How I Got Out of Debt: My Personal Success Story

When you’re in debt or unable to make regular payments on your bills, it feels like you’re carrying a redwood tree on your shoulders. You write checks with your fingers crossed behind your back for good luck, and with each swipe of the credit card you hold your breath hoping not to see that dreaded embarrassment: “declined.”

I used to be that young woman, unable to handle the responsibility that comes with having a credit card; it was a time when I felt as if my expenses, and my inability to have more coming in than going out, would swallow me whole.

While it seems like a common story for people of any age, being in debt has a stigma: it’s not something we talk about. In fact, according to the results of a recent survey from LinkedIn and Citi, which examined professional women’s biggest financial and career concerns, talking about money is such a personal subject matter that 75% of women surveyed aren’t comfortable talking about money through social media—and 36% of Generation Y women polled don’t think that it’s polite to talk about money anywhere.

That’s no way to get out of debt.

I want to be part of the 25% that will talk about it, so I’ll start with my story.

These days, a bit older and wiser (and debt-free), I definitely breathe more easily. I’m more aware than ever of how little it takes to get there in the first place.

My Descent into Debt…

I moved to Washington, DC for college in 2001, and my mother handed me $300 to get me through the first two weeks. My parents would provide an allowance every two weeks, and I was expected to eventually get a job. Within the first week I had blown most of the money on drinks (thanks to a fake ID), shopping trips, eating out, and a tattoo. Oh, yes. I got a tattoo. After discussions on how I spend my money and that a tattoo is not a necessity (who was rebelling? Yes, THIS GIRL) my mother handed me a credit card. “For emergencies only, Heather Lynn.” I was an irresponsible 17-year-old with a penchant for shoe shopping. What could go wrong?

A lot went wrong. It was easy to spend the money in my checking account on the boring necessities, and later make a quick swipe with my credit card for a cute top. Having a credit card allowed me to be irresponsible while feigning responsibility. By the end of college I’d racked up about $2,500 in credit card debt spread over three cards. What forced me to pay it off was when I moved to upstate New York and wondered how I’d ever be able to buy my own home. It was then that I realized I would own nothing in the future if I didn’t pay off what I faced in my present.

…And How I Got Out of It
1. Step-by-step: Slowly and painfully, month by month, I took a steady approach. I looked at which card had the highest interest rate, and I made it a goal to pay that one off first, so for payment to that card, I paid the minimum plus $50.

When you are making $35,000 a year, it feels like you’re perpetually sinking, but after four years of focused discipline, I was free of credit card debt. The thing about being saddled with debt is that you always feel like you’re hunched over, hiding from the world. On the outside, I might have seemed like I had it together, but on the inside I felt like a fraud who didn’t have a handle on her own expenses. To be released from that self-inflicted burden was like coming up for air.

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