I always find so much inspiration reading about other blogger's debt journeys, so I thought I would share my personal debt journey with you today.

Things are about to get a little personal.

Two years before finishing my undergraduate degree, I looked at my Great Lakes Student Loans account in shock and horror.

I owed a little under $50,000 of student debt with two years left of school. On top of that, I had just financed a new car that was definitely out of my price range.

To this day I still don’t know how I was approved for the auto loan in the first place... or why I went through with the purchase.

I also had about $1,000 on my credit card balance.

Altogether, I was looking about $78,000 of debt.

Something (really) needed to change in my personal finances.

That afternoon began the start of a huge lifestyle overhaul that I follow to this day:

• Started soaking up as much personal finance advice from Dave Ramsey that I could get my hands on

• Created a spreadsheet detailing each loan/account and corresponding interest rate of my total debt

• Determined my monthly income (which, as a college student, was pretty sporadic and unreliable)

• Downloaded my bank statements. This allowed me to see what I was spending money on each month and what expenses I could reduce

• Created my first budget based around money I actually had and items I actually needed (goodbye, ULTA Platinum Status!)

As painful as it was, this information allowed me to take the necessary steps towards paying off my debt and living a frugal lifestyle!

Where I am today

Today, I am definitely still in debt, but I am chipping away at each balance.

I am completely free of credit card debt.

My emergency fund has enough saved for four months of expenses so that I don’t need to go into debt for any unforeseeable events (car accidents, inability to work, global pandemics…)

I have paid off $15,000 worth of student loans, and about $9,000 from my auto loan.

Yep—I paid off almost $25,000 worth of debt in two and a half years as a college student and recent graduate!

You can too! Check out this post on How To Pay Off Debt Quickly to get started!

My debt journey isn’t over yet, but I am here to show you how I live frugally so that you can also pay off debt, save money, and live a thriving life!

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<3 Charlotte