At 30, I had $40,000 in debt. Student loans, a car payment, and two credit cards I'd been making minimum payments on since 25. The interest alone was costing me hundreds a month — money that was literally buying me nothing. I'd accepted debt as a permanent fixture of my life until a friend showed me her debt-free budget and I realized the only difference between us was that she had a plan and I had avoidance.
I used the avalanche method — highest interest rate first while making minimums on everything else. I cut subscriptions I'd forgotten about, negotiated lower rates on my credit cards, and picked up freelance work on weekends. It wasn't fun. For two years, my social life was minimal and my budget was tight. But watching that number drop every month became its own reward.
I was debt-free at 31 and eight months. The freedom of having no monthly debt payments is something I wish I could bottle and give to every 30-year-old still drowning. It's possible. It just requires choosing boring over comfortable for a while.
One honest essay about life at 30, delivered weekly.
I turned 30 with a good salary and nothing to show for it. Here's what I changed.
Every year I didn't invest in my twenties cost me more than I want to calculate.
Everyone said homeownership was impossible for our generation. I found a way anyway.