221: Hard Decisions Leading to a $170k Debt Payoff (During Covid)

Aug 9, 2021

01:17:29

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Darius Smith always knew how to make money, but wasn’t very good at saving it. Growing up, he had jobs ranging from delivering phone books, to running paper routes, to even putting up eviction notices on homes. He opened his first bank account when he was around nine years old! So how did Darius end up with almost $170,000 in debt? An even better question may be, how did Darius pay off all that debt in only a few years?

Darius spent time at multiple different colleges, racking up $40,000 in student debt, then buying a Mustang, paying for a wedding, putting some charges on credit cards, and finally combining his wife’s debt with his. They started to use the “debt snowball” method, but after having to take out business loans, the debt grew even more.

This is when Darius decided that he and his wife needed a plan to conquer their finances. They moved into a friend’s extra room for cheaper rent, stopped going out as much, began working more than one job, and siphoned all the money they could into savings and debt payoff. As of July 2021, they are debt-free!

In This Episode We Cover

How to prepare to take on student debt (when needed)

Avoiding lifestyle creep and finding ways to lower your expenses

The “reverse house hack” and renting a room for far cheaper living expenses

Mortgage forbearance and student loan forbearance in 2021

“Isolating yourself” from friends or influences that will cause you to spend more

Having a money date with your partner and going over finances regularly

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group

BiggerPockets Forums

Finance Review Guest Onboarding