# You'll never guess how I got out of debt! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926 "2011-06-26T18:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/21 "2011-06-27T16:04:32Z")
Good for you, **Try2B**! I did something similar to pay off my student loans - worked an office job in the day, and did door-to-door charity canvassing at night. I treated it something like a game - I would fiddle with my budgets and plan paycheques and payments down to the penny for hours at a time. I even colour-coded them 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/22 "2011-06-27T17:04:19Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Brilliant idea! You should write a self-help book. I bet all those other people in debt didn’t realize all they had to do was triple their income, and all their problems would be solved. This, I hate to take jabs at the OP, but OF COURSE you will get out of debt if you triple your income. Unless you triple your spending. But what should average Joe making $30k/yr do to get out of debt? I know, he should just find a job paying $90k/yr!!! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/23 "2011-06-27T20:19:27Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > This, I hate to take jabs at the OP, but OF COURSE you will get out of debt if you triple your income. Unless you triple your spending. > > But what should average Joe making $30k/yr do to get out of debt? I know, he should just find a job paying $90k/yr!!! What’s that saying, perfection is the enemy of good? A goodly chunk of people can do a little bit more than they are doing (not all - I understand some people are well and truly maxed out). A little bit here and a little bit there all adds up - it doesn’t all have to be grand gestures. For example, a lot of people spend hundreds of dollars every month on buying coffee and lunches outside the home - making coffee at home and brown-bagging it could go a long way to reducing debt. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/24 "2011-06-27T20:25:13Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > But what should average Joe making $30k/yr do to get out of debt? I know, he should just find a job paying $90k/yr!!! Make bill payments, cut unnecessary expenses, restructure the debt on the most advantageous terms possible, work hard, and fight for a better job with more money. Crap. I was supposed to charge you $500 for that advice. ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/25 "2011-06-27T21:10:46Z")
Live like a college student? Heck, just live like 63.27 percent of the world’s population\* \*Did you know that made up statistics sound more real if they aren’t even numbers? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/26 "2011-06-27T21:39:27Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Make bill payments, cut unnecessary expenses, restructure the debt on the most advantageous terms possible, work hard, and fight for a better job with more money. > > Crap. I was supposed to charge you $500 for that advice. Winning the lottery, inheriting millions from a rich uncle, and marrying a sugar daddy/mama are also good debt reduction tips. I’ll charge you $500 for that, so now we are even. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/27 "2011-06-27T21:43:32Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What’s that saying, perfection is the enemy of good? A goodly chunk of people can do a little bit more than they are doing (not all - I understand some people are well and truly maxed out). A little bit here and a little bit there all adds up - it doesn’t all have to be grand gestures. For example, a lot of people spend hundreds of dollars every month on buying coffee and lunches outside the home - making coffee at home and brown-bagging it could go a long way to reducing debt. Doing a little bit more does not equal tripling income. The OP gave a nice bunch of small tips and oh btw I tripled my income and talked about getting out of debt. If you triple your income you can buy coffee and lunch out every day and still pay down your debt. We are poking fun because it is insanely EASY to pay off debt when you have such good fortunate/dedication to hard work. Most people will not triple their income in their entire lives, even accounting for inflation. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/28 "2011-06-27T21:55:44Z")
If everyone tripled their income wouldn’t everything stay pretty much the same? ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/29 "2011-06-28T00:48:52Z")
Wait. You TRIPLED your income? Barring massive good fortune or access to a new career, that strongly implies, pre-tripling, you were SLACKING OFF! YOU SLACKING SLACKER!! TautologicalCorp does NOT tolerate slackers, because we have no room for slackers! – You could probably raise your income even further by advising them to catch terrorists and shoot bad guys. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/30 "2011-06-28T01:09:20Z")
The advice in the OP sounds a little naive on the surface but I swear there is something to it. Most people that get into financial trouble spend beyond their means but there are people would would do much better by finding a way to make more money than saving on the little that they do have cutting corners any way they can. I see this in all kinds of schemes like expert level coupon cutting and people that drive from store to store to save 5% on an item. I don’t know how much they make but that stuff just isn’t worth it to people with a professional level income in terms of an hourly return. If you are that good at finding deals and micro-managing money, there are actual jobs that work out much better per hour spent in effort. If you want to do it as a hobby anyway after you are done making the most money you can for skills and interest, knock yourself out but some people are missing the forest for the trees. Study or work your way to a better paying job overall and then live the same way you did before. It is easier in many cases. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/31 "2011-06-28T02:39:52Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Stylistically, I assumed the OP was spam, and would end with an invitation to join a pyramid scheme or send $5 to join up with something. I suppose. It might’ve been better presented like this: **You’ll never guess how I got out of debt!** spoilerI increased my revenue! spoilerWho spoiler’da spoilerthunk spoilerit?!? :smack:[/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/32 "2011-06-28T02:42:28Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > Or a $0.99 iPhone app. I can’t help myself around those. Because of my spending cuts, I don’t have the kind of phone that runs apps, and never have. I don’t ‘get’ apps. I couldn’t list more than maybe 3. I certainly am not qualified to peddle them. So now you see how spending cuts destroyed my potential as a ‘job creator’. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/33 "2011-06-28T02:46:00Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Congrats! Getting out of debt is almost as hard as losing weight. Or giving up crack. No I’m just kidding. Really! 🙂 > [@](#): > > My wife and I, just this morning, made our final payment on our biggest credit card balance. Nearly $9k paid off in just under a year. It took a lot of sacrifice and will-power but we got it done. Feels pretty damned good too! > > We’re not totally out of debt, but this was the biggest and it won’t be hard to clean up the rest of our smaller debts. Also, we’ve both increased our incomes significantly over the last six months so we’re doing better in both directions. > > Congrats again! Well congrats to you! What I’m reading into your story is that having paid off this big bill, now you have that much extra money every month to
 save? Spend? Hey whatever, at least you’re not stuck making payments anymore. It is like getting a 1 or 2 hundred bucks a week raise. Nice job! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/34 "2011-06-28T02:51:20Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > This, I hate to take jabs at the OP, but OF COURSE you will get out of debt if you triple your income. Unless you triple your spending. > > But what should average Joe making $30k/yr do to get out of debt? I know, he should just find a job paying $90k/yr!!! Do you want results, or do you want to stay in debt? But to be honest, I tripled a below $30k income. I’m way better off than before, but I am not making **Una Persson** money. Yet. But please, don’t send me any money. Frankly I don’t need any more. I’m sharing this because I love you man 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/35 "2011-06-28T02:53:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Good for you, **Try2B**! I did something similar to pay off my student loans - worked an office job in the day, and did door-to-door charity canvassing at night. I treated it something like a game - I would fiddle with my budgets and plan paycheques and payments down to the penny for hours at a time. I even colour-coded them 🙂 Thank you, thankyouverrymush. I wouldn’t say I went so far as color-coding things, but I certainly was focused. And I did think of it in ‘game terms’ during at least some episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/36 "2011-06-28T02:57:09Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Do you want results, or do you want to stay in debt? Without you giving us some specifics it’s pretty hard to judge whether what you did is applicable to most people in a debt situation. It’s pretty easy to say “triple your income” but for many/most people that’s simply not an option. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/37 "2011-06-28T03:06:55Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Because of my spending cuts, I don’t have the kind of phone that runs apps, and never have. ::slow clap:: ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/38 "2011-06-28T03:30:09Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Brilliant idea! You should write a self-help book. I bet all those other people in debt didn’t realize all they had to do was triple their income, and all their problems would be solved. **Telemark** complained that I’m not giving enough detail. But I have! _All_ my problems? I said I got out of debt, not that I had achieved [Moksha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha): > [@](#): > > In Indian religions, moksha (Sanskrit: à€źà„‹à€•à„à€· mokáčŁa) or mukti (Sanskrit: à€źà„à€•à„à€€à€ż), literally “release” (both from a root muc “to let loose, let go”), is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation. > > In Hinduism, atma-jnana (self-realization) is the key to obtaining moksha. The Hindu is one who practices one or more forms of Yoga - Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Raja > > There are believed to be four Yogas (disciplines) or margas (paths) for the attainment of moksha. These are: working for the Supreme (Karma Yoga), realizing the Supreme (Jnana Yoga), meditating on the Supreme (Raja Yoga) and serving the Supreme in loving devotion (Bhakti Yoga). Different schools of Hinduism place varying emphasis on one path or other, some of the most famous being the tantric and yogic practices developed in Hinduism. If I do that, I’ll start another thread. (No I’m not a Hindu) But I have solved problems like, How do I keep my hot gf full of all the cheese and wine she can eat? How do I get a dignified apartment? How do I plan for the future? You could (though you certainly don’t have to) interpret the foundation to my solution to those questions as being rooted in hatha yoga. I trained myself to be significantly more physically able. Maybe that was a kind of\* petit-moksha\*. Because let’s face it: crawling around as a creature on the surface of this world day in and day out like we all do can be very tiring. Adapting to those physical demands does free a person from a lot of weariness and fatigue- things that frankly are not your friends. Free of those, one can do a whole lotta work, or spend a lotta time pursuing things one enjoys. Or both! ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/39 "2011-06-28T03:37:11Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > If everyone tripled their income wouldn’t everything stay pretty much the same? If you were investing some money from the start, then no, for you it would be much much better. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926/40 "2011-06-28T03:50:13Z")
If you’d rather have a Western example, compare to a struggle with [acedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acedia). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-guess-how-i-got-out-of-debt/586926.md?page=3)