How does it feel when you talk about money?
I always feel a little weird sharing things about money, finance, and income because I am definitely not an expert and I am just starting to figure out how to be “good” with my money. If you follow me on social media you know that my husband and I have had a goal of being debt free this year. We have been focused on it since December and we made the decision that this is the year it happens. We said,”we will be debt free in 2016!” It was kind of scary to make that declaration at first but as they say, “where focus goes, energy flows.” I know it is stories of triumph, of people taking control of seemingly out of control things in their lives and changing them for the better that motivated me to get off my ass and start making things happen in my life. If it wasn’t for people doing things that seemed impossible, I don’t think I would’ve ever thought it would be possible for me. I have learned over the last eight years of my life that what one person can do I can do as well. From getting sober, to building a business, to becoming debt free. If someone else can do it then so can I.
I post a lot of “before and afters” that are physical, emotional and mental but I truly believe financial change is WORTHY of being shared and should be talked about. Money is so taboo in society and I feel the more we DON’T talk about it the more we will have issues with it. We should work together to reach our goals and stop thinking that sitting around voting for people is going to change our lives. Because it’s not. We need to rise up as citizens and individuals and go for what we want. Because we can!
Our Journey to being Debt Free.
If you’ve been following our “journey to debt free” this year you know that we’ve paid off over 55K in debt ranging from credit cards, reserve lines and student loans. It’s been an incredibly fulfilling experience to start with Kevin’s debt (that he’s been carrying around since he was 18) within the first few months of the year and start in on our shared debt and then mine! As Tony says “progress is happiness” and the more progress we made, the more motivated we were to do it faster. With each payment we felt like we were gaining more and more freedom. We felt like we were finally becoming the true masters of our own destiny and moving towards a new debt free way of life.
How you start your day determines what you do with your day.
My morning routine includes some visualization where I focus on my goals, some of which are: being debt free, getting in even better shape, helping more people, and finally buying land and owning a home. During this period of visualization and meditation I also focus on gratitude. I feel like gratitude is the engine in my life that makes everything else possible. When we are grateful it is impossible to be bitter and it is much easier to focus on our goals and be solution oriented in our lives. This has definitely been my experience. I have so much gratitude for the coaching opportunity that has allowed me to build the life that I have today and has allowed me to do something different and make huge strides towards eliminating massive amounts of debt that was suffocating us and that truly kept us from enjoying all that we have worked so hard to build.
What book did you follow on your journey to being debt free?
On May 30th I started making large payments to my student loans weekly. As a coach we are paid every week and as a couple we started putting 30% of our weekly earnings towards my loans. With every form of debt we paid off we raised the % of how much more we would use each month. We decided to it this way so we can also put a chunk in our savings and of course, gotta pay those taxes to Uncle Sam!
We have never done well when we severely limit our lifestyle or get really crazy with a budget. We played around with a lot of systems and eventually just started focusing on what we wanted, TO BE DEBT FREE, and went to it. No budgeting, by this we mean no limiting of the things we wanted or what we are accustomed to, in fact the opposite. By consciously spending our money we were able to actually spend almost a month in French Polynesia and still pay off debt. It took years of hard work building my home business to be able to do it this way.We did not follow any books or hire any coaches, we just have a goal and a huge desire to do things our way.
It’s only been 30 days? What can really happen in 30 days?
On June 2nd we left for Polynesia for almost a month and arrived home from a trip of a lifetime (thanks to the Elite 10 Adventure trip gifted to us) on June 24th right before the last payment of the month was due to go towards my loans. Every week we got paid on our trip, I connected to WiFi and paid off a chunk of my student loans. This was like a fantasy coming true, being on vacation with my husband, in a exotic place, AND making headway on my goal of being debt free. On June 30th, 2 days after I made my last payment for the month, I did the math and realized in just 30 days we paid off 20K of my student loans and are ahead of schedule to have them paid off in August.
I wanted to share this and remind everyone reading it that what got you here won’t get you there. You can’t do the same things, go through the motions, and not take massive action and expect different results! You have GOT to throw yourself into a state of constant growth and get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable to ever make progress in your life. You have to become an ANIMAL and get focused, aggressive, and OBSESSED with your goals. I know this because I have experienced it first hand. I was asleep in my own life and now that I’m awake, I’m going to try and shake others awake as well. I also have to say, that giving predatory college funding the middle finger has felt empowering. I’m taking my life back and I’m making it how I REALLY want it, not how it was “sold” to me before I was old enough to make decisions for myself.
The journey continues for us, we have a little way to go to become truly DEBT FREE. Unlike last year at this time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We will be DEBT FREE in 2016! It feels good to know that we are on our way to accomplishing another goal on our list and that we are doing it our way. Everyday when I do my gratitude practice I reflect on the amazing Coaching opportunity and on my Coach. With the simple act of reaching out her hand and offering me this opportunity, the opportunity that I meant to use to change my health and fitness, she opened the door to an opportunity that helped me change my whole life. I’m always here when you’re ready to get started.
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain. It’s about removing the fear in this area of your life so you can focus on what matters most.” ~Anthony Robbins
***Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach’s income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill.