Hi everyone! Today I have a story from Amanda who is becoming debt-free. Amanda Guarniere is a 30-something wife, mom of twin girls, and coffee addict. When not working as a nurse practitioner, she blogs about motherhood and clean eating at Amanda’s Great Idea. Her latest online course Batch Cook for Baby teaches moms how to master feeding their babies wholesome, homemade solid food (on a budget!). You can follow her debt free journey on instagram @nottodaytarget.
1. What kind of debt do you have? How much is it? How long have you been paying it off and when will you be debt free?
When my husband and I married in 2012, we had the following debt: my Ivy League student loan debt ($110,000), my car loan ($24,000), various credit cards ($10,000). Before getting on the debt-payoff bandwagon, we added another car loan to that ($20,000). We got serious about paying off our debts in 2013 after hearing about Dave Ramsey and reading The Total Money Makeover. We had to take a couple of breaks in our intensity due to a cross-country move in 2014 and getting pregnant with twins in 2015! Since the twins were born 2 years ago, we’ve been super intense and we are on track be debt free (except for the house) in August!
2. Why did you decide to pay off your debt?
We decided to pay off debt after realizing that our good-sized incomes were practically disappearing every month. We saw a financial advisor who calculated the amount of money that would pass through our hands in a lifetime. We realized that there had to be a way to make a bigger difference in our lives with our money.
3. What strategies are you using to pay off your debt?
We’ve been primarily using the debt snowball method to pay off debt. We strive to live off of half our income and put the other towards debt. I work overtime in my job as a nurse practitioner and have several side-hustles, including selling clothes online via Poshmark as well as blogging and creating online courses for moms!
4. How has your family been impacted by your financial journey?
I’m happy to say that our financial journey has had only positive effects on our family. We had to put our debt payoff on hold while I was pregnant with the twins, and it’s good that we did because they ended up being 2 months premature. I was fortunate to have paid time off from my job at that time, but there were lots of medical bills that we paid with ease because of our approach.
5. What’s the hardest part about getting out of debt?
The hardest part about getting out of debt is being patient and staying motivated. I know that this is the best long-term plan but it’s certainly challenging when the daily grind is rough and all I want to do is be on a beach somewhere sipping a margarita. Also, this journey does bring up occasional disagreements between my husband and me, but honestly I think those discussions and disagreements are healthy and force us to talk about it!
6. What are your goals once you’re debt free?
Once we are debt free, we have some short-term and long-term goals. Short-term, we want to take a vacation and buy a bigger car and re-do our master bathroom. Long-term, I look forward to being able to retire from full-time work, travel frequently, and maybe own a vacation/investment home.
7. How do you think your life will change by being debt free?
When we are debt free, I think I’ll feel unburdened and give myself permission to fill my life with more enriching experiences. I look forward to volunteering for causes that are important to me and giving away a lot of money. I can’t wait to teach my girls about money and really set them up for financial success!