"How I'm Paying Off $140K In Debt"

This writer is doing it—and she’s sharing secrets!

- Gemma Hartley

At 22 I had a mountain of debt—$140,000, to be exact. My husband and I had married our junior year of college and taken out a house loan we couldn’t afford; we could barely pay the mortgage, and we racked up credit card debt for textbooks. Then, after graduation, our son’s birth left us with thousands in medical bills. I ignored collection calls and final notices—until one day, as I filed away yet another invoice, I looked at my son playing on the floor beside me, and it hit me: If I didn’t turn my act around, I was setting him up for a lifetime of money struggles. So I sat down and made a plan. Realistically, it would take me at least a decade to pay off all the money I owed (I know—a long time), but the thought of living without that weight around my neck sparked a fire in me.

I’m not there yet (we still have $100,000 of our mortgage to conquer), but in five years, by 32, I will be totally debt-free. I’ve taken a few key steps along the way.

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