We interrupt this series of Staff Writer auditions to bring you a brief success story from a Get Rich Slowly reader. I receive several of these a month (often several a week), and sometimes wish that I had a place to share them all. Instead, I just make the time to share a handful every year.
This morning, Jay wrote to share his own tale of dedication:
Hey JD! I am very excited to tell you that I have paid off just over $12,000 in the last 11 months (I only make about $2,000/month) and am now debt free!
Thank you for your tips on saving and making the best choices! Once the psychology of my money problems got worked out, it became easy and even FUN paying my debts off ahead of schedule!
I’ve also started contributing to my company’s pension plan (they match my contribution up to 5% of my gross pay) and even started building my emergency fund past the $500 I had set aside.
Thanks for what you do here to help so many people like me change their thinking and start making better choices!
What I usually tell these folks is: “Thanks for writing. I love hearing success stories like this. Your kind words and your inspiring story are what make writing Get Rich Slowly all worthwhile.” And it’s true.
Actually, now that I think about it, maybe it would be possible to erect a “Success Stories” page where I could collect these stories (or at least those that people gave me permission to share). Hm. I’ll have to think about that.
Anyhow, I hope that you are well on your way to meeting your financial goals. And I hope that you’re enjoying the posts from the prospective Staff Writers. I thought these auditions would make it easier for me to choose whom to bring on board, but so far that’s just not the case. I still love all seven!
SEARCH FOR RECENT ARTICLES
J.D. — Yes, enjoying the staff writers, but getting eager to hear more from you again too. Miss your voice.
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My vote is to continue to feature all the staff writers – why not? Each person comes from a different place – just like your readership is diverse as well. So far the quality of each post that I have read has been excellent. Simply put them on a rotating schedule. As long as we keep hearing your voice too, three or four days a week.
As for success stories, a big YES. These stories are inspiring, educational, positive. I would love to hear more of them.
Thank you again JD for your great blog.
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This is AWESOME! Congrats to Jay; that takes some serious dedication to do what he’s done.
JD, you really should feature some success stories in a dedicated section. They really are a testament not only to the readers who share them, but to your advice, as well.
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All of the staff writers are providing a different slant on personal finance which I have been enjoying reading each day.
I also think that a success stories page would be great! I hope to be able to add my own in some day.
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Jay stated the most important fact of all:
>>Once the psychology of my money problems got worked out, it became easy …
There are all sorts of challenges, but it is the (as he put it) “the psychology of my money problems” that is the hardest to deal with.
Congrats and keep going!
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Finally, someone who earns a modest living. Not everyone is married and has two incomes.
Some times I feel isolated on this website because I earn considerably less than many people who visit this site.
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I am very interested in hearing this guy’s story… I want to see the budget he made. It’s great he was able to pay off so much debt. Good job!
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Yes! Great story! Goes to prove anyone, modest income or otherwise can get out of debt and that not only the rich can handle money.
Would also enjoy success story section.
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I would love to see a success story page on your site.
I agree, it would be nice to hear about folks who don’t have two incomes and make $2000/month ish…
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I always enjoy reading success stories like these. I had my own “moment of clarity” about six years ago when I was quite literally homeless due to a job loss, bad financial decisions and a bank account that was in shambles. I was able to turn it all around in a year. It was painful, and it wasn’t fun, but the journey was worth it.
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Very cool! I think the success stories page would be great too.
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AMEN @Slackerjo, I earn 24k a year, have a 400+ a month car note and am trying to buy a house. If I pull THAT off I’ll submit photos so JD can show what a modest home really looks like!!
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I love the idea of a success stories page.
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I’m gonna require this guy show what his expenses are otherwise… is he paying rent or does he live at home? Health insurance? Roommates?
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I also love the idea of a success page. Would show the hard look of the reader and your great inspiration JD!
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Yes. I also would love to have a success story page on GRS.
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Yes, it’s great he paid that much debt in a short period of time, but I would have liked more information…
How? What choices did he make? Where did he cut costs? What was the “psychology” and how did it effect his spending/saving?
More details would be great.
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Yes, a success story page would be great! More twenty-something voices too.
Great job, J.D.! You’re helping people.
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That is awesome. And you are really helping so many people. It keeps me in line with my goals to continue reading.
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A success stories page would definitely be great to read and see updated! … Also, I wonder if there’s still a way to include all the staff writers? Maybe change the position to a rotating staff writer position?
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Folks, I know that it would be helpful if reader e-mails included details on how they achieved success, but that’s just not what most people send. This e-mail is very typical. If I were doing a longer piece about each e-mail, I’d ask for details, but unless the authors want to come and chime in, we’ll have to be content with the knowledge that some how, some way, they did this…
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Yes, I’d like to hear about this person.
Paying off debt when earning only 2K a month is one thing if you are living at home, single, etc., and totally another if you have a wife, kids, renting or buying something, etc.
We also were able to pay off my son’s birth in one year (we had to put it on credit since we had no insurance) while earning only a couple hundred a week while working at a children’s home and my husband was in grad school. We lived very “close”, but we didn’t have a lot of outside expenses (and very little time to go shopping). I think we owed about 6K for the birth but paid it off by the time he turned one. For his first birthday his “party” was a cake which I made from a box –no gifts. A 1-old doesn’t know about birthday presents and the presents are for the parents and friends and the sake of pics–!
It all helps if you don’t go out “partying” or night clubbing. That seems to take a lot of money. Since I’ve never been part of that scene, I certainly don’t understand the appeal and I’m grateful. I’m sure we’ve been able to live on a lot less because of it.
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I love hearing about success stories from those with little to nothing. If you haven’t read Scratch Beginnings, get it in amazon(Link’s at the bottom) . Quick read and very inspirational. Anyways, I wish I and many of my friends would realize the opportunities to be successful do not lie in how much we spend but how little.
Great advice and thanks…
Scratch Beginnings (didn’t write but wish I had):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061714364?ie=UTF8&tag=lifeex-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061714364
Dave
LifeExcursion
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Wow, paying off $12,000 in debt in one year while earning only $2,000/month (gross or net?) is huge! If it’s $2,000/month gross, that’s more huge and inspiration for many out there.
I’m struggling with paying off my school debt, b/c it is the smallest of the bunch (the rest are mortgages on my rental/vacation/primary). But, the school debt is only at 2.65%! That’s almost like free money with the way inflation may hit us in the next several years with all this monetary ease.
In fact, I would argue that one should accumulate as much “good debt” as possible now before inflation takes hold.
I hope to tell all you guys my success story in 8-10 years when I’m retired in my early 40′s!
Best,
RB
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The staff auditions have been great but it seems A.J. is racking up the comments!
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Paying of 12000 in just 11 months is amazing. I’d like to know how he did it!
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I currently make about $2100 a month. Living with 2 roommates makes rent and utilities about $350 per month. I can save about $1000-$1200 a month in this situation.
I really don’t need/want much space. So this is actually quite comfortable for me.
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Readers should post these in the success stories forum, that way people can ask questions and learn from others.
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I also would like to see a page dedicated to success stories (I know it’s over on the forum but I spend more time here)
As well what about a once a week post by a staff writer, perhaps a different one each time.
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This is nice to read. My hubby and I are currently living on about $2400 per month take home. We’re doing pretty well….but it’s hard to get really far ahead. We’ve also got a plan to be debt free by the fall.
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J.D. I think a success stories page would be great. I love reading about other people reaching their goals and use it as a motivator for me to keep striving for mine.
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For those who are wondering… I do not live at home. I make about $2,000/month take home and I am not married to take advantage of a second income.
My whole process started about a year and a half ago when I read Dave Ramsey’s book “Total Money Makeover” and started getting a healthier perspective of my debt (if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it). I wrote down all my debts and started paying the lowest one off… My problem was I hadn’t changed my opinion of debt and so I only put a couple bucks down at a time… That changed one week last year when I got harassed by a debt collector… I decided that enough was enough and I would do whatever it took to get out of debt!
To put the process simply, I cut costs mercilessly on EVERYTHING!!! I moved so that rent/utilities only cost $500/month and cut my food/entertainment/everything else budget to only about $500/month. This meant I couldn’t go see all the latest movies or eat at all the cool new restaurants, but it didn’t kill me! This usually left me with right around $1000/month to throw at debt. (Some months I had a little more, some months a little less) Once I paid off the first debt, it gave me momentum to keep on going to pay off the rest. I was also able to have one collection debt reduced by making a solid arrangement to pay. It never hurts to ask
It wasn’t an easy or enjoyable process but the end result was SO WORTH IT! I think if I could only give one tip to people struggling with debt it would be to keep hanging around and reading blogs like GRS! The encouragement and community helped keep me on target and gave me the motivation to keep going at times when I only had $10 for food and a week to go before pay day…
Good luck to everyone working on paying off debt out there! Keep on keeping on! The way you will feel when you make that last payment is more exciting than a wild roller coaster
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A great big, fat YES to a success stories page. Everyone needs to know that there are real people out there acting on and doing what all the “how to” blogs are recommending.
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I think that a success stories page would be great. Maybe cull from the forum for guests who would be willing to write something a bit more developed (like Jay’s response in the comments).
As I trudge through paying off my own debt, it’s really encouraging to regularly see that others have succeeded.
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Congratulations, Jay! JD, I’d love to see stories like this from time to time. It must be nice for you to see how your work affects your individual readers. I’m enjoying the staff writers, but also looking forward to hearing from you again.
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Hooray!! Can’t wait until the day I pay off all my student loans and will be *really* debt free. (Right now, I’m consumer-debt free, save for the car loan to build credit. Which has less than a year to live, according to my own payment schedule.)
I’m in agreement with everyone else — A success page would be awesome. Even though I don’t have a ton of debt, I still draw inspiration from those who work through tough situations to get out. Makes me feel like I should be more responsible myself!
Also, it’s nice to have them posted here… Not all of us make it over to the forums. My attention span, for one, doesn’t allow it when I’m online. Too much good stuff to read.
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would LOVE a success stories page – they’re really helpful when my motivation’s flagging
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oh, wanted to add, i also make about $2K a month in take home pay, and thanks in large part to having the same cost of housing that jay (the guy in the story) has and being able to do some freelance, i paid off $12,815 in 2008. honestly, just having everything in front of me on a spreadsheet gave me focus, and the progress felt easy (most of the time). i still managed to have fun and to splurge every now and then, so debt reduction never felt oppressive. it’s really fun, though, to read about other people with similar situations and to draw inspiration from their success stories when i feel like i’m not making any progress.
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That’s awesome Idub! Congrats on paying that much down in 2008! You bring up a good point… Having everything put into a spreadsheet that I looked at a couple times a week (OCD maybe?) really helped keep me organized and allowed me to see how much progress I had already made and prioritize where my money would go each time I got paid.
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This is great to hear. Great job! Such an inspiration.
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JD, I would LOVE a recurring series of these, with details. THANKS!
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I enjoy the success stories. They are quite the booster.
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It’s nice to hear (or read) your voice again, JD. I also love these success stories–a dedicated page would be interesting, but I like being surprised with them periodically, too.
Lastly, I think Jay should call into Dave Ramsey and give him a big “We’re Debt Free!!!!!” cry.
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I believe Jay to be an EXCELLENT example about what our quest to become “debt-free” and pursue a frugal lifestyle is all about! Much of it is about the psychology — the way you go about deciding the value of your money and your time. I also echo afforementioned commentaries that it IS refreshing to hear from a lower-income individual overcoming financial obstacles. It shows that once again, it doesn’t always matter HOW MUCH you make, but HOW YOU GO ABOUT IT. CONGRATS JAY!
PS. I do have to ponder one thing about #22: An important key to good finances is PRE-PLANNING, now, if it took you one year to afford to even pay for the DELIVERY of your child (after-birth I take it) not to mention what it costs to raise one…I think you may want to really read more of these articles and really THINK about the PRIORITIZING aspect of the psychology Jay mentioned…no offense… :S
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Tumblr recently started providing support for reader contribution and I think Posterous has the same feature. I’m pretty sure Posterous has a WP plugin as well.
One of those might make it easy for you to allow reader submitted stories.
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Pretty nice!! Me and my husband currently rent and save up for a house. Our monthly bills including a car payment amounts to $2500-3000. We save upto half ofour monthly income. Paid off husband’s debt ($5000) in 3 months and going to pay off the remaining $5000 in another 2-3 months. We are surviving on one salary only since the last 4-5 months. All this, by merely cutting corners and my greatest asset being the fact that I love to cook and pack our lunches everyday.
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Congratulations, Jay! Very inspirational story. I became debt free last year via Dave Ramsey’s program as well. Did you enjoy screaming “I’m Debt Freeeeeee!” after making the last payment? I sure did.
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I second the first comment… I miss JD!
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I am inspired by this guy’s story.. I would like to begin my journey of getting out of debt. Where is the article/tips that the OP referred to? Is there a specific article?
Thanks for any help!
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Awesome. I love success stories & I love hearing JD’s voice again! Nothing against the guest posts but we miss you!
I can really relate to this success. I remember the surge of joy I felt when I made the VERY LAST payment on a medical debt that had been dragging on for years. There were some months I only paid $25 on that debt, and once or twice I skipped a month, but in the end the lady in the billing office thanked me and acknowledged my integrity & dedication. (The $900 she took off near the end helped a lot too!!
) I also remember doing a budget way back when and seeing how well I could do on $2000/mo – except that I wasn’t making that much! I did manage to get my income up eventually, and since then I’ve kept my living expenses at that level, with any take-home pay over that going straight into my savings and retirement accounts. I’ve also been working on living as well on even less. It’s a great feeling.
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