Paying Off You Debt Faster By Thinking Outside the Box

Jillian shares how she and her husband creative hacked their housing expenses to pay off their students loans faster! Housing Hacking to Pay Off Your Debt Faster!  Welcome back! It's the first week of a new year and I have a question to ask you. How many times have you seen the phrase new year, new you already? How does that make you feel as you're planning out what you're going to do in 2022? While I hope you're energized and enthusiastic about your family and financial goals that you want to tackle this year. I can also understand if you're a bit frustrated by all the hype about how important it is. To hit the ground running. Honestly, I kind of feel the same way. I've been writing about that intersection of personal finance with family and marriage for over a decade. Every year as we talk about setting your goals and achieving them, whether it's paying down debt, Saving in general or for a specific goal or investing for your future. There are certain patterns that I see happen over and over again. The biggest one is how few people are actually hitting and achieving their goals. Fidelity and a few others in the personal finance space and beyond do annual surveys and reports to track what people are working on how hopeful they are for the future and how many of them are achieving their goals. And while most people start off optimistic about how things are going to go. Many times they burn out before they hit their actual goal. There are many reasons for that and of course, these last two years have thrown a lot of people for a loop, with COVID in the fallout from that. However, I think a core reason why people aren't able to tackle their goals is how they approach it. So a few episodes before we wrapped up the year, I was talking about setting up those pieces, building those better habits- making sure that your goals are smart, very specific in that you work backwards to break it down into small steps. And those are key components. But there's another ingredient when it comes to not just making your goals but sticking with it and being consistent. That's finding a sustainable system. That makes sense for you and your situation. I see too many families get very focused on this specific. How, for example, when paying off debt. Should we use the debt snowball, avalanche or lasso? And the answer is it depends. It depends how much debt you have. It depends on how much extra income you have right now to put towards that debt. It depends on the type of debt you have is high interest, low interest. All these different factors mean that different families will have different approaches. So when I have interviews on here, when I talk about these processes, On the podcast. I want to give you models, not necessarily a map. The map is what you do you create this destination that you want to achieve. Then you take the habits or systems or ideas. From others and hopefully make it or your own. So that you can stick and be consistent with the process and see it through two, you hit that goal. So all this month, we're going to do things a little bit different. Yes. We're going to be talking about families that have hit some great goals together and get into the process of how they did that. But more importantly, we're going to be digging into how they were able to find a system that fits them and their season of life. One of the most important steps is to address and acknowledge where you are now with your financial journey. Then you can see which tools would be best for your situation. So that you can achieve whatever goal you're pursuing. Another piece of that puzzle. Is to find a process that you enjoy. If you are trying to tackle a big goal, say you have a mountain of debt to pay off. Or you're trying to get a house down payment put together. Chances are it's not going to happen overnight. So again, that consistency's important. But to stick with it, you have to feel motivated. And one of the best things you can do is find a process that you think is enjoyable. And some ways fun. Which is why I'm so glad Jillian sirianni is on the podcast today She and her husband had the big goal of paying off their student loans and cashflowing her degree. It took some creativity as you heard in the teaser because they had to find money in their budget somehow. They went for a big win. And not only were they able to save and pay off debt. They had a little bit of an adventure along the way. In this episode, we're going to get into: why going for big wins in your budget can be a game changer some unconventional ways you can slash your housing expenses skills that you may already have that can save and make you money. Are you ready? Let's get started! Handy Tools to Pay Your Debt Off Faster Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint Grab Your Copy: Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money Join Our Thriving Families Community on Facebook Frugal Friends Podcast Values Based Budgeting Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal! Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! If you're living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today. We've been Coastal members for a few years have been happy with their services. They have wonderful services and accounts to make saving easier including their competitive money market accounts! As I mentioned in the episode, if you're a Coastal member and are thinking of consolidating your debts, check out Coastal's options to refinance! Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize We're grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier.  Did you know that it's estimated that there are currently over 24 million "forgotten" 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years.  And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more  It's an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with? One huge benefit with an IRA is you get to choose how your money is invested, not your old employer.  If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.   With Capitalize, they handle the process from start-to-finish – for FREE. They handle the process from start-to-finish, and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf.  Find out how and get started today!  Support the Podcast! Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it. Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share. Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher. Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money.  Music and Photo Credits Music in this episode was provided by artists from Audiio.