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!
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Hey Josh D.
The thing that really started things off for me was reading Dave Ramsy’s “Total Money Makeover”. He does a great job of working on the psychology of money and debt and gave me that AHA! moment that made me hate my bad debt with enough intensity that I just did whatever needed to be done to get rid of it.
Also, create a written budget and a written plan for getting out of debt / saving / investing / whatever you’re trying to accomplish, and revisit it often to see if you’re on track or if adjustments can be made to help you achieve you goals faster!
There are many great books out there but I suggest starting with “Total Money Makeover” and just keep reading Get Rich Slowly! JD does a great job of writing relevant posts for getting out of debt, saving, setting goals and staying on track!
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JD–Maybe you can open up a reader feedback section where people can submit their stories, then you can decide to post them (or not).
Just reading some of the comments on various posts reveals some interesting stories out there in the readership.
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Why not create a dashboard or tally of debt paid off by GRS readers? Helping to contribute to the total might be another motivation for others.
A forum where readers could also post their goals would be great, to allow others to help keep them on track. Making yourself accountable to others is one of the best ways I know to achieve a goal. I’m using it to stick to my low fat lifestyle but involving my friends and family.
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No offense, but some things don’t quite add up here. Especially if 2000/month is before taxes. This person would have to be living rent free at their parents house for one thing. Also, I have no idea how some people make 24k a year and don’t do anything to change it. There are countless ways to add a little more money every week. Be a server 1 or 2 nights a week. Start a residential or small business cleaning company. I mean come one, 24k/year? I don’t even see how you could survive on that let alone pay down any debt.
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Uh, Ian, you could try looking at the Get Rich Slowly forums – see the link at the top right corner of the page? You sound specifically interested in the Fiscal Fitness Journals sub-forum and the Success Stories sub-forum
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I’d actually like to hear more details about this story. I’m guessing that Jay is probably traveling light in life to be able to put 50% of his income toward debt payoff.
Knowing the mechanics of how it was done is really the key in these stories…
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I would love to see a success stories page! Not just for debt reduction but for hitting savings and investment goals. Hearing how people have achieved their goals keeps me motivated and makes me strive for more!
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I agree with Caroline (#58). That would be incredibly motivating for me to try harder when it comes to reaching financial goals.
-DC
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I like to hear about the success stories. Success stories provide a great benefit in encouragment and knowledge to help others acheive the same.
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Hi!Reply to Ben post # 54 ,my husband makes $23,441.60 per year & we make it on that. I’ve looked for a job , but haven’t found anything yet. Jobs are hard to come by now here in Ohio. Sometimes it’s tough but we make it. If you have any other questions about our budget , be glad to share , e-mail me at stargazer43008@yahoo.com . Lisa
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Ben – You’d be surprised at how many families are living on $2,000/month. I volunteer to prepare tax returns every year for low income families and individuals and I get a reality check each time I help one of these families. I recommend you do something that puts you in touch with how people are living who aren’t in your economic peer group. LG
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At #54
I personally don’t do much better than 24k a year myself.
Granted I do better than that because I do try to take on other opportunities. I am constantly looking for ways to switch jobs and make more money too. But it just doesn’t fall out of the sky.
I’d wager Jay probably lives in a low cost of living area like I do, shares lodging with others to make it cost very little like I do, and lives hand to mouth like I do. Would you believe I’ve spent less than $1000 a month before? I have.
Remember that there’s only 1 job for every 3 college graduates and that figure is 2 years old, before the big crash so no telling how terrible it is now.
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Linear Girl (62)–That’s a valid observation! While so many are “struggling” to “get by” on $75,000 or $100,000 a year, millions are doing it on substantially less.
We’re all prisoners of our paradigms!
It could really be a benefit to find make some friends in lower income groups, and especially among immigrants. We can all learn so much from them and from the ways they live on so much less money, and often live surprisingly well.
We might find that a few of the expensive props we think of as necessities aren’t anything of the kind.
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Hey JD, what about making a Success Story survey that folks could come fill in? Then you could ask specific questions and respondents would have a framework for telling their stories … ?
I love the idea of featuring success stories more often and more prominently on GRS. “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” has an epilogue made up entirely of success letters Amy D. received over the years, and it’s by far my favorite part of an already awesome book …
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Some people here have said that anyone living on $24K annually should get a second job. I just thought I’d point out that even at the new, higher federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour, $24K represents 1.6 full-time jobs. When you’re earning a lot more than that it’s easy to forget that not everyone else does, too, and that income could easily be the result of mulitiple jobs already.
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Um – the author explains how he is managing his budget in comment #32. If you would take the time to read a little you would see that (Ben @54)….
Very well done!!!
I have a budget running on $2,000 take home as well. However that is after I contribute 16% of income to 401k etc. which is unusual for my age. I have some school loans and a mortgage (but on a LOW interest rate). My wife will be working soon after she finishes grad school.
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People can adjust to their level of income with enough discipline. A high salary is not necessary to be financially ok.
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Congrats to Jay! We are working the “Total Money Makeover” right now and are two months away from being debt free. My husband and I take home around $4000 a month and are paying off close to $2000 a month in debt.
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Success Stories page would be great, inspirational.
I make a lot of money these days but I don’t take it for granted. I don’t let my lifestyle inflate to match my recent pay inflation. Instead I picked a goal, made a budget on Googles Docs Spreadsheet and then went methodically through my expenses to trim out the fat. Every few months I look again to cut expenses; sometimes opportunities for saving come up due to a fresh look at things. What I did so far is…
- cut out the premium channels on cable. Down to basic.
- cut my cell phone minutes and text message limits
- eliminated the gym membership
- donated and sold stuff to reduce my stuff to the point that I could close a rented storage
- my credit score went up so I went shopping for insurance and was able to reduce my premiums
- weatherized windows/doors for Summer/Fall which not only saved me money but I was more comfortable during the winter since moisture was retained.
- I asked a neighbor if I can pay him $10 a month to use his wireless Internet which he agreed to. So I eliminated Cable Internet. If I can learn to live on streaming TV on the Internet i may be able to eliminate my basic cable too.
I once read that a young woman who was deeply in credit card debt so she moved out of her apartment and lived in her car for nearly a year. She signed up for a one year gym membership so that in the morning after waking up in her car she could go in get a workout and then shower for the day. It was genius since she got out of debt in one year instead of ten years which would have cost her three times as much due to compounding interest against her.
The point is, if there is a will there is a way. My expenses are $2000 per month but if i really had to I could cut that more than half. If you think you have cut as much as you can than watch the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” and tell me that you are sacrificing and persevering enough.
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I successfully got out of $26,000 of debt. It has changed my life and I have learned so much about myself in the process. I enjoy reading your blog.
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This post is wonderful! I’m inspired by Jay’s dedication. I have around $10,000 to pay off, which includes $7K car loan balance & $3,000 in credit card debt. The pay off schedule for car is Aug 2011 or 24 months, I’m sacrificing to pay off in 12 months. Blogs about getting rid of debt are well worth the read – keep it up. Quote I came across the other day on a blog, ‘Life happens and money will be needed’
Congrats Janie #71, I know that feels great!
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If $2k is after taxes, you can do rent & utilities for $500/mo – I know that in the DC area you can rent a room in a house for $500, so elsewhere it should be cheaper. If it is before taxes, tax rate on $24k is 15%. If it was a student loan or other item, he probably got the tax money back as a refund & threw it at his debt; or maybe earned income tax credit? Either way, this is possible.
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I am on a graduate internship and I make $2010/mo after deductions, taxes, etc. But I own a home in DC and my mortgage is $1374/mo. How does someone makes any real strides in paying debt? And selling my house right now is not an option.
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Wow. Found this page randomly on a Google search … count me in as your newest regular reader! Congrats, Jay – as a person in your (pre-success-story) position, your story is extremely inspiring.
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Very inspiring story on becoming debt free! My family and I recently became debt free as well paying off over $90,000 of consumer debt in under 2 years using the debt snowball technique. It was by far the best thing we’ve ever done as a family!
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