July 1, 2025 • 18 mins
The Totally Awesome Debt Freedom Planner https://www.debtfreedad.com/planner
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Nelson (00:00):
In today's episode, Brenda Philhauer shares how she
went from constantly jugglingbills, credit cards, and
financial stress to paying offover $40,000 in debt and
building a solid savings habit.
We talk about what finally madethings click for her after
trying other programs, how thesupport she found has made such
a huge difference, and thesimple habits that have helped
(00:22):
her feel more in control of hermoney than she's ever felt
before.
Stay tuned, guys.
You're not gonna wanna missthis conversation.
Announcer (00:31):
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,
(00:53):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:02):
Welcome to today's show.
My name is Brad Nelson, founderof Debt Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt free now formore than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here at DebtFree Dad.
Now, after listening to thisepisode, if you are ready to
take things to the next level,you're ready to break free from
(01:23):
living paycheck to paycheck, youwant to reduce financial
stress, you want to build asavings and finally pay off your
debt for good.
But Maybe you're like manypeople out there.
You're just not sure where toget started.
Well, we've created someincredible free resources here
at Deaf Free Dad to help you getthere.
And I'll be sharing somedetails about how you get
started with those later on intoday's show.
As I mentioned, I'd like towelcome Brenda to the podcast
(01:46):
here.
She and her husband, Cliff,have been married for 38 years
and have built a life togetherfilled with meaningful moments.
They have two daughters, Aliciaand Danielle.
And at home, they're keptentertained by Bear, their
energetic three-year-old puggle.
He's Brenda's second puggle,and his playful antics
(02:07):
definitely keep everyone ontheir toes.
So hey, Brenda, welcome to theDeaf Free Dad podcast.
So glad that you are joiningus.
Brenda Philhower (02:14):
Well, thank you for having me.
Brad Nelson (02:15):
I'm so excited to have you on.
You've been in Roots for alittle over three years, and
you've had a lot of ups anddowns, but also a lot of
fantastic wins and success.
And I can't wait to share whatyou've been able to do with all
of our listeners because I knowfirsthand it's our Roots members
and the people that we'vehelped that are really
motivating people out there thatare finding our podcasts and
who are wanting to improve theirfinances.
(02:37):
So I just want to really thankyou seriously for spending some
time with us here and hangingout a little bit.
Brenda Philhower (02:42):
You're very welcome.
I'm glad to be here.
Any way I can help.
Brad Nelson (02:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
So what I would love to know aswe get started is what was your
experience with money prior togetting started with Debt Free
Dad and even maybe going back asa child and maybe how that kind
of related to how you startedto manage your finances as an
adult?
Can we start there?
Brenda Philhower (03:01):
Well, as a child, I really didn't know
anything about money.
My parents took care of that.
I was never involved in it.
As I got older, got out on myown.
I ended up with credit cards,which was my biggest mistake.
But I've had issues with wewere worried about if we could
get groceries, if we could getour medicines because we were so
(03:25):
far in debt.
I decided to join Debt Free Dadback in December, but I didn't
get started until March due toillness that I had had.
Yeah.
But it's just been amazing whatwe've been able to accomplish
through Debt Free Dads.
Brad Nelson (03:42):
Yeah.
What would you say?
I know you mentioned creditcards, but what was the
struggle?
Was it impulse of spending?
Was it overspending?
Was it just having a lack of aplan, not living on a budget?
What do you feel like maybecontributed to some of that and
some of that stress that youwere dealing with back then?
Brenda Philhower (03:56):
It was definitely overspending.
We didn't even use a budget atall.
We extended ourselves withholidays and birthdays because
both of my daughters were bornin February, even though it was
almost 10 years apart.
So it was like just afterChristmas, we were having
birthday parties and justcertain things that we were
(04:20):
spending on that we shouldn'thave.
Brad Nelson (04:22):
Yeah.
Well, you're living the lifethat most of us are accustomed
to, right?
I know what that feels like.
It's just one thing after thenext, right?
It's always this next thingthat came up, whether it was a
good thing like a birthday or aholiday or a celebration of some
sort, but then there were alsothe life emergencies that we
never had a real plan for,right?
You just constantly are usingthe credit cards to save you.
Brenda Philhower (04:42):
Yeah.
Brad Nelson (04:43):
Yeah.
So I think a lot of us coulddeal with that.
From a stress level andemotional standpoint, how would
you rate that?
Was it pretty high, prettysignificant?
Was this something you wereconstantly worried about and
struggling with?
Brenda Philhower (04:52):
Yes, it was a level 10.
I was always worried, how arewe going to pay the bills?
We actually went through abankruptcy at one point due to
me losing my job and us nothaving that extra money.
So thankfully, we were able towork it out and keep our house.
And we were still going intothe same routines, using the
(05:17):
credit cards when we shouldn't.
And Debt Free Dad has justshown us The way to go.
Brad Nelson (05:23):
Yeah.
Yeah, so let's talk there.
So you found out about DeafFree Dad.
Now, how did you first find outwhat we were doing and how we
were helping people?
Did you find a podcast, or howdid that get started for you?
Brenda Philhower (05:33):
I actually saw you on Facebook.
Okay.
It was one of your podcaststhat was showing, and I tried a
couple of others, and they wereso complex and so difficult to
use.
And I kind of waited for acouple of months and then I
decided to join.
And when I started getting intoit, it was like, wow, this is
(05:54):
easy.
We just need to change ourbehaviors and make sure that we
keep our debt down and use theplanner that we've gotten from
you.
We use a budget now.
Brad Nelson (06:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthe behavior side of it?
Because, you know, when wefirst start as when you're a
member in Roots, like that's oneof the things that we focus on
right away is behaviors, habits,choices.
And can you share like when youfirst got started, what were
some of the things that kind ofstuck out to you that you
realized like, yikes, like wereally got to straighten that
up?
(06:32):
Or was there any areas thatwere kind of surprising to you
as you got started?
Brenda Philhower (06:36):
Yeah.
The food deliveries likeDoorDash.
We weren't thinking about whatwe were spending.
on so we started using what wecall in here is the wwbd what
would brad do yeah so you know24 hours we would wait and then
we were like no we don't reallyneed it or yes we do need it but
(06:59):
we always we're trying to makesure that we always pay in cash
Brad Nelson (07:02):
yeah Yeah, I love that you're using that because
we talk about that 24 hour ruleon the podcast.
And so I love that you broughtit up because it's worked for
you.
You know, just giving sometimesthose purchases just a little
bit more thought.
It allows just that emotion tobuy, like just kind of simmer
down a little bit and you kindof come back with a clear head
of like, you're right, we don'treally.
We don't really need a lot ofthis stuff.
(07:23):
And one of the questions thatwe had sent over to you and kind
of what we were prepping forthe episode, you had brought up
the word budget and how eventoday you said we never really
lived on a budget, but now youare.
Can you share how budgeting hashelped you with all of this?
Brenda Philhower (07:37):
It keeps our spending down, way down.
I also keep track of everythingthat we do spend.
And I say, well, this is whatwe need to work on this month.
It also makes sure that all thebills get paid and get paid on
time.
Because we had to go from abiweekly salary to a monthly
salary.
So that was a big hurdle thatwe had to get over.
(08:01):
But it sure helped a lot.
Brad Nelson (08:03):
Yeah.
Now you mentioned, yeah, wementioned in your introduction
that you and your husband,you've been married for 38
years, which is congratulations,by the way.
Thank you.
That's amazing.
But were you guys on the samepage with finances prior to
starting this?
Did you see any improvementthere as the two of you worked
through this?
Brenda Philhower (08:21):
I did see improvement.
We both realized where thespending was going and what we
were spending it on.
So we made sure that weconnected together and said,
okay, we're going to do this.
Brad Nelson (08:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, we're going to talkabout the amount of debt you've
paid off here, but you guys alsowere really successful in
building up your emergency fund.
And you can share a little bitof this.
You built it up, but then hadsome emergencies come up.
But how beneficial has thatemergency fund been for you?
And I guess from a stresslevel, even having something to
fall back on, can you kind of gothrough that a little bit and
(08:54):
just how much of a differencemaker that is?
Brenda Philhower (08:58):
It's been a big difference.
We don't have to worry aboutcredit cards.
We do have it in a separateaccount.
So we transferred.
It takes about two to threedays to transfer the money.
But we have an idea before thatwe will need it.
And we use it instead of usingcredit cards.
So we're not paying crazyamounts of interest on it.
Brad Nelson (09:19):
Right.
Brenda Philhower (09:20):
Unfortunately, we did have to replace our AC.
But I've looked at our budgetagain.
And They're saying, yeah, we'llonly have to pay $150, but I'm
looking at it and I'm saying wecan pay $300.
Yeah.
We are going to try to pay itoff, keeping our fingers crossed
before next June because itwill be interest-free if we can
(09:42):
do that.
Brad Nelson (09:43):
Yeah.
And I love that you broughtthat up too because, you know,
as you mentioned, when you firststarted, you had some medical
stuff that prevented you fromreally starting the way you
wanted to.
Mm-hmm.
So you got a little bit of alate start, but you mentioned
you've had to replace your AC.
I mean, you've had some thingskind of pop up.
This has definitely not been acakewalk throughout this whole
journey.
I mean, you've definitely havehad some challenges pop up,
(10:04):
right?
Brenda Philhower (10:05):
Yes, very much.
I haven't been able to work forabout 13 years.
So we only have his income.
So we definitely watch whatwe're spending, especially now.
We are hopefully going to bedebt-free.
within two years.
And then I'm hoping anotherthree to four years to pay off
(10:29):
the house.
Brad Nelson (10:30):
Right.
Brenda Philhower (10:31):
Yeah.
Be about seven years.
Yeah.
We'll be totally debt free.
Brad Nelson (10:35):
Yeah.
That's incredible.
And the amount of debt you paidoff, can you share real quick?
Cause this is incredible.
Brenda Philhower (10:40):
It's close to 42,000.
$42,000
Brad Nelson (10:43):
in debt paid off in the last three years.
And you're doing that mostly ona single income.
Cause like you said, youhaven't been working.
That's incredible.
How does it feel when you see
Brenda Philhower (11:02):
that number?
Brad Nelson (11:09):
Yeah.
Yeah, I love it.
And again, we're talking aboutthe basics.
You guys didn't do anythingreally fancy or outside of the
box.
You lived on a budget.
You prioritized saving.
You really started to payattention to behaviors.
I love it because it's proof.
Again, we talk about this stuffover and over again on the
show.
And the basics really do work.
They really can help youimprove.
It takes time.
Like you said, you've beendoing this for three years, but
(11:31):
what a difference maker it'smade for you guys.
It's just incredible.
Brenda Philhower (11:35):
It is.
We're no longer worried abouthow we're going to pay our next
bill or if we're going to havemoney for a doctor or medicines.
It's just
Brad Nelson (11:44):
incredible.
Yeah.
Great feeling.
A couple of the other thingsyou do too that I find
interesting is you're a preparernow.
You prepare early.
You save up for Christmas.
You do a lot of home crafts.
You have gotten reallystrategic about going about this
and it's really helped you savea considerable money.
You've Stop by yard sales,promise sales.
You've been very much moreintentional with some of that.
(12:06):
Can you share a little bit ofthat too?
Brenda Philhower (12:07):
Yes.
I run a yard sale group, alocal yard sale group.
And I go to these yard salesand some of these crafts, brand
new, never been opened.
I get them at a fraction of thecost where in the regular
stores, even in Walmart, it'scheaper to go to the yard sales.
Right.
I just make crafts.
(12:28):
It helps with keeping the costof Christmas down as well as
birthdays.
It's really incredible.
Brad Nelson (12:36):
Yeah.
So if you had to start all theway over again and, you know,
say we got new listeners,they're listening to this.
They haven't started.
They haven't done anything.
If you had to start all the wayback over from day number one,
what do you feel you would focuson the most?
Because you've done this forthree years.
What do you think has made thatbiggest difference for you?
Brenda Philhower (12:54):
I would say the budgeting.
It's the biggest differencebecause it shows you where
you're spending, where you canchange the spending, saving up
money.
It's just incredible the waythe budgeting works.
And it's not complicated.
So that's really incredible.
Brad Nelson (13:15):
Did you ever think anything like this would be
possible for you?
Brenda Philhower (13:18):
No.
I thought we would be foreverin debt.
Brad Nelson (13:21):
Yeah.
I find that so fascinating.
I did too.
I had that same mindset.
I just felt like I was nevergoing to get out.
But you start making thoselittle wins, getting that
progress.
You turn around and you seelike something you've achieved
over $40,000 in debt paid off inthree years.
It's just incredible.
For a lot of people, finance isa very taboo topic.
We're a very spend-focusedsociety, consumption society.
(13:42):
So when you get out of debt,you tend to get some weird looks
like if you share it withpeople.
Do you get any weird feedbackfrom people?
Like you guys were getting outof debt.
Do you guys share any of yourjourney with anybody?
Brenda Philhower (13:51):
We did with a couple of friends and they were
like, Well, you've got the moneynow.
Why not spend it?
You've got the credit cards.
Yeah.
It'll boost your ratings.
And I'm like, no, it hasn'tboosted ours.
It's actually done theopposite.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But they're now seeing whatwe're accomplishing.
(14:12):
So
Brad Nelson (14:13):
raising some eyebrows a little bit.
Brenda Philhower (14:15):
Yes, it is.
Yeah.
They're
Brad Nelson (14:17):
pretty amazed about it.
I love it.
I love it.
Congratulations to you guys.
It's so cool.
Thank you.
If someone was on the fence andhesitating to get started,
whether they joined Roots or didanything, what would you
encourage them after everythingyou've been through and gone
through?
What would you say to them toencourage them to at least get
started with something?
Brenda Philhower (14:35):
I would actually tell them to join.
You have nothing to lose andeverything to gain.
I didn't think it would workwhen I first started.
But when I got into it andlooked at it, I'm like, I can do
this.
We can work it out.
And I'm excited that I'm goingto be debt free soon.
It's just incredible.
(14:55):
Just do it.
Brad Nelson (14:57):
Awesome, Brenda.
Well, again, I want to just saythank you so much for jumping
on and sharing and justencouraging other people.
And again, showing them thatthe basics.
really do work.
And you've been consistent withit.
You've stuck with it.
And your results are speakingto that.
I mean, it's just beenincredible what you guys have
been able to do.
So huge congratulations to youguys.
Brenda Philhower (15:18):
Thank you.
And thank you for all thatyou're doing for everyone.
Brad Nelson (15:22):
Well, I appreciate that.
It's a privilege.
I love having our Roots memberson who are showing that still
even today, in this day and age,normal everyday people still
can get out of debt, improvetheir finances, reduce stress.
And you guys have proven that.
I just love it.
Brenda Philhower (15:37):
Yeah, it's definitely a lot
Brad Nelson (15:39):
less stress.
Now, if you're ready to breakfree from living paycheck to
paycheck, you want to reducefinancial stress, you want to
build a savings and finally payoff your debt for good.
But again, maybe you're justnot sure where to get started.
Don't worry.
We've got you covered here atDebt Free Dad.
Simple, I found my money.
I'll see you next time.
Announcer (16:27):
Let's talk about death, baby.
Let's talk about your money.
Let's talk about all the goodthings, all the bad things that
may be.
Let's talk about death.
Let's talk about death.
Brad Nelson (16:50):
Tune into Death Free Death.
Tune into Death Free Death.
Celebrations here today, alongwith Brenda's amazing journey
and story that she shared.
But the first one here isSusan.
Susan says, I've paid off$5,750 since starting in
January.
(17:10):
At this time, it's about afive-month period.
So she's averaging well over$1,000 a month in additional
debt payoffs.
Susan, congratulations.
That is phenomenal.
Tara says, I paid off my truckthis weekend.
Amazing feeling having thatCardo paid off.
Nothing drives better than apaid for car.
Tara, congratulations.
I know firsthand that feelsamazing.
(17:31):
And then Paige, Paige says, Ipaid $1,350 towards my first
community credit card.
All that money was made fromdog sitting this past month.
Paige, I love that you arefocusing on those income
producing activities, doingsomething you enjoy at the same
time and making money to paydown your debt.
That's a win-win.
(17:52):
Awesome, awesome job.
Hey, as always, guys,congratulations to all of you
guys who are taking a stand foryour financial life and you're
wanting better.
Hey, we get that getting out ofdebt is not easy, but with our
help and with your consistencyand discipline, we promise you
guys this will be some of thebest work that you guys do in
your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
(18:12):
you guys on the next episode.
Announcer (18:19):
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.
For resources, show notes, andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit DebtFreeDad.com.
(18:40):
Catch you next week.
In today's episode, Brenda Philhauer shares how she
went from constantly jugglingbills, credit cards, and
financial stress to paying offover $40,000 in debt and
building a solid savings habit.
We talk about what finally madethings click for her after
trying other programs, how thesupport she found has made such
a huge difference, and thesimple habits that have helped
(00:22):
her feel more in control of hermoney than she's ever felt
before.
Stay tuned, guys.
You're not gonna wanna missthis conversation.
Announcer (00:31):
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,
(00:53):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:02):
Welcome to today's show.
My name is Brad Nelson, founderof Debt Free Dad.
I paid off about $45,000 ofdebt.
I've been debt free now formore than 12 years.
I've also been fortunate tohelp thousands of other people
save and pay off tens ofmillions of dollars with the
work that we do here at DebtFree Dad.
Now, after listening to thisepisode, if you are ready to
take things to the next level,you're ready to break free from
(01:23):
living paycheck to paycheck, youwant to reduce financial
stress, you want to build asavings and finally pay off your
debt for good.
But Maybe you're like manypeople out there.
You're just not sure where toget started.
Well, we've created someincredible free resources here
at Deaf Free Dad to help you getthere.
And I'll be sharing somedetails about how you get
started with those later on intoday's show.
As I mentioned, I'd like towelcome Brenda to the podcast
(01:46):
here.
She and her husband, Cliff,have been married for 38 years
and have built a life togetherfilled with meaningful moments.
They have two daughters, Aliciaand Danielle.
And at home, they're keptentertained by Bear, their
energetic three-year-old puggle.
He's Brenda's second puggle,and his playful antics
(02:07):
definitely keep everyone ontheir toes.
So hey, Brenda, welcome to theDeaf Free Dad podcast.
So glad that you are joiningus.
Brenda Philhower (02:14):
Well, thank you for having me.
Brad Nelson (02:15):
I'm so excited to have you on.
You've been in Roots for alittle over three years, and
you've had a lot of ups anddowns, but also a lot of
fantastic wins and success.
And I can't wait to share whatyou've been able to do with all
of our listeners because I knowfirsthand it's our Roots members
and the people that we'vehelped that are really
motivating people out there thatare finding our podcasts and
who are wanting to improve theirfinances.
(02:37):
So I just want to really thankyou seriously for spending some
time with us here and hangingout a little bit.
Brenda Philhower (02:42):
You're very welcome.
I'm glad to be here.
Any way I can help.
Brad Nelson (02:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
So what I would love to know aswe get started is what was your
experience with money prior togetting started with Debt Free
Dad and even maybe going back asa child and maybe how that kind
of related to how you startedto manage your finances as an
adult?
Can we start there?
Brenda Philhower (03:01):
Well, as a child, I really didn't know
anything about money.
My parents took care of that.
I was never involved in it.
As I got older, got out on myown.
I ended up with credit cards,which was my biggest mistake.
But I've had issues with wewere worried about if we could
get groceries, if we could getour medicines because we were so
(03:25):
far in debt.
I decided to join Debt Free Dadback in December, but I didn't
get started until March due toillness that I had had.
Yeah.
But it's just been amazing whatwe've been able to accomplish
through Debt Free Dads.
Brad Nelson (03:42):
Yeah.
What would you say?
I know you mentioned creditcards, but what was the
struggle?
Was it impulse of spending?
Was it overspending?
Was it just having a lack of aplan, not living on a budget?
What do you feel like maybecontributed to some of that and
some of that stress that youwere dealing with back then?
Brenda Philhower (03:56):
It was definitely overspending.
We didn't even use a budget atall.
We extended ourselves withholidays and birthdays because
both of my daughters were bornin February, even though it was
almost 10 years apart.
So it was like just afterChristmas, we were having
birthday parties and justcertain things that we were
(04:20):
spending on that we shouldn'thave.
Brad Nelson (04:22):
Yeah.
Well, you're living the lifethat most of us are accustomed
to, right?
I know what that feels like.
It's just one thing after thenext, right?
It's always this next thingthat came up, whether it was a
good thing like a birthday or aholiday or a celebration of some
sort, but then there were alsothe life emergencies that we
never had a real plan for,right?
You just constantly are usingthe credit cards to save you.
Brenda Philhower (04:42):
Yeah.
Brad Nelson (04:43):
Yeah.
So I think a lot of us coulddeal with that.
From a stress level andemotional standpoint, how would
you rate that?
Was it pretty high, prettysignificant?
Was this something you wereconstantly worried about and
struggling with?
Brenda Philhower (04:52):
Yes, it was a level 10.
I was always worried, how arewe going to pay the bills?
We actually went through abankruptcy at one point due to
me losing my job and us nothaving that extra money.
So thankfully, we were able towork it out and keep our house.
And we were still going intothe same routines, using the
(05:17):
credit cards when we shouldn't.
And Debt Free Dad has justshown us The way to go.
Brad Nelson (05:23):
Yeah.
Yeah, so let's talk there.
So you found out about DeafFree Dad.
Now, how did you first find outwhat we were doing and how we
were helping people?
Did you find a podcast, or howdid that get started for you?
Brenda Philhower (05:33):
I actually saw you on Facebook.
Okay.
It was one of your podcaststhat was showing, and I tried a
couple of others, and they wereso complex and so difficult to
use.
And I kind of waited for acouple of months and then I
decided to join.
And when I started getting intoit, it was like, wow, this is
(05:54):
easy.
We just need to change ourbehaviors and make sure that we
keep our debt down and use theplanner that we've gotten from
you.
We use a budget now.
Brad Nelson (06:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthe behavior side of it?
Because, you know, when wefirst start as when you're a
member in Roots, like that's oneof the things that we focus on
right away is behaviors, habits,choices.
And can you share like when youfirst got started, what were
some of the things that kind ofstuck out to you that you
realized like, yikes, like wereally got to straighten that
up?
(06:32):
Or was there any areas thatwere kind of surprising to you
as you got started?
Brenda Philhower (06:36):
Yeah.
The food deliveries likeDoorDash.
We weren't thinking about whatwe were spending.
on so we started using what wecall in here is the wwbd what
would brad do yeah so you know24 hours we would wait and then
we were like no we don't reallyneed it or yes we do need it but
(06:59):
we always we're trying to makesure that we always pay in cash
Brad Nelson (07:02):
yeah Yeah, I love that you're using that because
we talk about that 24 hour ruleon the podcast.
And so I love that you broughtit up because it's worked for
you.
You know, just giving sometimesthose purchases just a little
bit more thought.
It allows just that emotion tobuy, like just kind of simmer
down a little bit and you kindof come back with a clear head
of like, you're right, we don'treally.
We don't really need a lot ofthis stuff.
(07:23):
And one of the questions thatwe had sent over to you and kind
of what we were prepping forthe episode, you had brought up
the word budget and how eventoday you said we never really
lived on a budget, but now youare.
Can you share how budgeting hashelped you with all of this?
Brenda Philhower (07:37):
It keeps our spending down, way down.
I also keep track of everythingthat we do spend.
And I say, well, this is whatwe need to work on this month.
It also makes sure that all thebills get paid and get paid on
time.
Because we had to go from abiweekly salary to a monthly
salary.
So that was a big hurdle thatwe had to get over.
(08:01):
But it sure helped a lot.
Brad Nelson (08:03):
Yeah.
Now you mentioned, yeah, wementioned in your introduction
that you and your husband,you've been married for 38
years, which is congratulations,by the way.
Thank you.
That's amazing.
But were you guys on the samepage with finances prior to
starting this?
Did you see any improvementthere as the two of you worked
through this?
Brenda Philhower (08:21):
I did see improvement.
We both realized where thespending was going and what we
were spending it on.
So we made sure that weconnected together and said,
okay, we're going to do this.
Brad Nelson (08:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, we're going to talkabout the amount of debt you've
paid off here, but you guys alsowere really successful in
building up your emergency fund.
And you can share a little bitof this.
You built it up, but then hadsome emergencies come up.
But how beneficial has thatemergency fund been for you?
And I guess from a stresslevel, even having something to
fall back on, can you kind of gothrough that a little bit and
(08:54):
just how much of a differencemaker that is?
Brenda Philhower (08:58):
It's been a big difference.
We don't have to worry aboutcredit cards.
We do have it in a separateaccount.
So we transferred.
It takes about two to threedays to transfer the money.
But we have an idea before thatwe will need it.
And we use it instead of usingcredit cards.
So we're not paying crazyamounts of interest on it.
Brad Nelson (09:19):
Right.
Brenda Philhower (09:20):
Unfortunately, we did have to replace our AC.
But I've looked at our budgetagain.
And They're saying, yeah, we'llonly have to pay $150, but I'm
looking at it and I'm saying wecan pay $300.
Yeah.
We are going to try to pay itoff, keeping our fingers crossed
before next June because itwill be interest-free if we can
(09:42):
do that.
Brad Nelson (09:43):
Yeah.
And I love that you broughtthat up too because, you know,
as you mentioned, when you firststarted, you had some medical
stuff that prevented you fromreally starting the way you
wanted to.
Mm-hmm.
So you got a little bit of alate start, but you mentioned
you've had to replace your AC.
I mean, you've had some thingskind of pop up.
This has definitely not been acakewalk throughout this whole
journey.
I mean, you've definitely havehad some challenges pop up,
(10:04):
right?
Brenda Philhower (10:05):
Yes, very much.
I haven't been able to work forabout 13 years.
So we only have his income.
So we definitely watch whatwe're spending, especially now.
We are hopefully going to bedebt-free.
within two years.
And then I'm hoping anotherthree to four years to pay off
(10:29):
the house.
Brad Nelson (10:30):
Right.
Brenda Philhower (10:31):
Yeah.
Be about seven years.
Yeah.
We'll be totally debt free.
Brad Nelson (10:35):
Yeah.
That's incredible.
And the amount of debt you paidoff, can you share real quick?
Cause this is incredible.
Brenda Philhower (10:40):
It's close to 42,000.
$42,000
Brad Nelson (10:43):
in debt paid off in the last three years.
And you're doing that mostly ona single income.
Cause like you said, youhaven't been working.
That's incredible.
How does it feel when you see
Brenda Philhower (11:02):
that number?
Brad Nelson (11:09):
Yeah.
Yeah, I love it.
And again, we're talking aboutthe basics.
You guys didn't do anythingreally fancy or outside of the
box.
You lived on a budget.
You prioritized saving.
You really started to payattention to behaviors.
I love it because it's proof.
Again, we talk about this stuffover and over again on the
show.
And the basics really do work.
They really can help youimprove.
It takes time.
Like you said, you've beendoing this for three years, but
(11:31):
what a difference maker it'smade for you guys.
It's just incredible.
Brenda Philhower (11:35):
It is.
We're no longer worried abouthow we're going to pay our next
bill or if we're going to havemoney for a doctor or medicines.
It's just
Brad Nelson (11:44):
incredible.
Yeah.
Great feeling.
A couple of the other thingsyou do too that I find
interesting is you're a preparernow.
You prepare early.
You save up for Christmas.
You do a lot of home crafts.
You have gotten reallystrategic about going about this
and it's really helped you savea considerable money.
You've Stop by yard sales,promise sales.
You've been very much moreintentional with some of that.
(12:06):
Can you share a little bit ofthat too?
Brenda Philhower (12:07):
Yes.
I run a yard sale group, alocal yard sale group.
And I go to these yard salesand some of these crafts, brand
new, never been opened.
I get them at a fraction of thecost where in the regular
stores, even in Walmart, it'scheaper to go to the yard sales.
Right.
I just make crafts.
(12:28):
It helps with keeping the costof Christmas down as well as
birthdays.
It's really incredible.
Brad Nelson (12:36):
Yeah.
So if you had to start all theway over again and, you know,
say we got new listeners,they're listening to this.
They haven't started.
They haven't done anything.
If you had to start all the wayback over from day number one,
what do you feel you would focuson the most?
Because you've done this forthree years.
What do you think has made thatbiggest difference for you?
Brenda Philhower (12:54):
I would say the budgeting.
It's the biggest differencebecause it shows you where
you're spending, where you canchange the spending, saving up
money.
It's just incredible the waythe budgeting works.
And it's not complicated.
So that's really incredible.
Brad Nelson (13:15):
Did you ever think anything like this would be
possible for you?
Brenda Philhower (13:18):
No.
I thought we would be foreverin debt.
Brad Nelson (13:21):
Yeah.
I find that so fascinating.
I did too.
I had that same mindset.
I just felt like I was nevergoing to get out.
But you start making thoselittle wins, getting that
progress.
You turn around and you seelike something you've achieved
over $40,000 in debt paid off inthree years.
It's just incredible.
For a lot of people, finance isa very taboo topic.
We're a very spend-focusedsociety, consumption society.
(13:42):
So when you get out of debt,you tend to get some weird looks
like if you share it withpeople.
Do you get any weird feedbackfrom people?
Like you guys were getting outof debt.
Do you guys share any of yourjourney with anybody?
Brenda Philhower (13:51):
We did with a couple of friends and they were
like, Well, you've got the moneynow.
Why not spend it?
You've got the credit cards.
Yeah.
It'll boost your ratings.
And I'm like, no, it hasn'tboosted ours.
It's actually done theopposite.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But they're now seeing whatwe're accomplishing.
(14:12):
So
Brad Nelson (14:13):
raising some eyebrows a little bit.
Brenda Philhower (14:15):
Yes, it is.
Yeah.
They're
Brad Nelson (14:17):
pretty amazed about it.
I love it.
I love it.
Congratulations to you guys.
It's so cool.
Thank you.
If someone was on the fence andhesitating to get started,
whether they joined Roots or didanything, what would you
encourage them after everythingyou've been through and gone
through?
What would you say to them toencourage them to at least get
started with something?
Brenda Philhower (14:35):
I would actually tell them to join.
You have nothing to lose andeverything to gain.
I didn't think it would workwhen I first started.
But when I got into it andlooked at it, I'm like, I can do
this.
We can work it out.
And I'm excited that I'm goingto be debt free soon.
It's just incredible.
(14:55):
Just do it.
Brad Nelson (14:57):
Awesome, Brenda.
Well, again, I want to just saythank you so much for jumping
on and sharing and justencouraging other people.
And again, showing them thatthe basics.
really do work.
And you've been consistent withit.
You've stuck with it.
And your results are speakingto that.
I mean, it's just beenincredible what you guys have
been able to do.
So huge congratulations to youguys.
Brenda Philhower (15:18):
Thank you.
And thank you for all thatyou're doing for everyone.
Brad Nelson (15:22):
Well, I appreciate that.
It's a privilege.
I love having our Roots memberson who are showing that still
even today, in this day and age,normal everyday people still
can get out of debt, improvetheir finances, reduce stress.
And you guys have proven that.
I just love it.
Brenda Philhower (15:37):
Yeah, it's definitely a lot
Brad Nelson (15:39):
less stress.
Now, if you're ready to breakfree from living paycheck to
paycheck, you want to reducefinancial stress, you want to
build a savings and finally payoff your debt for good.
But again, maybe you're justnot sure where to get started.
Don't worry.
We've got you covered here atDebt Free Dad.
Simple, I found my money.
I'll see you next time.
Announcer (16:27):
Let's talk about death, baby.
Let's talk about your money.
Let's talk about all the goodthings, all the bad things that
may be.
Let's talk about death.
Let's talk about death.
Brad Nelson (16:50):
Tune into Death Free Death.
Tune into Death Free Death.
Celebrations here today, alongwith Brenda's amazing journey
and story that she shared.
But the first one here isSusan.
Susan says, I've paid off$5,750 since starting in
January.
(17:10):
At this time, it's about afive-month period.
So she's averaging well over$1,000 a month in additional
debt payoffs.
Susan, congratulations.
That is phenomenal.
Tara says, I paid off my truckthis weekend.
Amazing feeling having thatCardo paid off.
Nothing drives better than apaid for car.
Tara, congratulations.
I know firsthand that feelsamazing.
(17:31):
And then Paige, Paige says, Ipaid $1,350 towards my first
community credit card.
All that money was made fromdog sitting this past month.
Paige, I love that you arefocusing on those income
producing activities, doingsomething you enjoy at the same
time and making money to paydown your debt.
That's a win-win.
(17:52):
Awesome, awesome job.
Hey, as always, guys,congratulations to all of you
guys who are taking a stand foryour financial life and you're
wanting better.
Hey, we get that getting out ofdebt is not easy, but with our
help and with your consistencyand discipline, we promise you
guys this will be some of thebest work that you guys do in
your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
(18:12):
you guys on the next episode.
Announcer (18:19):
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.
For resources, show notes, andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit DebtFreeDad.com.
(18:40):
Catch you next week.
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