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I know what it’s like to feel the heaviness of having debt and the sleepless nights that come with it. The guilt of spending and even allowing yourself to have fun. That voice in your head pops up, repeating the advice you’ve heard before: eat rice and beans until your debt is paid off, and don’t you dare buy that latte!
The reality is, there is a way to find harmony between enjoying life and paying off your debt. And for women of color, it’s especially true that the advice we often hear online just isn’t made for us! We grew up on rice and beans, and we don’t want to go back to that. I know I don’t!
But I’m here to tell you there’s another way. You can pay off the most debt you’ve ever tackled without giving up the fun. Get ready to say goodbye to overwhelm, frustration, and shame.
You can make your own rules, have fun, and pay off your debt, starting now.
What finally worked for me was shifting my focus, increasing my income, and creating a plan that actually left room for FUN.
You need a strategy that works for you, not the cookie-cutter advice that worked for everyone else.
Step 1: I Stopped Lifestyle Creep AKA Set Backs
You have to ask yourself: Do you really want to pay off this debt, or are you okay with the setbacks?
Getting serious about debt payoff means staying committed and focused.
Before I made real progress, I had already increased my income three different times. But with every single raise, I kept wondering where my money was going. Why didn’t I have extra cash, even though I was earning more? After reflecting, I realized it was lifestyle creep. I was spending more just because I was earning more, which meant I never had extra money to throw at my debilitating debt.
It’s so easy to think, let me move to a bigger apartment, let me upgrade this old car, let me finally buy that purse I’ve always wanted. But if we’re constantly upgrading our lifestyle, we’ll always stay broke. Lifestyle creep is a major setback.
Once I recognized this pattern, I made a decision: no more letting raises disappear into random spending. Instead, every increase in income went directly toward debt payments. That one change gave me the confidence and momentum I needed to finally see progress.
Here is the pep talk and strategy you need to finally pay off your debt as a beginner.
Step 2: I Focused on My “FUN WHY”
I was stuck in debt for years because my only goal was to “pay off the debt.” Simple as that. My focus was all around the debt and the budget. I kept telling myself, “Shouldn’t it be straightforward to just pay off this freaking debt?”
But I couldn’t comprehend why just sending money to the debt wasn’t working. I always found myself gaining the debt back, plus some! That’s when I realized something had to change. Simply telling myself “pay off debt to be responsible” wasn’t motivating enough. Being “debt-free” on its own wasn’t moving the needle for me.
What motivated me was travel, moving out of state, and building a life full of adventure. I didn’t want to travel for only 2 weeks a year or wait for vacation days to feel alive. That vision became my FUN WHY, and the reason I was finally able to pay off $30,000 of credit card debt in just 18 months.
Instead of seeing debt payoff as a sacrifice, I started treating it like an investment in my future adventures. Every payment brought me closer to guilt-free trips and to moving somewhere I could thrive every day. That FUN WHY was the fuel I needed on the hard days.
Send an extra $200 to the debt? Hell yeah, let’s go!
So, what’s your FUN WHY? What’s going to move the needle forward for you? What will paying off your debt allow you to do?
You may be interested in reading: The biggest debt pay off mistake that’s keeping you stuck.
Step 3: I Increased My Income by $35,000 a Year and had a Plan
More money does not automatically mean you’ll pay off more debt. If you don’t have a plan that works for you, you’ll fail, I know from experience. I raised my income three different times, and it still didn’t work.
By the fourth time, though, I knew things had to be different. After 13 months of effort, I finally landed a job that paid me $35,000 more per year. But this time, I didn’t let lifestyle creep swallow up my raise. I set a strict rule: 50% of my income went straight to debt, and the other 50% supported my lifestyle.
That new strategy, combining higher income with intentional spending, is what helped me finally pay off $30,000 of debt in just 18 months, instead of dragging it out for years. And it changed everything. I started sleeping better at night, I moved to Washington State, and I get to have adventures more often. My life honestly feels like a vacation all year round.
Remember: when you increase your income, you have to be intentional with every single dollar. Otherwise, you’ll stay stuck in the same situation for years to come.
Thinking about finding a new job to increase your income?
This one’s for YOU.
Step 4: I Still Made Space for Fun in My Budget
The number one reason I was finally able to pay off my debt? I had fun!
Here’s what I didn’t do: cut out coffee dates, stop traveling, or say no to every invitation. Instead, I created a “fun fund” in my budget so I could still enjoy life while paying off debt. That small allowance kept me from feeling deprived, and because I planned for it, it never derailed my progress.
The first three times, I didn’t allow myself to have fun. Sure, I paid off a lot of debt in three months, but by the fourth month, I had racked up all the debt back plus more. So if you’re trying to pay off debt by depriving yourself, you need to switch your strategy. It’s not working.
Now, I’m not saying to add $500 to your fun fund every paycheck. The key is to send more to debt than you spend, but still budget an amount that allows you to leave the house, share laughter with friends, and create memories with family.
You’ll be surprised how much debt you can pay off without even realizing it because your focus will shift to actually enjoying life.
But not everything fun requires money: Here are 28 ideas to help you have fun without spending a cent.
Step 5: I Stayed Consistent (Even When It Wasn’t Exciting)
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I wanted more money for fun. Sometimes I wanted to take two international trips instead of one. Sometimes I wanted to go shopping without a limit.
But I had to remind myself of my FUN WHY. Paying down the debt meant I could travel a lot more in the future. Paying down the debt meant I could move out of state and have fun often, not just two weeks out of the year.
So yeah, some months it felt like progress was crawling, and I questioned my strategy. Other months, I was able to make big payments and watch my balance drop dramatically. And then I’d remember, oh yeah! I can actually do this!
Despite the rollercoaster of emotions, I stayed consistent. And that rollercoaster? It happens because you’re breaking the cycle of generational trauma. You’re going against the grain! Do you think a white middle-class man is doubting himself this much? Absolutely not. But you and I are women who grew up in low-income, and we’ve decided we want more. We deserve to stop living paycheck to paycheck. We will build generational wealth.
I won’t lie, sometimes it won’t be fun. But you have to stay consistent: automate your payments, track your debt payoff, and celebrate your milestones along the way.
Debt Free in 18 Months While Having Fun
I traveled internationally and had fun with friends.
Eighteen months later, I made my final payment. Yay!!! I was officially debt-free. But the most important lesson I learned while paying off debt was this: I can reach financial freedom without sacrificing joy. I’m building wealth and having fun.
Balance is possible when you’re intentional with both your money and your life.
So, if you’re staring at your own mountain of credit card debt, know this: you can pay it off without giving up the things that make life fun. I know what it feels like to grow up low-income, and we don’t have to relive those hardships.
You just need a plan that works for YOU. Stop listening to the white finance bros, they don’t understand our background. You can be debt-free and break out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, even if you’ve never seen it done growing up.
Paying off $30,000 of credit card debt in 18 months was not easy, but it was worth it.
Before those 18 months, it took me five years of trying, failing, and starting over again. I was beginning to accept that credit card debt and living paycheck to paycheck might be my forever. But then something clicked, I asked myself, why couldn’t I have what they had? I refused to let my skin color dictate the kind of lifestyle I could build.
So, I took matters into my own hands. I stepped outside the cookie-cutter strategies the finance bros push and created a plan that actually worked for me. By stopping lifestyle creep, focusing on a fun WHY, increasing my income, and keeping balance, I proved to myself that debt freedom was possible.
And if I could do it, so can YOU.
More debt payoff tips to help you stay motivated and make progress:
