I simply had my ten yr anniversary at work and it hit me – I keep in mind running a blog after I was first provided my place! Which means I’ve been running a blog right here for over 10 years, too!
It’s a wild factor to contemplate. On the one hand I’m like, “Dang, 10 years of debt reimbursement and I’m nonetheless right here. Nonetheless not completed!” However, I’m so happy with how far I’ve come and all I’ve achieved in that point.
So at present I believed it will be enjoyable to make a journey down “reminiscence lane.” For newer readers, it’s additionally somewhat context into the place I began and how far I’ve come!
Fast caveat – at one level the weblog possession modified arms and a few of my previous posts are not obtainable. When obtainable, I’ll hyperlink on to the articles in case you wish to learn extra. My apologies that a few of the earliest ones are gone.
2014 – The place It All Started
I “interviewed” for a Blogger place right here by writing My Debt Story again in February 2014. By March, I’d been chosen as one of many bloggers. (That authentic submit isn’t obtainable anymore, however I speak about beginning my Debt-Discount Mission on this previous submit, circa 2015)
After I first began running a blog, I had practically $150,000 in debt – the overwhelming majority (simply over $100k) in pupil loans. This weblog and its readers have been a terrific accountability community for me! I ended up paying off over $10,000 in bank card debt in simply my first 3 months as a blogger!
In whole, I paid off simply over $25,000 of debt in 2014, simply over $26,000 of debt in 2015, and over $30,000 of debt in 2016!!! One other main milestone was changing into Client Debt-Free in 2016! We nonetheless owed medical money owed and pupil loans, however it was such an incredible feeling to repay my automobile in full!
By early 2017, we (FINALLY) hit the half-way level in our debt-reduction journey.
2017 – The Backward Slope Started
Then issues stalled. It felt like one step ahead, two steps again by way of debt discount. I didn’t share it on the time, however my then-husband and I have been struggling in our marriage. Cash was an enormous supply of battle.
It’s powerful to look again at my 3.5 Years Into Debt Compensation: Reflections & Trying Forward submit. I used to be stuffed with a lot hope, and but issues weren’t going properly. Our debt began creeping up once more.
We separated in 2018 and for some time I couldn’t make progress in any respect. Between authorized prices and being financially accountable for two houses (my rental and our marital residence), debt continued to extend.
Finally, I needed to step away. I targeted on my youngsters and cleansing up my life and returned to running a blog in 2022.
So A lot Life Has Occurred Since I’ve Been Running a blog!
I landed my full-time job in 2015!
I separated (and later divorced) in 2018.
I developed Persistent Kidney stones and subsequently was identified with Kidney Illness in 2019 (one notably unhealthy case of kidney stones left me hospitalized with sepsis!)
I met my “particular person” and re-married in 2020.
I suffered some main losses – my Dad was identified with Frontal Temporal Degeneration (Bruce Willis’ illness) in 2015, dying simply this yr (2025), and my brother unexpectedly handed away in 2021. This all triggered me to change my view of the debt payoff course of.
I continued to set sturdy monetary targets – particularly the need to repay my new-to-me automobile (which I’d purchased throughout my time away from running a blog), however I turned extra targeted on financial savings than on paying off my pupil loans.
I paid off my automobile, formally changing into client debt free (once more) in October 2023!
We adopted a second canine in 2024 and we went on a dream trip as a household to Hawaii in Summer season 2025.
That just about brings us updated!
You possibly can catch-up on my 2025 Targets, and a mid-year standing test as properly.
Ideas and Reflections
Issues are so vastly completely different now than 10 years in the past after I was a newby blogger! At that time, I used to be drowning in debt as much as my eyeballs! Now, I get to monitor our month-to-month internet price (which is not destructive! lol) and think about issues like what to do with a increase, discovering a monetary advisor, and what to do with an inheritance.
There have been some powerful instances, however I’ve been so, so blessed as properly.
Thanks to everybody who’s cheered me on, provided recommendation, or given powerful love within the feedback through the years. I do know I’m nonetheless a couple of yr away from being totally debt-free (my authentic goal debt-free date was 2018 – ooof!). However I’ve lived a lot life in these previous ten years, and I’ve come to know the significance of stability and of adjusting programs when essential.
This can be somewhat sappy or “woo woo” for some, however I actually imagine we every have classes we’re speculated to study in life which are particular to us alone. Certainly one of mine has been that it’s okay to let go of some desires as a way to make room for others. My persona is such that I’ll attempt repeatedly to jam that sq. peg right into a spherical gap and WILL NOT GIVE UP!
With age and maturity, I’ve realized that it’s not an indication of weak point or lack of character to let these items go. As an alternative, it might be a mark of braveness, and knowledge, and progress.
What about you? Trying again over the previous decade, what’s one monetary resolution (large or small) that modified your life probably the most?
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