How I Paid Off $15,000 In Credit Card Debt, Then Became A Millionaire

Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt to be in.

I speak from personal experience. When I was in my 20's, I racked up $15,000 in credit card debt.

Clearly, I had no idea how to manage my money effectively.

It was only once I got real with myself and changed my bad money habits that I was able to get out of debt and become financially free.

If you're currently in debt, I want to help you. Ready to discover how I paid off $15,000 in credit card debt, then became a millionaire?

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

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There is nothing fun about debt.

The more that you ignore it, the worse that it gets. If you're in debt, you need to know that you're not alone. On average, each U.S. household with a credit card carries $8,398 in credit card debt and the average credit cardholder has at least four cards.

The first step to getting out of debt is understanding why you're in debt in the first place. Self-awareness is the key to changing anything in your life. If you don't learn from your debt experiences and take ownership of your choices, you will continue to make the same money mistakes.

In my personal life, I identified 3 reasons why I got myself into credit card debt in the first place.

First and foremost, I was living above my means. I was spending more money than I had coming in. Anytime that your expenditures are higher than your income, you will fall into debt. Secondly, I wasn't managing my money. I lacked awareness of where my money was going. In effect, I was digging myself into a hole.

Thirdly, I was avoiding the reality of my situation. I knew that I was in debt, but I avoided it because it was painful. It wasn't until I embraced the pain and hit an emotional threshold that I was finally ready to change my financial situation and formulate a plan to get myself out of debt.

Here are the steps that I took to get myself out of credit card debt.

1. I did a balance transfer

Credit card companies want to acquire you as a customer. This is why some companies will incentivize you by giving you a very low-interest rate to transfer your balance from one credit card to another. This is an opportunity for you to save some money and make sure that you're not paying a huge amount of interest on your credit card. In order to find these credit card companies, do a search on Google for the keyword, “credit card balance transfer.” This really helped me get ahead.

2. I learned how to manage my money

In particular, I started tracking everything that I was spending – all of my income and expenses. I stopped paying for things in cash because cash is hard to track. Instead, I used my debit card or credit card for every expense. Every week on a Tuesday I would log into my online banking and track everything that I was spending in an excel spreadsheet.

I looked at how much money I had coming in every single week and month. Then I started tracking all of my expenses, everything from rent to car payments to groceries. Every week I would update this spreadsheet.

Once I became aware of what my spending habits were, I was able to figure out where I was spending too much money. This is how I started to become a good money manager. It felt so empowering to be in control of my finances.

3. I started to create a budget and eliminate expenses

Once I realized that I was in a negative deficit every month I knew that my lifestyle had to change. I started creating a budget so that I wouldn't overspend. I looked at every single expense that I had in my spreadsheet and I asked myself the question, “How can I reduce this or eliminate this expense altogether?”

For example, I looked at how much money I was spending on my rent. At the time, I really loved my downtown Vancouver apartment. However, the reality was that I couldn't afford to live there. I was living a lifestyle that I hadn't earned yet. My options were to downsize my apartment, move back home, or find a roommate. I chose the third option. I lived on my friend's couch for one year and I paid him $500 per month. That's how I chose to save money.

It was very challenging and embarrassing at times. However, I accepted the fact that I had to make that sacrifice so that I could pay off my debt. Secondly, I sold my 1989 beat-up Honda Civic. I got $1,500 for my car and I started taking the bus. Doing so saved me a lot of money on fuel. Yes, it was really inconvenient but it forced me to start listening to audiobooks. I did all of this so that I could have some positive cash flow.

4. I found ways to make more money

I embraced any opportunity that would get me out of debt, even if that meant having two or three jobs. First, I started doing physical labor work. Not only did this job allow me to get into great shape, but I was also able to make some great money. That being said, this type of work was very hard on my body. I gave up my weekends when all of my friends were partying and invested that time into making extra cash flow.

On top on that, I also started doing freelance work as an online marketer.

Lastly, I decided to build an online business. I took advantage of self-education and learned from the people who had already achieved what it is that I wanted. In short, I was willing to invest my money into assets that could appreciate over time. Over time, I created multiple streams of passive income. Eventually, I paid off all of my debt. I can't tell you how good it feels to be debt-free.

This is how I paid off $15,000 in credit card debt, then became a millionaire.

I hope the steps that I've shared inspire you to get yourself out of credit card debt. I encourage you to look at your debt as a blessing. If you are willing to do anything and everything to get rid of it, I promise that your entire life will change for the better. The quicker that you become debt-free, the quicker you can start creating financial freedom and living the life that you've always dreamed of.

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