We Got Out of Over $120K in Debt- Here’s How

It’s true, we got out of over $120k in debt. I previously thought we had paid off only $100,000 in debt but when a fact checker contacted us for our story in Yahoo! Finance, I realized that we had more than $100k! The numbers got sketchy at times because, as you know, when you are in that much pain, you tend to have a selective memory. When we figured it all out, the total was more to the tune of $120,000! The great part is that we got totally out of debt in 2013 and haven’t looked back.

I don’t want to get into bragging, but I do want to inspire you and give you a glimpse into what we’ve been able to do as a family without the burden of debt directing every decision in our life.

Honestly, life with no debt is really GREAT. Last year, we traveled to California for six weeks. Then, we got to take our girls to Memphis for a business conference (they helped me work) and an educational tour of the National Civil Rights Museum.

This year, we traveled to the Dominican Republic for almost 3 weeks. It was so fun to learn Spanish as a family!

On top of all this, I get to be a stay-at-home-mom.

What does this mean?

Well, I get to home school my kids and teach them about things that will make them marketable as employees and/or business owners: investing, Spanish, music, video editing and graphic design are a few topics we get to cover in the “McClanahan School of Wisdom.” My kids are 7 & 11…talk about job-readiness!

Both my kids make great money acting on TV and getting hired as voice talent for national radio spots. (Interested in that for your kids? Click here.)

Not saying any of this to brag. I simply want to give you a crack at this AWESOMENESS that we get to call our life.

This feeling of being out of debt is so totally awesome, that I started this blog in 2014 to teach others how to do the same. I believe that’s a big reason we succeeded in our journey. We overcame so that we could help others get out of debt, increase their income and build wealth.

Don’t fool yourself in thinking that you can’t do this. Some people think their situation is too bad or that they don’t make enough money to get out of all debt.  When we started the journey to debt freedom, we were on one income. At some point, I got a hold of a crazy man named Dave Ramsey (whose plan we used to get out of debt), started a six-figure business from home and the rest is history.

Before I go into the steps of how we actually got out of debt, I want to reiterate that if you are reading this, it means you are qualified. If you can read, you can get out of debt. So, stay tuned and find out EXACTLY how we did the impossible: getting out of tons of debt!

1) We Decided to Get Out of Debt

This is important or else you won’t have a strong resolve to keep going when times get hard. When you decide to dump debt, you are making a decision to leave debt-land forever. Don’t panic, though. We made the decision to never take on debt again and you know what happened? Everything began to come to us without debt: house (yes, a house), car, vacations, home renovations, private school, business seed money and the list goes on. As the good book says, “Be it unto you according to your faith.” (Matthew 9:29) However you accept things will be the way they actually manifest! Make the decision to cut debt out of the equation today.

2) We Got a Plan

We used Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. Millions of people have used this plan to dump debt. Find it, follow it and reap the rewards. Trust me. This plan works if you work it!

3) We Stayed Inspired

I read books, listened to podcasts and visited blogs about people who were either out of debt or getting out of debt. I have a list of resources that can help you stay inspired. Check them out here.

4) We Stuck to Our Plan

There were definitely times we messed up, but the key is that we never jumped ship. Know that this won’t be a perfect journey, but if you commit to finishing the process you will be victorious.

Are you ready to go for it and knock out all your debt? Check out my FREE 5-Day eCourse, Get Out of Debt Jump Start Plan, to help you create your CUSTOM DEBT FREEDOM PLAN OF ATTACK. It’s a 5 Day course that will JUMPSTART your path to debt freedom. Enter your email below to get started:

Aja McClanahan

Aja “A.J.” McClanahan is a writer, speaker and entrepreneur.