One thing that has the ability to make or break your debt-free journey is motivation. When it runs out, it can feel almost impossible to carry on.
Sometimes, you just need to hear about others that have been in your shoes and how they overcame it.
Especially when you feel like you yourself will never overcome it.
These inspirational debt payoff stories are here to help keep your motivation going through a tough debt payoff journey.
Table of Contents
The Budget Mom
I love how real Kumiko at The Budget Mom gets when telling her story.
She speaks about how, even though she graduated with a finance degree, she still struggled with her personal budget at first.
And that she would start to get on track to pay off debt before a life hurdle would get in the way (sound familiar?).
She shares the ugly truth about starting to pay off your debt, but has a beautiful ending to it all. And her trial and error process of finding the right method to pay things off.
Making Sense of Cents
Michelle paid off $38,000 of student loans in 7 months’ time, and has a detailed post about how she did it.
She has great resources and ideas for cutting costs and making more money while you’re paying off debt.
It’s definitely worth a read to help you pay off debt faster.
Nominal Nerd
Can’t forget about my story about getting out of debt!
We paid off a little over $100,000 in just over two years through a lot of hard work and sacrifice. There were times we both wanted to give up.
But we didn’t.
And the journey not only made us debt free, but an even stronger couple!
Well Kept Wallet
This story is all about finding ways to pay your debt faster. He was tired of handing over his paycheck to lenders and found a way to pay off $52,000 in a year and a half.
He and his wife did everything they could to decrease their spending and increase their income during that time.
It’s a good story of grit!
Zen Habits
Leo at Zen Habits tells his story of just how much of a roller coaster ride it can be to become debt free. He’s not afraid to get real with the reader in his story, which is powerful!
He tells his story that leads up to paying off his debt, and outlines exactly how he did it.
Frugal Confessions
Amanda and Paul talk through their debt-free journey as a couple of singles that eventually became a couple. They paid off about $60,000 in debt!
One of my favorite snippets from their story: “The best part about frugal living and being out of debt is knowing that you can leave your job and you are not in any immediate danger.”
Six Figures Under
I like Stephanie’s story because they paid off a massive amount of debt, and had to work hard to increase their income during the process. All while raising their kids.
And that ain’t easy.
Stephanie also has a jam-packed site with tons of frugal tips. I highly recommend her!
Get Rich Slowly
J.D. not only talks about his road to getting in debt. He talks in detail about his journey to get out of debt.
And something I really like is that he’s detailed about how he got out of debt, and lays out his financial future plans too.
It’s another story about how someone was drowning in debt, scared, and picked themselves back up to get out of debt.
No More Harvard Debt
Joe writes about how he dwindled down his monthly expenses (and what was in the garage) to pay off about $90,000 in debt in less than a year.
It’s a good story of what you might be able to live without while you’re going through your own process of paying off debt.
Newlyweds on a Budget
This couple talks about how they paid off $45,000 in 45 months, making very little money.
They did things like postponing their honeymoon for a couple of years, having a very small food budget every month (but still making it work), and starting side hustles to get there faster.
That’s it!
Did any of these inspirational debt payoff stories help you? Where are you in your own debt free journey?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
