Episode: 350 - Achieving Financial Independence: Tara's $85K Debt Payoff Story
Subscribe to Simplify My Money:
https://www.debtfreedad.com/newsletters/simplify-my-money
Feeling overwhelmed by money and unsure how to move forward? You're not alone. Many people find themselves caught in a cycle of debt and uncertainty, but Tara Mean’s story is a beacon of hope and possibility. Instead of giving up, Tara took decisive action, and her journey is a testament to what's possible for everyday people facing financial challenges.
A New Beginning
Tara, like many others, grew up with advice from her mom to save money and buy only what you can afford with cash. However, transitioning into adulthood in a world filled with the temptation of credit cards, Tara found herself in a vicious cycle of debt. The ease of obtaining credit and the allure of instant gratification led to financial decisions that culminated in significant debt accumulation.
But Tara decided to tackle her financial issues head-on. She took the first step towards change by educating herself and implementing effective financial strategies. Her journey began by acknowledging her financial situation and realizing the need for change.
Embracing Change and Taking Action
A pivotal part of Tara's transformation was adopting a new mindset and changing her spending habits. Recognizing the impulsiveness that often led to unnecessary purchases was key. She learned the importance of starting small and celebrating every progress made, no matter how minimal it seemed at the moment.
Tara attributes part of her success to understanding her financial behaviors and tackling them with practical strategies. By examining past expenses, she discovered surprising patterns that needed correction. This newfound awareness fueled her motivation and commitment to pay off debt and make substantial progress in a short amount of time.
The Role of Support and Accountability
Support from family played a crucial role in Tara's journey. Though initially skeptical, her husband eventually joined her in the mission to eliminate their debt. Together, they established a cooperative financial environment, integrating their strategies and supporting one another.
Their approach to managing finances included combining resources such as tax returns and bonuses to bolster their emergency fund and pay down debt. This collaborative effort not only led to significant financial gains but also fostered a healthier, more supportive relationship.
Creating a Future of Possibilities
Beyond financial relief, the journey has had a profound impact on Tara’s family life and personal well-being. Her children are learning from her example, understanding the value of money, and adopting frugal habits early on. This shift in family dynamics is setting a foundation for a financially literate generation.
Tara's story exemplifies how sustainable financial change is possible. Through education, action, and the power of community support, she transformed her financial landscape, demonstrating that with determination and the right tools, anyone can break free from the chains of debt and stress.
Your Path to Financial Freedom
If you find yourself in a similar position, remember that change is possible. Begin by educating yourself, setting realistic goals, and seeking support when needed. Celebrate your progress and keep your eyes on the bigger picture – a life of financial freedom and peace of mind.
Let Tara's journey inspire you to take the first step today. Whether it's building an emergency fund, tackling a single debt, or changing spending habits, every action moves you closer to achieving financial independence. Embrace the journey and keep moving forward.
Resources
The Totally Awesome Debt Freedom Planner https://www.debtfreedad.com/planner
Connect With Brad
Website- https://www.debtfreedad.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thedebtfreedad
Private Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/debtfreedad
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/debtfreedad/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@debt_free_dad
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@bradnelson-debtfreedad2751/featured
Thanks For Listening
Like what you hear? Please, subscribe on the platform you listen to most: Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Tune-In, Stitcher, YouTube Music, YouTube
We LOVE feedback, and also helps us grow our podcast! Please leave us an honest review in Apple Podcasts, we read every single one.
Is there someone that you think would benefit from the Debt Free Dad podcast? Please, share this episode with them on your favorite social network!
Transcript
Brad Nelson:
So are you feeling overwhelmed by money and unsure how to move forward? Let me tell you you're not alone, and today's guest, Tara Meen, knows exactly how that feels. But instead of giving up, she took action, saving and paying off tens of thousands of dollars. You guys, In this episode, Tara is going to share the honest truth about what it took to turn things around, how she stayed motivated and the mindset shifts that made the biggest difference for her. Now, if you need proof that change is possible for normal, everyday people, this is going to be a conversation you're not going to want to miss.
Announcer:
You're listening to the Debt-Free Dad Podcast with Brad Nelson. Brad and his co-hosts experience the anxiety of living paycheck to paycheck before learning the fundamentals of financial success. They are now on a mission to empower regular people to pay off their debt for good and enjoy happier, less stressful lives. Keep listening for inspirational interviews, tips, tricks and practical advice to gain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson:
Hey guys, welcome to today's show. My name is Brad Nelson, founder of Debt Free Dad. I've paid off about $45,000 of debt. I've been debt free now for more than 12 years and I've also been fortunate to help thousands of other people save and pay off tens of millions of dollars with the work that we do here at Debt Free Dad. After listening to this episode, if you're ready to take action and you want to take things to the next level, you're ready to break free from living paycheck to paycheck. You guys want to reduce financial stress. You want to build a savings, finally pay off some of that debt for good. But maybe you're like a lot of people, you're just not sure where to start. Well, we've got you covered with some incredible free resources here at Debt Free Dad, and I'll be sharing some details about how you can get some of those later on in today's episode.
Brad Nelson:
As I mentioned, I'd like to welcome Tara to the podcast Now. Tara has been married for 24 years and is a proud mom to a 14-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. Her family shares a love for K-pop Well, she says, most of them do anyways and they're total foodies who enjoy exploring all different kinds of cuisine. Tara lives in California. She says they can hit the beach one day and the snowy mountains the next. That's pretty cool. She's also completely smitten with her Cornish Rex cat Tay-Tay, who she lovingly fights over for attention. Well, hey, tara, welcome to the Deaf-Free Dad podcast. So glad that you're taking some time to hang out with us here today.
Tara Mean:
I'm excited to be here.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, I'm excited for you to be here too. You've made some incredible progress and I'm glad you're here to share your story because, like I just told you right before I recorded, your story is going to be inspiring some other people. But before we get to all the progress that you've made, take us back a little bit and tell us what was your financial life like before finding Debt Free Dad and eventually joining our membership program Brutes, and what things were you struggling with? What experience did you have with money before getting started?
Tara Mean:
Oh goodness, that was a lot. So my mom always told me you know, you should save money, have cash before you buy, and she was always very frugal with money. So me, growing up in a different age we have credit cards, we buy what we want. We don't really save to buy what we want. So I got myself in this situation many times where I paid off my debt and it was just a vicious cycle. But then I found Debt Free Dad and the cycle is ending.
Brad Nelson:
So yeah, I love that. So, when you say it was a vicious cycle, what kind of things did you struggle with the most? Was it credit cards you mentioned when you wanted to buy something? You just bought it? Was it overspending? Was it impulsive spending? Was it trying to keep up with people? What contributed to that, do you think?
Tara Mean:
Well, definitely impulsive spending, get it now, pay for it later. That kind of mentality, not really like keeping up with the Joneses, but just buying stuff that we don't really need, actually like a lot of stuff that we don't need.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, yeah. Anyone listening to this probably can relate to that. It's so easy nowadays just to spend money, right? Everything is so readily available, especially with phones and online shopping, and, yeah, they make it so easy. So, was there any feelings around your money? Were you dealing with a lot of stress, any emotions that were a struggle for you?
Tara Mean:
Well, it was stressful to have all that debt and it just never seemed to be going away and it just kept multiplying and then there would be another debt, and so, yeah, it's definitely a cycle. I can't explain it. It's just we have all this debt that we created and then we have this big mess and then we're stuck with it. How do we get out of it?
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, yeah. So you eventually found Debt Free, dad. How did you find out about what we do, and what kinds of things did you get started with?
Tara Mean:
Okay. So first I found Debt Free Dad. I said, okay, this may work. I saw it on Facebook. I said this could work. Okay, he, I saw it on Facebook. I said this could work. Okay, he has a plan to like get out of debt. So I I think I joined one of the free webinars and then I just started. I started with roots and I started looking at roots every day and I went through it right away and I just I was doing action items Like, for example, okay, first thing, save a thousand dollars. Okay, next thing, don't spend any more money, change your spending habits. So then I found the program and it worked. It was working right away. When I started, I think in July of 2024 to November, I had paid off like $15,000 and this is just like credit card debt and like loans, but we still had a lot and I had to get my husband on board. So that was a whole thing.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, I want to talk about that coming up. We get that question all the time, tara, how do I get my spouse or partner on board with this? I want to do it, but they're dragging their feet. I want to get into that a little bit. But when you first got started, though, I mean, like you just said, you joined in July of 2024. And by November of 2024, you're talking four or five months you paid off $15,000. So what kinds of things did you learn in Roots that you felt were really beneficial, that really helped you move that needle really quick on getting some quick?
Tara Mean:
progress. So I learned that you had to start somewhere. Any progress is good, every little thing that you could celebrate. But you had to start. You had to take action because if you didn't you'll just be in the same situation. But because I was able to start taking action and paying off the debt and changing behaviors, I was able to see like really good success.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, when you mentioned behaviors because we talk about that a lot in Ro, because we talk about that a lot in Roots, we talk about it a lot of this podcast Was there any habits that were like oh my gosh, that were shocking to you? Like one of the things that we have you guys do and we talk about on the show a lot is, you know, going through and looking at your past, spending your expenses, where your money has been going. Was there anything that stood out to you like oh my gosh, I can't believe we're spending this much on this?
Tara Mean:
Yeah, so it's. Where are you at now? There's like a worksheet that you fill out and you put all your debt and then, when you like, add it all up. It is very surprising. It's eye opening. And when I did that, it was just it actually became addicting to pay off the debt. Like when I got on and started like looking at stuff and paying off stuff, it was very addictive. I'm like, oh, I paid off another one. I was able to get rid of this. It was good, awesome.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, that's awesome. So talk about you have kids 13 and 14. Obviously, kids they cost money. Right, they can be expensive. What did they have to say about this new plan that you guys got on?
Tara Mean:
Well, my daughter is very I want to say frugal with her money. Like, for example, if I give her money to spend, she'll like save some of it. She's very smart with money. Um, and even my husband like talks to them about money. They talk about what we were doing. I said, oh, guess what? I paid off the truck, Like I just paid off our truck this week. And she goes oh, dad already told me. So they're kind of on board with the things so that we can reach our goals and go on vacations and have money for things that they want to do so they're totally on board yeah.
Brad Nelson:
I love that. Again, like I said, getting your husband on board. How did that go? Was he excited about it at first, or was he like a little cautious? What is this? What were his thoughts on it?
Tara Mean:
Okay, so first he was very skeptical. Like we did not have joint bank accounts, we had our money separate. I did the training for Harmony for couples.
Brad Nelson:
Oh, yeah, yeah, training for.
Tara Mean:
Harmony for couples. So I did the training. We held hands, we looked in each other's eyes and I said let's do this, because he saw like what I had paid off in. You know, when I first started and I helped him pay off some of the debt that he had, I said let's do this. And so we were paying off. His debt was our debt, but we were paying it off. And then we combined our finances sometime last year and then it just went from there Like we joined bank accounts. We had some really great progress in of December of last year, of last year, starting in December, we had paid off $22,447 in debt in December.
Brad Nelson:
That was from July through December.
Tara Mean:
From July to November I paid off over $15,000. But then another year has gone by and then in December we paid off $22,000. But since then, since December, we paid off $34,954 in debt. So credit card debt, loans, truck payment. So now all the credit cards are paid, the loans are paid. We have one car payment now. Everything is paid. I can't believe it.
Brad Nelson:
How does that feel when you see that?
Tara Mean:
It is the most amazing feeling. And my husband, he's just as addicted as I am in paying off the debt. I'm like can I pay off the loan? Because I think we paid off the loan maybe last week. I think it was like $3,500 last week and then we paid off $2,600 this week for the truck. So yeah, it's just, it's an addiction.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you guys have paid off tens of thousands of dollars, right? And what you're talking about is the addiction of like it just feels great, right. It's like just freedom, right. It's just it's incredible to be able to see that kind of progress, especially when you struggle and you don't really make any progress. Now you're starting to see it. You're right, you definitely do get addicted to it. And from a relationship standpoint, when it comes to financial conversations, I'm guessing, because now you guys combine finances conversations probably are a lot better nowadays, right?
Tara Mean:
Much better. He's totally on board. He's much happier now. He can sleep at night. Before he was probably very stressed. He couldn't sleep, you know, having all this debt over his head. So, yeah, we do have a house as well in Florida, so we have to figure that out. But as far as our credit card debt and loan debt, we don't want it anymore.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, now you mentioned building your emergency fund. Obviously it's one of the first kind of like small goals that we give our members to do is build that $1,000 to $3,000 emergency fund. Can you share some things that helped you build that, because people are probably asking, like, how did Tara do this? Like paid off tens of thousands of dollars, built an emergency fund. She was not making progress before she started, so like, was there things that you did that helped you build that really quickly, you think, was there things?
Tara Mean:
that you did. That helped you build that really quickly. You think, well, we used our tax return to help build it as well and so I would put money in there. I used some of the money to pay the debt, but this year with our tax return I think we got about 18,000 back, but in our emergency fund now we have over 33,000. So we used our tax return, our bonuses you know like his bonuses and we put it in there. We could feel good about it. We have like a nice nest egg and then just this one little car payment.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, yeah, and that number. Looking at that number and that savings account, man, you talk about being able to breathe right and just knowing like, hey, we've got money in the bank in case something comes up. I mean, you just go through life in a much different way, much better mental health, like less stress. Man, good for you guys. And again, you guys got started in July of 2023 in that area. So we're talking coming up on your two-year mark, essentially Two-year it's doable.
Tara Mean:
It's really good. You have to stay engaged with the program because it helps keep you motivated. Do your Roots 15. Do your action items. It all helps, everything helps, or we wouldn't be here.
Brad Nelson:
Well, I love that. So did you tell anybody else that you were doing this? I mean, obviously you're on the podcast. People are going to know you're doing it now, but does anyone know that you're doing it? Was anyone kind of like you're doing what? You joined a program to help you get out of debt. That's weird. Anyone say anything to you about that?
Tara Mean:
Yeah, so for some people maybe they live like that. They think it's normal. Other people are maybe are better with money. But I talked to my sister-in-law about it and every time I pay like something, I let her know about it. So she had given me a book. It was probably a Dave Ramsey book. And I read it, but she read the book too and there's no progress. So it's a great book, like I love the book, but this program actually helped me because it helped me stay accountable.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, and I want to hit on that because you're right Even listening to this podcast, listening to a podcast, reading a book there's nothing wrong with that. Education, getting positive information into your mind, is all great stuff. The hard part is doing the work that you're learning about. That's where people struggle, and you mentioned, obviously, roots helped you stay accountable to it. Can you talk a little bit about that? What are the things in there that helped you keep your feet to the fire on what you guys were doing?
Tara Mean:
Yeah, so the weekly meetings. It just gives you weekly reminders like, okay, debt is a trap, or whatever the meeting is that week. You're learning about snowball or you're learning about your emergency fund. It gives you reminders every week and then from there, you have your Friday celebrations. I look forward to that like the most, the Friday celebrations, because I'm like this is what I did this week. It helps you. It gives you things to work on, like whether it's building your emergency fund, not using any credit card. There's challenges. Yeah, it's great. It definitely helped, or I wouldn't be.
Tara Mean:
We're in the position I am today.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, it's so good. So I mean looking at where you're at now versus when you started, would you have ever believed that with your experience with money, that you would have ever made this kind of progress in this time period?
Tara Mean:
No, I think it would have taken much longer, many years, many, many years. I would have been probably stuck for a long time.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, well, it's awesome. Tara, I just want to thank you again for jumping on and sharing. I think what you guys have been able to do just in less than 10 years is proof. Even today, like in the economic times that we're in, with expenses, the way that they are normal everyday, people still can make great progress and you guys are just proof of that. And you're right. You guys had to do the work and I'm proud of you guys for being willing to stand up and do that work, because that's hard work. What you guys have done is a big deal and it's going to just have this tremendous payback for you guys for the rest of your lives and super proud of what you guys have been able to do.
Tara Mean:
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, absolutely All right. Guys, if you're ready to break free from living paycheck to paycheck, you want to start getting results like Tara just talked about. You want to reduce stress. You want to build savings. You want to pay off tens of thousands of dollars of debt, but again, maybe, pay off tens of thousands of dollars of debt, but again, maybe you're just not sure where to get started. Don't worry, I've got you covered. Simplify my Money is sent to you each and every Sunday to your email. It is your step-by-step roadmap to better financial control. You're also going to learn some easy-to-follow strategies to manage your money effectively. You're also going to get stress-free money decisions that are going to help you simplify your financial life with proven tips that actually work, and you're going to gain the tools and the confidence to tackle your financial goals head on.
Tara Mean:
Sign up for Simplify my Money by clicking the link, at the bad things that may be. Let's talk about debt.
Announcer:
Let's talk about debt. Tune into.
Tara Mean:
Debt Free. Debt Tune into Debt Free.
Brad Nelson:
Debt. That's all means it's time for the celebrations of the show, and today we are kicking it off with Laura. Laura says I added $75 to my emergency fund last week. I'm working hard at selling things on Marketplace Only $925 more to go. My goal is to post at least five items per day, laura way to go and way to focus on income-producing activities. I love that.
Brad Nelson:
Tammy says my win this week is that I paid off two smaller medical bills. I added $500 to my savings and set aside $500 more for a new backdoor, currently working on my next month's budget. Tammy, congratulations to you. Awesome wins. And last but not least is Tiffany. Tiffany says going on vacation and paying 100% cash. She says I also just paid off my next credit card on the debt snowball list. Tiffany, amazing, amazing wins. Hey, as always, guys, congratulations to all of you guys who are taking a stand for your financial life and you're wanting better. Hey, we get that. Getting out of debt isn't easy, but with our help and with your consistency and discipline, we promise you guys, this will be some of the best work that you guys do in your entire life. Thanks for joining us on today's show and we will see you guys on the next episode.
Announcer:
Thanks for listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast. Connect with us on Facebook, tiktok, youtube and Instagram. Just search Debt-Free Dad. If you found value in today's episode, please leave us a rating and review. We so appreciate it. For resources, show notes and links mentioned in today's show visit debtfreedadcom. Catch you next week.
