Various people say that having a partner in life will make your burdens easier. You have your spouse and at the same time a best friend who will never leave you no matter what happens in sickness and in health. It is like having a buddy who you would run to about any trouble you might encounter and a lover with the same goals and vision as you have, finding yourselves willingly to sacrifice everything.
But how could you handle a partner who has a different perspective about handling things, especially financial matters? Would he or she still make things easier?
On this episode of The His & Her Money Show, we have Alicia Lawrence from DIYHomeHealth.com, sharing her and her husband’s journey of paying off their $60,000 of debt before their 5th-anniversary celebration. Let’s find out how this inspiring event happened?
Alicia graduated with college degrees debt-free but had a problem earlier in her married life. Her husband had an incredible debt of $60,000 student loan. At first, she didn’t pay much attention to know about the debt. But later, having seen the total amount, she developed debt stress. She got confused about how to handle the situation but her husband didn’t feel the same way.
Alicia’s husband was not as determined and passionate as she was to pay off the debts. He didn’t care about overspending, unlike Alicia who is a natural saver. But she still decided to fix the mess and did her best to get out from under this financial burden. Alicia believes that you have to be really willing to hate your debts to fight and get free.
Later, her husband felt this burden and started to take things seriously to comfort Alicia. The couple decided to find additional jobs to add extra income. They set a minimum payment in their first year and 50% of their monthly income for their obligations. They spend a little bit on everything to save more and sacrifice some things to attain financial freedom. Alicia manages all the finances in the family but makes sure that her husband gets updated on the principal amount and interest of their debts to motivate him, while at the same time making money decisions together.
Finally, just days before their 5th wedding anniversary, the most awaited part of their debt journey had come; it made them feel really excited to get to the finish line. Alicia’s father had said, “Success comes in the can.” So, believe you CAN do it! “You’re more capable than you think you might be; we all have the hidden potential in ourselves but we don’t realize it ‘til we push ourselves to do something about it.” -Alicia Lawrence.
What You Will Learn
- How Alicia avoided fights with her husband to solve their financial crisis.
- How she equipped herself for this journey of paying off debt.
- How much she hates debts and instead got motivated.
- How to handle a partner with the opposite mindset in financial matters.
- Strategies she used to pay off a debt of $60,000 in just 5 years.
- How they maintained a healthy relationship despite both having two jobs.
- How she stayed motivated all the way to the finish line.
- The biggest lesson she learned from this journey.
- Her final words of encouragement for a couple who are facing the same problem.
Resources Mentioned
- Teach Me How to Budget Online Course
- Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone by Mark Goulston
Thanks For Listening!
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Today’s show was sponsored by Teach Me How To Budget. If you are ready to gain freedom in your finances once and for all then enroll in our brand new personal finance course Teach Me How To Budget.
