focus on
(10:38):
waiting to see if I needed stuff, not indulging in those impulse
spending items all the time andreally making sure I actually
did need it or I didn't havesomething else at home that I
could use, and I just didn'trealize it.
Brad Nelson (10:53):
Yeah, you bring up.
A good point is that we'rehuman, like you said, you moved,
like moving is, so it's one ofthe.
I hate it.
I can't stand moving and, bythe way, if I find someone that
loves moving, maybe it's movingcompanies that love it.
I don't know.
But I can't stand moving.
(11:15):
And, yeah, you're right, you'retired, you're exhausted, like
the last thing you want to do isworry about meal prepping
eating at home Like, yeah, I'mprobably going to eat more out.
Or you know, like you said, havethose weakness moments where
you see something, you buy it.
And I think you bring thereality to this whole journey is
that it's not going to beperfect along the way.
You've had a lot of those upsand downs throughout your
journey, but yet you still havemade some pretty amazing
(11:37):
progress.
Now you mentioned you cut someof these things out, like eating
out and, like you said, you'retrying to watch the impulsive
and wasteful spending.
Yeah, that really helped youget rid of this wage garnishment
.
So can you talk about when youstarted to really look at your
expenses, change the way youwere spending your money, and
now you had this money to use,what did you start doing with it
?
We talk about, obviously, theimportance of emergency funds,
(11:57):
using the debt snowball.
Can you talk, through yourstrategy, of what you did
through this?
Gina (12:01):
I did get my emergency fund built up at first, and then
I started working on paying offmy debts with the debt snowball
like we talk about, got thefirst couple little bills,
credit cards or little paymentsout of the way.
That really helps motivate youto keep going.
(12:25):
And then, of course, stuffhappened and I had to use my
emergency fund.
So then it was rebuilding thatand trying to keep up with
everything.
And so then it was rebuildingthat and trying to keep up with
everything, and it's a process.
One of the things I did do Idon't think it was my first year
, but in the second year maybe Itraded in my newer car that I
had and downgraded to a lessexpensive car that lowered my
payment and shortened the termof my loan.
(12:46):
That lowered my payment andshortened the term of my loan so
that freed up $150 a month,just by switching out my
vehicles, and still I think it'sbeen three years now, I don't
remember it.
All blurs together.
Yeah.
Just having that extra moneyevery month that I could put
(13:09):
towards groceries or paying offthe debt or whatever was
happening at the time, was bighelp.
Brad Nelson (13:17):
Yeah, can you talk about your emotion then?
At that point you mentionedwhen you got those quick win or
building that first emergencyfund, paying down some of those
small credit cards.
It motivated you.
At that point did your mindsetstart to shift Like I could do
this?
Gina (13:31):
Yeah, it took probably I want to say it was like six
months before I really got tostart paying off my first credit
card.
But I'm like, oh my God, Idon't have to pay this extra
payment every month and I cannow put it on this one.
It's very green.
But it's like, okay, this isworking.
(13:55):
What can I do next?
And then, a few months later,that's when we and I think it
stemmed from like your storywhere you got a different car to
help out I'm like, well, can'treally quite do the whole, just
pay cash for a different car,but I was able to make a change
that benefited me.
So all these little wins andthen the car thing really helped
(14:21):
me get to a point where I couldstart making some progress.
Brad Nelson (14:25):
Yeah, and I love that you bring up the car and
not because I man, I talk aboutthe cars all the time and I love
that you bring up the car.
Gina (14:34):
And not because I, man, I talk about the cars all the time
.
I really do.
It's just oh, cars, man.
Brad Nelson (14:43):
I hear it in the podcast a lot, some different
things, yes, and I feel like somany people have this anchor
bias towards their old habits orthe old ways of thinking and I
did too.
I mean, it's human, it's just ahuman psychological thing that
we do.
It's not your fault, it's justhow we're built or programmed.
But, I think what I love aboutyour journey, though, is that
you brought yourself into thisgroup, this support group and
(15:04):
community here in Roots, and youwere hearing these ideas and
you were willing to actually,you know, try some of those
things, and, as listeners arelistening to this, I really want
you to think about that andwhat are some things that you're
willing to do, becausesometimes we can shut our minds
off so much and say I won't dothis, I can't do that, I'm not
willing to try that, and wefocus on everything we can't do
(15:25):
or won't do instead and focus onwhat are the options.
And you said I can't pay cashfor a car, but I could do this,
and it opened the door to makingprogress reducing your debt,
reducing the term, probablysaving you money and interest,
and opening up more cash flow toattack the other debt you had.
I mean, that is a huge win.
Gina (15:46):
That is awesome.
Yeah, it really was kind of thefirst big thing that I changed.
That helped focus on things.
And there was other littlethings I did along the way that
either read on in the Rootscommunity or heard from a
podcast and just differentthings to try and even to this
day, I stopped going to get myhair colored.
(16:09):
It saves me $200 a year fromhaving to do it and I just go
get my hair trimmed now wheneverI feel like I need it, so I'm
not consistently going everythree, four months, whatever I
was going at the time.
It saves me a ton of money andit doesn't phase me one bit
(16:30):
anymore.
It doesn't bother me.
Brad Nelson (16:39):
I love that you said little things, because the
little things they add up somuch it's not always the big
things.
Yes, car payments can bepaycheck killers and there are
some bigger things out there butit can be sometimes that death
by a thousand cuts, and I lovethat.
You said that you've tried allthese little things and it's
just made this world ofdifference.
So can you share real quick?
I want you to share your totalnumbers so far.
Now.
You've been in Roots, if I'mnot mistaken, a little over.
(16:59):
It's like about three years,right?
Yeah, yeah, so a little overthree years.
Can you share what you've savedand paid off since getting
started?
Gina (17:07):
I've paid off approximately $58,000 now.
It's incredible as far as saved.
I'm sure it's way more thanthat.
I've saved on some of mysubscriptions.
I've rebuilt my emergency fundnumerous times.
(17:27):
I haven't had to.
For the most part I haven'tadded any additional credit card
debt since I started.
There's been a few times hereand there where I've slipped up,
but it's not been like it wouldhave been in the past.
So it's saved me a lot ofstress, not just money-wise but
(17:48):
just financial.
You know, money wise but stresswise.
I think that's my probably mybiggest saving is just how
emotionally less stressful it ishaving a plan.
Brad Nelson (18:02):
Yeah, so it's safe to say you have saved and paid
off well over $60,000 in thelast three years on a single
income, yep, and you just saidlike you just have so much less
stress, you can breathe now,right.
Gina (18:14):
Oh yeah, definitely.
It's pretty amazing.
It makes things so much easierwhen things happen.
Brad Nelson (18:22):
Yeah.
Gina (18:23):
You know I have a plan.
I have an emergency fund tofall back on.
I can shift things around.
I can cut back on something fora month or two to make
something else happen, for amonth or two to make something
else happen.
It's just nice to know where Isit with my finances so I can
make those adjustments and Idon't have to stress out about
(18:44):
things that happen.
Brad Nelson (18:46):
So you mentioned, you went through and made some
cuts, made some adjustments,some big, some small.
What things are you stillenjoying?
Because when I was livingpaycheck to paycheck, if I spent
any kind of money, especiallyif I went into debt for it, it
was just this constant source ofguilt.
You never really truly enjoyedanything you ever did, because
you were always so broke youthought you were doing it to
make yourself feel better butthen all of a sudden it's like
(19:08):
you had this guilt and shamearound it because you knew you
shouldn't do it, because it'slike you're broke.
Now you have this amazing plan.
You've saved and paid off Imean well over 60 grand in three
years.
How are purchases different?
Now?
I know you mentioned that youslip up from time to time, which
is normal, but, like whenthings are planned for, are you
enjoying those things a lot more?
Are you finding you're enjoyinggoing out and doing the things
(19:28):
that you plan for and are doingwith your budget?
Gina (19:31):
I'm a big, I do a lot of TV and movie watching, so I have
a number of subscriptions thatI have.
But, as part of my plan, I cutthose back to include
commercials instead of payingthe non-commercial price.
So for about 20 bucks a month, Iget all the streaming services
(19:51):
I want, which is good, andthat's what I enjoy.
I want which is good and that'swhat I enjoy.
I still plan and go havedinners with my sisters or do
something special for my parents, or even just traveling to
visit.
I have it all budgeted so I canstill enjoy those things and
not have to worry about how I'mgoing to get there, only have to
(20:13):
mean to order something littlebecause I don't have money for
what I would want to eat.
So it's just incrediblyrelaxing to be able to plan
those fun things and do what Iwant to do.
Brad Nelson (20:28):
Yeah, so when you look at those numbers and saving
and paying off that again over$60,000, I mean, can you believe
it Is?
Is it reality to you?
Like I actually did this, thisis amazing, right.
Gina (20:39):
It's.
It's crazy to think about.
When I look at what I've gotleft, I'm probably almost 50% of
the way there.
Yeah, so I still have a ways togo.
But even in just three yearswhen I first started, I never
would have thought I would havemade it this far as quickly as I
did.
Three years may seem like along time, but it goes super
(21:01):
fast and the progress I've madehas been amazing.
Brad Nelson (21:06):
Yeah, I think the one thing I will say is that
you've worked really, reallyhard.
I would say and I've said thisfor a while now in our live
meetups.
I would say, if there's onething that I can think of when I
think of the word consistent,it's your name.
I mean, obviously, we haveother members who are very
similar, but you've shown up andI think that's one thing that
people need to understand isthat, whether you join Roots or
(21:28):
not, no matter what you do,getting out of debt is not easy.
It is hard work and you got tomake a huge commitment.
It is hard work and you got tomake a huge commitment.
I want to really honor you inthat way is that Gina has just
made this incredible commitmentto her own life and to her own
personal finances.
Yeah, she joined this program.
Yes, we showed her what to do,but you have shown up and the
(21:50):
stuff that we've given you, itworks, but it only works if you
take it and actually put it towork, and you've done that.
And it's just been incredible tobe able to be a part and watch
your journey over the lastseveral years.
It's just, it's been a lot offun.
It's been really just aprivilege for all of us to see
it.
Now, you mentioned one of thethings that you desperately need
when you, when we first startedtalking today, is that support
was something you desperatelyknew you needed, and obviously
(22:13):
that's a big part of what we dohere at Deaf Free Dad and in
Brutes is really not necessarilyjust the education, but it's
the support and accountabilityto stick with you, because the
journey's long, it's not easy,and we're going to be here with
you every step of the way.
Can you share how much that'smade a difference for you and
where you are today?
Gina (22:29):
Oh, definitely it's.
This community is so um soimportant because I can do all
(22:52):
this stuff myself, but it's niceto get that support, know that
there's other people out therestruggling with the same not
necessarily exactly the same asme, but just struggling with
their finances.
And being able to listen to theother podcasts and the
different stories and go throughthe reiteration of these steps
(23:15):
and routes on the live meetups,it just reinforces everything
I've been doing and just keepsme on track.
I know when I get busy and Idon't get to the live meetups, I
know as soon as I get back, I'mlike oh yes, I need to hear
this again, and it just it keepsme going because it's it's just
(23:36):
a reminder that, yeah, I'vebeen doing this, I can keep
doing it, and all these peopleare still, you know, here to
help support me whenever I needit, and it really goes a long
way.
Brad Nelson (23:48):
Yeah, it's awesome and you're right, and we do the
meetups.
You know, obviously myself orAmber do them, but there's times
that I need them too Right,because, again, we're all human
and it's so easy just to letnegative thinking whatever's
going on in the world, all thenoise like suck you in to this,
to this idea of how money reallyworks, and sometimes you drift
and you lose sight of whatreally is important, and I love
(24:11):
that you recognize that.
Another thing that we talkabout real big, and my last
question for you is we talk alot about like wire purpose.
And here you are in a littleover three years saving paid off
well over $60,000.
What is your wire purpose Like?
What do you see for yourself atthe end of this journey?
What are you really strivingfor?
I'm putting in this workbecause I want this eventually.
Gina (24:30):
Yeah, I would really like to be able to travel more.
Brad Nelson (24:33):
Yeah.
Gina (24:34):
I don't, and for the last few years I haven't really done
much for vacations, except, youknow, close by stuff just
because, well, one funds weren'tavailable and it's hard to make
plans when you don't reallyhave enough room on a credit
card to do it.
Brad Nelson (24:50):
Right.
Gina (24:51):
So I'd like to be able to travel more, and then I also
want to get to the point where Ican put more money into my
retirement.
I am in my 50s now, so it willbe here before I know it, and I
want to be prepared so that whenI'm older, I have the funds I
(25:12):
need to live and I can do thestuff I want to do.
Yeah, the funds I need to liveand I can do the stuff.
Brad Nelson (25:16):
I want to do.
Yeah, well, you're definitelygetting yourself set up by
really getting rid of all thisdebt.
And again, I would just want tosay number one thanks for coming
back on and sharing yourjourney, going through this and
publicly sharing what we've donewrong and sometimes not very
easy.
And I know, though, with yourstory, you're going to inspire a
lot of other people out therethat are feeling the same way
that you were to get started, tostart taking those actions, to
(25:37):
know that the little thingscount.
And I love that you were honestand saying I've still messed up
.
I'm still not always perfect,and you're right, none of us are
but the point is, if you committo it every day, you can make
some amazing, amazing progress.
So I just want to say I'm proudof you.
You've come so far.
Like I said earlier, it's beenhonestly just so much fun to
watch you since day one, andit's just been exciting.
(25:59):
I can't wait to see what thenext year brings.
Right, me too.
All right, gina.
Thanks so much for being heretoday.
Thank you All right guys.
If you are ready to break freefrom living paycheck to paycheck
, just like you heard Gina wasable to do.
You want to reduce financialstress in your own life.
You want to build savings andfinally pay off your debt for
good, but again, you're not surewhere exactly to get started.
(26:20):
Don't worry, we've got youcovered.
Simplify my Money is sent toyou each Sunday to your email
Now.
Simplify my Money is astep-by-step roadmap to better
financial control so you canlearn easy-to-follow strategies
to manage your money effectively.
It's stress-free moneydecision-making that's also
gonna help you simplify yourfinancial life with proven tips
(26:43):
that work, and you're gonna gainthe tools and confidence to
tackle your financial goalshead-on.
Announcer (26:49):
Sign up for Simplify my Money by clicking the link at
(27:13):
the top of the show notes.
Brad Nelson (27:18):
All right, guys, that's how it means.
It's time for the celebrationsof the show, and today we are
kicking off with Brenda.
Brenda says I paid a bill todayin full.
I thought to myself wow, Icouldn't have done that before.
Yet, with being in debt-freedebt and the Roots program and
following the program, I didn'thave to wait until payday Before
.
I would have feared I didn'thave enough money in the bank.
(27:39):
Brenda, you've been working so,so hard, paying off tens of
thousands of dollars.
That hard work is paying offwith stress-free living.
Awesome, awesome place to be.
Good for you, misty.
Misty says I reviewed our budgetand realized that all of the
auto repairs this month werepaid for with cash and we had
extra money in that envelope.
Put that money towards payingoff a personal loan from a
(28:03):
family member.
Missy, awesome wins this week.
Congratulations you guys.
And last but not least is Holly.
Holly says I am just startingmy snowball and paid my first
$150 towards my smallest creditcard.
Holly, I know that feels good.
You're just getting started,but let's go and get that
momentum going.
Awesome job, hey.
(28:23):
As always you guys.
Congratulations to all of youguys who are taking a stand for
your financial life and you'rewanting better.
Hey, we get that.
Getting out of debt it's noteasy, but with our help and with
your consistency and discipline, we promise you guys, this will
be some of the best work you doin your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's episode and we will see
(28:43):
you, guys, next week.
Announcer (28:51):
Thanks for listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,tiktok, youtube and Instagram.
Just search Debt-Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it Forresources, show notes and links
mentioned in today's show.
Visit DebtFreeDadcom.
(29:11):
Catch you next week.
Hey, so are you feeling the weight of a
financial stress in your life?
Does it seem like there's noway out and hope is slipping
away?
Now, Gina knows that feelingall too well, but over the last
several years, you guys, sheturned things around, paying off
tens of thousands of dollarsand making incredible financial
progress.
In today's episode, Gina joinsus to share her powerful journey
(00:22):
, offering the inspiration andmotivation that you need to take
that very first step, even whenit feels like it's impossible.
You guys, stick around.
You've got to listen to thisjourney and Gina's story.
Stay tuned.
Announcer (00:39):
You're listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(01:00):
tricks and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:05):
Hey everyone, welcome to today's show.
I am Brad Nelson, the founderof Debt-Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt-free now formore than 12 years now.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
over the years save and pay offtens of millions of dollars with
the work that we do here atDebt-Free Dad.
(01:26):
Now, after listening to thisepisode, you guys, if you are
ready to take things to the nextlevel, you're ready to break
free from living paycheck topaycheck.
You want to reduce financialstress in your own life.
You'd love to build a savings.
You'd love to finally pay offthat debt for good, right, but
you're just not sure where toget started.
Don't worry, we've created someincredible free resources here
(01:48):
at Debt Free Dad to help you getthere, and we'll be sharing
some details about how you canget started with those later on
in today's episode.
Now, as I said, I would love towelcome Gina to the podcast.
Now, gina is 51 and single.
As the oldest of six siblings,she grew up on a farm in
southeastern Minnesota nearRochester.
These days, she still callsRochester home, where she lives
(02:12):
with her two beloved cats, bellaand Bernie, and Gina works as
an accountant analyst at a localmanufacturing company.
In her spare time, she enjoyshanging out with family and
friends, diving into a good book, watching TV and movies,
listening to music and exploringher passion for genealogy
(02:33):
research.
All right, well, hey, gina,welcome to the Deaf Free Dad
podcast, or I should say welcomeback.
You were on our show severalyears ago sharing your first
year journey, and now it's beena few years since then and I'm
excited to have you back.
Thank you, I'm looking forwardto it For our listeners because
if you haven't listened, thiswas many episodes ago.
We had you on and at that timein your first year, you had
(02:56):
saved and paid off.
I think it was like rightaround $30,000 or a little bit
more.
Incredible progress.
But can you share with ourlisteners?
Before you joined Roots, beforeyou got started with Debt Free
Dad, what were some of thethings in your life that you
were struggling with when itcame to your finances?
Gina (03:13):
I think the biggest thing was I had a lot of well and I
still do.
I still have a lot of creditcard debt that I kept
continuously, you know, notreally paying off anything, just
kept kind of rolling through it.
The thing that instigated megetting into Roots was I had a
(03:34):
garnishment that came up from anold past due collection effort
and it really put a kink in myfinances and everything got
behind and I was struggling totry and figure out what to do
and it just happened that I sawthe planner on Facebook at the
time and I thought, well,that'll be a good way for me to
(03:55):
get organized.
Brad Nelson (03:56):
Yeah.
So I would guess you wereprobably like me and a lot of
other people where you knowyou're just kind of living day
to day, just getting by, andthen all of a sudden, like you
said, this wage garnishment hitsand it's like this house of
cards begins to fall right.
So that's kind of where you are.
Can you share emotionally, howare you feeling about your
finances?
I'm just doing stressed.
(04:17):
I mean, can you give us someinsight about what was life like
for Gina back then?
Gina (04:20):
Before the garnishment happened, I was just always
worried about if I was going tomake it to the next payday,
where the money was going tocome from, if I had enough to
pay all my bills and I didalways pay my main bills all the
time because I knew I neededthem to live yeah but I always
had collect credit cardcompanies calling asking for
(04:43):
money.
You know it was really stressful.
And then the garnishmenthappened and it just amplified
that like 10 times because now Ididn't have that extra income
every month and I reallycouldn't pay.
I could barely pay what Ineeded on a, you know, day to
day basis for just living.
Brad Nelson (05:03):
Yeah, yeah, it's interesting, as all of us have
experienced this, myselfincluded.
As you described this like Ican feel in my own experience
those feelings that you'retalking about right now and man,
it is just so heavy on you andman, I remember in my situation,
just not being able to sleep.
It was the first thing I'dworry about when I wake up.
I get to work and I worry aboutit, my drive, I'm worrying
(05:23):
about it.
It's just hard to even be fullypresent in life because it's
just this constant stress allthe time, and money is just
involved with so many areas ofyour life.
It's just hard to escape any ofthat.
Right, yeah, but as youmentioned, you ended up finding
our Debt Freedom Planner.
You made that investment andyou started using that.
Can you share how that helpedyou get started with some of
(05:45):
this stuff, or what was mosthelpful there?
Gina (05:46):
I think the biggest thing looking at the planner was just
seeing how the budget was set upto focus on the essential stuff
and how it prioritized things.
I did struggle with trying toset up my first budget and I
think at the back of the plannerthere was a spiel about roots.
I'm like I need help, I needsome kind of support.
(06:09):
I'm an accountant by degree soI know numbers, but when it's my
own stuff it's harder to dealwith and I just knew I was going
to need the support.
Brad Nelson (06:23):
Yeah, and I'm glad you brought that up because you
say there's a difference.
Because you are an accountant,you work with numbers all the
time.
But why do you personally feelthere's a difference between
doing other people's numbers orother businesses' numbers versus
doing your own?
What do you feel is thechallenge there?
And the reason I want you totalk about this a little bit is
because there is somewhat of anemotional I shouldn't say
(06:45):
somewhat a big emotional part ofmoney that a lot of us don't
always recognize and we think wejust focus on the math.
And here you are, you do thisfor a living and you're still
struggling on the personal side.
Can you share a little bitabout what was harder for you
there?
Gina (07:00):
It's exactly what you said .
It's the emotional part of it.
It's what you said.
It's the emotional part of it.
It's how are you going to getby day to day?
How are you going to make endsmeet?
You have limited funds.
I work for a company waygreater than what I would have
ability to, and I don't need toworry about where that's coming
from, unlike my own.
So it's definitely theemotional side that makes it
(07:24):
harder for me to do my own stuff.
Brad Nelson (07:26):
Yeah yeah, and when you mentioned you saw Roots,
you mentioned a key word there.
I needed the support and somany people are looking for it.
Because people will say, brad,I generally know what to do, or
I've been a part of some of yourfree workshops, or I have your
planner, I listen to yourpodcast.
I generally have an idea ofwhat I'm supposed to do, but a
lot of us have a hard timeputting it all together.
(07:46):
Right, you decided to join usin Roots and so can you share.
Early on, like I said, in yourfirst year, you crushed it.
I want you to share a littlebit what you did in that first
year.
But what things do you feel?
Because there's peoplelistening to this, probably in
your same situation or similar.
They're stressed, they'reemotional, wondering how they're
going to make next month'sbills, and they're probably
saying like, well, if Gina cando this, how can I do this?
So can you share with them,like what were the key things
(08:09):
that you feel that once youstarted in Roots that made the
biggest difference for you andreally starting to gain some
traction?
Gina (08:16):
Well, there was two things that in Roots that you asked us
to do in the beginning, and theone is to go back through your
expenses for six to 12 months,three to six months, whatever.
I think I did six months and itwas such a big shocker to me
that I spent so much money oneating out, and that was
(08:38):
probably the biggest thing ishow much money I spent eating
out and picking up things hereand there and not really making
a plan for it.
So that was one of the firstthings I really cut back on to
help with my money was making apoint to have groceries and make
food and eat out and not grabbreakfast on the way to work,
(09:01):
and it really helped thatinitial couple months when I was
still struggling going throughthe garnishment part.
It helped free up a lot ofmoney that I didn't even realize
I was spending.
Brad Nelson (09:13):
Yeah, Well, I think it shows how that emotion can
really influence your spendinghabits.
Food is such an easy thing toemotionally spend because it's
everywhere, right, I'm guiltyfor it too, and when you're
stressed, it can be such aweakness point for so many
people.
I love that you obviously wentthrough it and looked at your
expenses, and I think this isthe other part.
(09:34):
That's hard, because this ismore than money you mentioned.
I had to make some differentchoices when it came to eating
out.
I had to go grocery shopping.
I connected to personal finance, but it isn't personal finance.
Going through those habitsobviously hard at first, right,
I mean, it's hard work whenyou're getting started.
Gina (09:54):
Yeah, that was the other thing in the beginning of Roots
that really helped me was thebehavior module and learning
your choices and behaviors andall that stuff goes into your
finances.
I did learn a lot that I have avery and I still struggle to
this day on impulse spending.
(10:14):
I see something I'm like, oh,that would be great, and then
you know I would go out and getit even though I'd probably
really didn't need it.
Actually, as I've been movinghere lately, I've found a lot of
things that I bought on impulseand I don't even use them.
The whole behavior modulereally helped me focus on
(10:38):
waiting to see if I needed stuff, not indulging in those impulse
spending items all the time andreally making sure I actually
did need it or I didn't havesomething else at home that I
could use, and I just didn'trealize it.
Brad Nelson (10:53):
Yeah, you bring up.
A good point is that we'rehuman, like you said, you moved,
like moving is, so it's one ofthe.
I hate it.
I can't stand moving and, bythe way, if I find someone that
loves moving, maybe it's movingcompanies that love it.
I don't know.
But I can't stand moving.
(11:15):
And, yeah, you're right, you'retired, you're exhausted, like
the last thing you want to do isworry about meal prepping
eating at home Like, yeah, I'mprobably going to eat more out.
Or you know, like you said, havethose weakness moments where
you see something, you buy it.
And I think you bring thereality to this whole journey is
that it's not going to beperfect along the way.
You've had a lot of those upsand downs throughout your
journey, but yet you still havemade some pretty amazing
(11:37):
progress.
Now you mentioned you cut someof these things out, like eating
out and, like you said, you'retrying to watch the impulsive
and wasteful spending.
Yeah, that really helped youget rid of this wage garnishment
.
So can you talk about when youstarted to really look at your
expenses, change the way youwere spending your money, and
now you had this money to use,what did you start doing with it
?
We talk about, obviously, theimportance of emergency funds,
(11:57):
using the debt snowball.
Can you talk, through yourstrategy, of what you did
through this?
Gina (12:01):
I did get my emergency fund built up at first, and then
I started working on paying offmy debts with the debt snowball
like we talk about, got thefirst couple little bills,
credit cards or little paymentsout of the way.
That really helps motivate youto keep going.
(12:25):
And then, of course, stuffhappened and I had to use my
emergency fund.
So then it was rebuilding thatand trying to keep up with
everything.
And so then it was rebuildingthat and trying to keep up with
everything, and it's a process.
One of the things I did do Idon't think it was my first year
, but in the second year maybe Itraded in my newer car that I
had and downgraded to a lessexpensive car that lowered my
payment and shortened the termof my loan.
(12:46):
That lowered my payment andshortened the term of my loan so
that freed up $150 a month,just by switching out my
vehicles, and still I think it'sbeen three years now, I don't
remember it.
All blurs together.
Yeah.
Just having that extra moneyevery month that I could put
(13:09):
towards groceries or paying offthe debt or whatever was
happening at the time, was bighelp.
Brad Nelson (13:17):
Yeah, can you talk about your emotion then?
At that point you mentionedwhen you got those quick win or
building that first emergencyfund, paying down some of those
small credit cards.
It motivated you.
At that point did your mindsetstart to shift Like I could do
this?
Gina (13:31):
Yeah, it took probably I want to say it was like six
months before I really got tostart paying off my first credit
card.
But I'm like, oh my God, Idon't have to pay this extra
payment every month and I cannow put it on this one.
It's very green.
But it's like, okay, this isworking.
(13:55):
What can I do next?
And then, a few months later,that's when we and I think it
stemmed from like your storywhere you got a different car to
help out I'm like, well, can'treally quite do the whole, just
pay cash for a different car,but I was able to make a change
that benefited me.
So all these little wins andthen the car thing really helped
(14:21):
me get to a point where I couldstart making some progress.
Brad Nelson (14:25):
Yeah, and I love that you bring up the car and
not because I man, I talk aboutthe cars all the time and I love
that you bring up the car.
Gina (14:34):
And not because I, man, I talk about the cars all the time
.
I really do.
It's just oh, cars, man.
Brad Nelson (14:43):
I hear it in the podcast a lot, some different
things, yes, and I feel like somany people have this anchor
bias towards their old habits orthe old ways of thinking and I
did too.
I mean, it's human, it's just ahuman psychological thing that
we do.
It's not your fault, it's justhow we're built or programmed.
But, I think what I love aboutyour journey, though, is that
you brought yourself into thisgroup, this support group and
(15:04):
community here in Roots, and youwere hearing these ideas and
you were willing to actually,you know, try some of those
things, and, as listeners arelistening to this, I really want
you to think about that andwhat are some things that you're
willing to do, becausesometimes we can shut our minds
off so much and say I won't dothis, I can't do that, I'm not
willing to try that, and wefocus on everything we can't do
(15:25):
or won't do instead and focus onwhat are the options.
And you said I can't pay cashfor a car, but I could do this,
and it opened the door to makingprogress reducing your debt,
reducing the term, probablysaving you money and interest,
and opening up more cash flow toattack the other debt you had.
I mean, that is a huge win.
Gina (15:46):
That is awesome.
Yeah, it really was kind of thefirst big thing that I changed.
That helped focus on things.
And there was other littlethings I did along the way that
either read on in the Rootscommunity or heard from a
podcast and just differentthings to try and even to this
day, I stopped going to get myhair colored.
(16:09):
It saves me $200 a year fromhaving to do it and I just go
get my hair trimmed now wheneverI feel like I need it, so I'm
not consistently going everythree, four months, whatever I
was going at the time.
It saves me a ton of money andit doesn't phase me one bit
(16:30):
anymore.
It doesn't bother me.
Brad Nelson (16:39):
I love that you said little things, because the
little things they add up somuch it's not always the big
things.
Yes, car payments can bepaycheck killers and there are
some bigger things out there butit can be sometimes that death
by a thousand cuts, and I lovethat.
You said that you've tried allthese little things and it's
just made this world ofdifference.
So can you share real quick?
I want you to share your totalnumbers so far.
Now.
You've been in Roots, if I'mnot mistaken, a little over.
(16:59):
It's like about three years,right?
Yeah, yeah, so a little overthree years.
Can you share what you've savedand paid off since getting
started?
Gina (17:07):
I've paid off approximately $58,000 now.
It's incredible as far as saved.
I'm sure it's way more thanthat.
I've saved on some of mysubscriptions.
I've rebuilt my emergency fundnumerous times.
(17:27):
I haven't had to.
For the most part I haven'tadded any additional credit card
debt since I started.
There's been a few times hereand there where I've slipped up,
but it's not been like it wouldhave been in the past.
So it's saved me a lot ofstress, not just money-wise but
(17:48):
just financial.
You know, money wise but stresswise.
I think that's my probably mybiggest saving is just how
emotionally less stressful it ishaving a plan.
Brad Nelson (18:02):
Yeah, so it's safe to say you have saved and paid
off well over $60,000 in thelast three years on a single
income, yep, and you just saidlike you just have so much less
stress, you can breathe now,right.
Gina (18:14):
Oh yeah, definitely.
It's pretty amazing.
It makes things so much easierwhen things happen.
Brad Nelson (18:22):
Yeah.
Gina (18:23):
You know I have a plan.
I have an emergency fund tofall back on.
I can shift things around.
I can cut back on something fora month or two to make
something else happen, for amonth or two to make something
else happen.
It's just nice to know where Isit with my finances so I can
make those adjustments and Idon't have to stress out about
(18:44):
things that happen.
Brad Nelson (18:46):
So you mentioned, you went through and made some
cuts, made some adjustments,some big, some small.
What things are you stillenjoying?
Because when I was livingpaycheck to paycheck, if I spent
any kind of money, especiallyif I went into debt for it, it
was just this constant source ofguilt.
You never really truly enjoyedanything you ever did, because
you were always so broke youthought you were doing it to
make yourself feel better butthen all of a sudden it's like
(19:08):
you had this guilt and shamearound it because you knew you
shouldn't do it, because it'slike you're broke.
Now you have this amazing plan.
You've saved and paid off Imean well over 60 grand in three
years.
How are purchases different?
Now?
I know you mentioned that youslip up from time to time, which
is normal, but, like whenthings are planned for, are you
enjoying those things a lot more?
Are you finding you're enjoyinggoing out and doing the things
(19:28):
that you plan for and are doingwith your budget?
Gina (19:31):
I'm a big, I do a lot of TV and movie watching, so I have
a number of subscriptions thatI have.
But, as part of my plan, I cutthose back to include
commercials instead of payingthe non-commercial price.
So for about 20 bucks a month, Iget all the streaming services
(19:51):
I want, which is good, andthat's what I enjoy.
I want which is good and that'swhat I enjoy.
I still plan and go havedinners with my sisters or do
something special for my parents, or even just traveling to
visit.
I have it all budgeted so I canstill enjoy those things and
not have to worry about how I'mgoing to get there, only have to
(20:13):
mean to order something littlebecause I don't have money for
what I would want to eat.
So it's just incrediblyrelaxing to be able to plan
those fun things and do what Iwant to do.
Brad Nelson (20:28):
Yeah, so when you look at those numbers and saving
and paying off that again over$60,000, I mean, can you believe
it Is?
Is it reality to you?
Like I actually did this, thisis amazing, right.
Gina (20:39):
It's.
It's crazy to think about.
When I look at what I've gotleft, I'm probably almost 50% of
the way there.
Yeah, so I still have a ways togo.
But even in just three yearswhen I first started, I never
would have thought I would havemade it this far as quickly as I
did.
Three years may seem like along time, but it goes super
(21:01):
fast and the progress I've madehas been amazing.
Brad Nelson (21:06):
Yeah, I think the one thing I will say is that
you've worked really, reallyhard.
I would say and I've said thisfor a while now in our live
meetups.
I would say, if there's onething that I can think of when I
think of the word consistent,it's your name.
I mean, obviously, we haveother members who are very
similar, but you've shown up andI think that's one thing that
people need to understand isthat, whether you join Roots or
(21:28):
not, no matter what you do,getting out of debt is not easy.
It is hard work and you got tomake a huge commitment.
It is hard work and you got tomake a huge commitment.
I want to really honor you inthat way is that Gina has just
made this incredible commitmentto her own life and to her own
personal finances.
Yeah, she joined this program.
Yes, we showed her what to do,but you have shown up and the
(21:50):
stuff that we've given you, itworks, but it only works if you
take it and actually put it towork, and you've done that.
And it's just been incredible tobe able to be a part and watch
your journey over the lastseveral years.
It's just, it's been a lot offun.
It's been really just aprivilege for all of us to see
it.
Now, you mentioned one of thethings that you desperately need
when you, when we first startedtalking today, is that support
was something you desperatelyknew you needed, and obviously
(22:13):
that's a big part of what we dohere at Deaf Free Dad and in
Brutes is really not necessarilyjust the education, but it's
the support and accountabilityto stick with you, because the
journey's long, it's not easy,and we're going to be here with
you every step of the way.
Can you share how much that'smade a difference for you and
where you are today?
Gina (22:29):
Oh, definitely it's.
This community is so um soimportant because I can do all
(22:52):
this stuff myself, but it's niceto get that support, know that
there's other people out therestruggling with the same not
necessarily exactly the same asme, but just struggling with
their finances.
And being able to listen to theother podcasts and the
different stories and go throughthe reiteration of these steps
(23:15):
and routes on the live meetups,it just reinforces everything
I've been doing and just keepsme on track.
I know when I get busy and Idon't get to the live meetups, I
know as soon as I get back, I'mlike oh yes, I need to hear
this again, and it just it keepsme going because it's it's just
(23:36):
a reminder that, yeah, I'vebeen doing this, I can keep
doing it, and all these peopleare still, you know, here to
help support me whenever I needit, and it really goes a long
way.
Brad Nelson (23:48):
Yeah, it's awesome and you're right, and we do the
meetups.
You know, obviously myself orAmber do them, but there's times
that I need them too Right,because, again, we're all human
and it's so easy just to letnegative thinking whatever's
going on in the world, all thenoise like suck you in to this,
to this idea of how money reallyworks, and sometimes you drift
and you lose sight of whatreally is important, and I love
(24:11):
that you recognize that.
Another thing that we talkabout real big, and my last
question for you is we talk alot about like wire purpose.
And here you are in a littleover three years saving paid off
well over $60,000.
What is your wire purpose Like?
What do you see for yourself atthe end of this journey?
What are you really strivingfor?
I'm putting in this workbecause I want this eventually.
Gina (24:30):
Yeah, I would really like to be able to travel more.
Brad Nelson (24:33):
Yeah.
Gina (24:34):
I don't, and for the last few years I haven't really done
much for vacations, except, youknow, close by stuff just
because, well, one funds weren'tavailable and it's hard to make
plans when you don't reallyhave enough room on a credit
card to do it.
Brad Nelson (24:50):
Right.
Gina (24:51):
So I'd like to be able to travel more, and then I also
want to get to the point where Ican put more money into my
retirement.
I am in my 50s now, so it willbe here before I know it, and I
want to be prepared so that whenI'm older, I have the funds I
(25:12):
need to live and I can do thestuff I want to do.
Yeah, the funds I need to liveand I can do the stuff.
Brad Nelson (25:16):
I want to do.
Yeah, well, you're definitelygetting yourself set up by
really getting rid of all thisdebt.
And again, I would just want tosay number one thanks for coming
back on and sharing yourjourney, going through this and
publicly sharing what we've donewrong and sometimes not very
easy.
And I know, though, with yourstory, you're going to inspire a
lot of other people out therethat are feeling the same way
that you were to get started, tostart taking those actions, to
(25:37):
know that the little thingscount.
And I love that you were honestand saying I've still messed up
.
I'm still not always perfect,and you're right, none of us are
but the point is, if you committo it every day, you can make
some amazing, amazing progress.
So I just want to say I'm proudof you.
You've come so far.
Like I said earlier, it's beenhonestly just so much fun to
watch you since day one, andit's just been exciting.
(25:59):
I can't wait to see what thenext year brings.
Right, me too.
All right, gina.
Thanks so much for being heretoday.
Thank you All right guys.
If you are ready to break freefrom living paycheck to paycheck
, just like you heard Gina wasable to do.
You want to reduce financialstress in your own life.
You want to build savings andfinally pay off your debt for
good, but again, you're not surewhere exactly to get started.
(26:20):
Don't worry, we've got youcovered.
Simplify my Money is sent toyou each Sunday to your email
Now.
Simplify my Money is astep-by-step roadmap to better
financial control so you canlearn easy-to-follow strategies
to manage your money effectively.
It's stress-free moneydecision-making that's also
gonna help you simplify yourfinancial life with proven tips
(26:43):
that work, and you're gonna gainthe tools and confidence to
tackle your financial goalshead-on.
Announcer (26:49):
Sign up for Simplify my Money by clicking the link at
(27:13):
the top of the show notes.
Brad Nelson (27:18):
All right, guys, that's how it means.
It's time for the celebrationsof the show, and today we are
kicking off with Brenda.
Brenda says I paid a bill todayin full.
I thought to myself wow, Icouldn't have done that before.
Yet, with being in debt-freedebt and the Roots program and
following the program, I didn'thave to wait until payday Before
.
I would have feared I didn'thave enough money in the bank.
(27:39):
Brenda, you've been working so,so hard, paying off tens of
thousands of dollars.
That hard work is paying offwith stress-free living.
Awesome, awesome place to be.
Good for you, misty.
Misty says I reviewed our budgetand realized that all of the
auto repairs this month werepaid for with cash and we had
extra money in that envelope.
Put that money towards payingoff a personal loan from a
(28:03):
family member.
Missy, awesome wins this week.
Congratulations you guys.
And last but not least is Holly.
Holly says I am just startingmy snowball and paid my first
$150 towards my smallest creditcard.
Holly, I know that feels good.
You're just getting started,but let's go and get that
momentum going.
Awesome job, hey.
(28:23):
As always you guys.
Congratulations to all of youguys who are taking a stand for
your financial life and you'rewanting better.
Hey, we get that.
Getting out of debt it's noteasy, but with our help and with
your consistency and discipline, we promise you guys, this will
be some of the best work you doin your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's episode and we will see
(28:43):
you, guys, next week.
Announcer (28:51):
Thanks for listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,tiktok, youtube and Instagram.
Just search Debt-Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it Forresources, show notes and links
mentioned in today's show.
Visit DebtFreeDadcom.
(29:11):
Catch you next week.
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