I’ve always tried to pay off my loans sooner than the loan’s life. I knew that by paying more on my loans I was saving money in the long run. However, I didn’t realize just how much money I was paying every month and year in interest by having loans and debt.
I was in my 30s before I started my first budget. And I only started a budget because I found myself in a crisis situation that required me to take on a 3rd job to pay our bills.
It was the spring of 2020, the start of the Covid Pandemic. My husband, who is a farmer, had to have emergency back surgery and I was furloughed (kind of like being laid off) from my nursing job. Soooo, I was voted in to plant our spring farm crops. I didn’t even know how to drive a tractor!
Me and “Big Betty” heading out for a day of planting
I had to plant our crops because we couldn’t afford to hire someone to plant them all. Since I wasn’t working and my husband wasn’t able to get into the tractor due to his back surgery, I got to do it. Yikes!
Well, I had a lot of time driving that tractor and I did a lot of thinking while planting crops. I realized that because my husband and I weren’t being super responsible with our money that we were now in a dire situation. I was scared, stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious.
I started listening to podcasts and audiobooks about personal finance while driving the tractor. I started researching everything related to money. I realized that I needed to get on a budget asap.
So, I created my first budget, cut back on our spending, cut our cable bill out completely, canceled some of our subscriptions, stopped shopping (just for fun), and came up with a plan to pay off my car loan first.
I didn’t know that there were 2 main types of methods for paying off debt. At first, I was paying extra on all of our loans. I eventually picked one of our loans to start paying off fast and that was my car loan.
I finished planting our spring crops of corn and soybeans and then went back to my nursing job. I ended up picking up LOTS of extra hours, some at time and a half. It was during the Covid pandemic so I did a lot of shifts in the covid testing center. All those nose swabs I performed and got paid for went straight to paying off my car loan.
I also sold many many household items. You name it, I sold it. Baby clothes, kids’ clothes, shoes, purses, bags, garage items, outside items, kitchen bowls, and mixers. I decluttered so much which helped relieve a little bit of my anxiety as well. All the money I made by selling items went onto my car loan.
Cash envelopes help people stay on budget
I was able to pay off my car loan (almost) 3 years early. It was a HUGE relief to have my vehicle paid for. During this time my husband also picked up extra hours doing landscaping and odd and end jobs. He is a handy guy so that helped.
We eventually decided as a family (with a little bribing of the boys- we promised them a pool if we sold our camper) to sell our destination camper. By selling our camper that catapulted us forward in our financial journey. We were able to pay off the remaining camper loan, and remaining truck loan, and put some money into our emergency savings account.
All in all, we paid off $100,000 of debt in less than 2 years and got a head start on building our emergency fund. We made sacrifices and worked really hard and long hours. But, it was 100% worth it.
Living debt-free (besides our house) is a freeing feeling. I have so much less stress, overwhelm, and anxiety. I am glad I did my research, made a plan, and set goals to get out of debt. This is not something I did alone. My husband and boys were monumental in this journey.
Paying off my car early gave me the motivation to keep paying off our debt and eventually sell our camper. We are now able to take a big annual family vacation, paid for in cash. We are creating memories as a family that are more important to us than “things”.
When paying down your debt, make a budget, a plan, and set goals. Make sure your goals are SMART goals, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
If you want to talk more about having an accountability and support person or having me look at your number, be sure to look into my 1:1 Money Coaching Program or Deep Dive Budgeting Session. You can find that here Jesswaynecoaching.com
