How to Pay Off Debt Forever in 8 Simple Steps — Transcript

64 million Americans have debt sitting in collections right now. They aren't just behind on a payment, but are in actual collections. These are mispayments. You have phone calls, late fees compounding on top of each other, and the worst part is that sick feeling every time you open up your banking app. Nobody ends up in this situation because they wanted to, obviously. They end up there because nobody ever taught them a system that actually works. Well, you're in luck because I've created this video to show you an eight-step system on how to get out of debt fast and stay out for good.

feeling every time you open up your banking app. Nobody ends up in this situation because they wanted to, obviously. They end up there because nobody ever taught them a system that actually works. Well, you're in luck because I've created this video to show

Okay, so here is the truth. Okay, here's a character named James. Step one is about gaining clarity. So, pull up every single debt you have: credit cards, student loans, medical bills, the $200 you owe your buddy from 3 years ago that you both have been pretending just doesn't exist. So, write all of it down with three data points per debt. You have the total balance, the interest rate, and the minimum monthly payment. So, look at James. Two credit cards and a car loan. The minimums look manageable until you see 22% and 27% sitting in that middle column.

Okay, so here is the truth. Okay, here's a character named James. Step one is about gaining clarity. So, pull up every single debt you have, credit cards, student loans, medical bills, the $200 you owe your buddy from 3 years ago that

That interest rate is crushing him mathematically. It's the reason people make payments for years and feel like they're going nowhere. So, if he were to pay off this debt, he's making a guaranteed tax-free, uh, rate of return, guaranteed rate of return of 22 and 27%. So, by taking this first step, you gain clarity and understand what your plan of attack will be moving forward. Before I get into the rest of this video, check out my 7-day money roadmap that I created for free. It helps you do all of this and much more. It's a spreadsheet that will help get your money in order and it's going to do that effortlessly.

The minimums look manageable until you see 22% and 27% sitting in that middle column.

So, check it out in the link below or check out this QR code right here. Okay, [snorts] so step number two is figuring out your plan of attack. There are two proven methods of debt paydown. They're called the debt snowball and the debt avalanche. The debt snowball has you paying off the smallest balance first regardless of interest rate, and this basically gives you a quick win early which helps you build momentum, and that feeling of actually finishing starts happening. It starts keeping you going.

So, by taking this first step, you gain clarity and understand what your plan of attack will be moving forward. Before I get into the rest of this video, check out my 7-day money roadmap that I created for free. It helps you do all of

So, research also backs this up. Early wins matter more than people think when it comes to sticking with a payoff plan. The debt avalanche method has you attack the highest interest rate first which is mathematically correct and which is why I started over here. So, you pay less total interest and you're done faster on paper. So, numbers-driven people who don't need the psychological win should go to avalanche. Everyone else should use the snowball method. What actually matters is that you pick one and that you stick with it. Switching methods every few weeks because you read something new is how people spend 3 years making payments and end up in the same place all over again. So, one final thing before you move on. Call your credit card company, tell them you're aggressively paying down your balance and want a lower rate. Tell them you've been a customer for years and that other cards are offering better rates and then ask them to match it. Just a few percent here or a few percent there will help.

So, check it out in the link below or check out this QR code right here. Okay, [snorts] so step number two is figuring out your plan of attack. There are two proven methods of debt paydown. They're called the debt snowball and the debt

It doesn't work every time, but when it does, it could save thousands of dollars in interest on a 5-minute phone call over the length of this debt paydown. So, again, snowball, smallest balance to largest. This helps build momentum. You go from here to here to here. It's like starting a new workout plan or a diet and you start to see results. Or, if you know you just got to get through this and you're a math numbers person or a numbers person, excuse me, you go 27, 22, and then 9 in that order. Okay, number three is an even easier way and I call this the lazy way. I call this the lazy way because motivation is garbage. I mean that. It works for about 3 days and then you're back on the couch 4 hours deep in a Netflix, salt and vinegar chips everywhere, and that extra debt payment that you planned on never happens. The only score going up is the weight on your bathroom scale, okay? So, you need to automate everything. This eliminates the decision-making so that it no longer exists. So, you need to schedule minimum payments on every single debt so late fees never touch you, okay? That's why you have payday, minimum payment, make the minimum at least. Okay, so set up a separate automatic transfer for whatever extra cash you have and send it straight to your priority debt. So, extra cash goes to priority debt, okay? Time both transfers to go out the day after payday before the money sits in your checking account long enough for your brain to find something to spend it on, okay? As you're scrolling through social media and you can't stop buying stuff, okay? Buy it now, Amazon Prime, come on, dude.

So, research also backs this up. Early wins matter more than people think when it comes to sticking with a payoff plan.

So, build this once and your debt drops every single month without you having to even think about it. That's the whole point. So, set it up this week. Better yet, set it up today. I've automated all of my savings withdrawals for over 15 years now and it's worked out well. I have a taxes bucket. I have a travel bucket. I have a house fund. I have an emergency and savings bucket. That way I can look at those buckets and know exactly how much I have to spend on those things. So, this third step is that there's no temptation. This eliminates temptation. So, the example that I like to give is I take a look at my vacation bucket and I either have Turks and Caicos money or I have Myrtle money, okay? And then I know exactly what kind of vacation I can afford or I save from Myrtle Beach money to Turks and Caicos money. And here's a tip, Turks and Caicos sucks. It's overrated.

don't need the psychological win should go to avalanche. Everyone else should use the snowball method. What actually matters is that you pick one and that you stick with it. Switching methods every few weeks because you read something new is how people spend 3

I was there, it was terrible. Go to Aruba, it's much better. Okay, number four is freeing up extra cash. This is common sense. So, paying off debt does not require suffering, okay? I cannot stand those personal finance channels that say, "Cut out the $3 coffee. Eat ramen every night. Become pre-diabetic eating junk food to save $3." Stop it.

been a customer for years and that other cards are offering better rates and then ask them to match it. Just a few percent here or a few percent there will help.

If you're carrying $20,000 in credit card debt, you probably shouldn't be booking a $5,000 vacation. That's common sense. But eating cold ramen with the lights off isn't a strategy, it's misery and misery isn't a healthy long-term strategy. So, go find the money where you're already wasting it. Unused subscriptions are the first place to look. The streaming service you haven't opened since last spring, the app pulling $11 a month since you signed up for a free trial in 2021, cancel them today. The only subscription you should have active is WhiteBoard Finance University, then call your insurance providers, okay, and tell them you're shopping for better rates, or use policygenius.com. They've been sponsoring me for years. I personally use them. The one phone call that has saved people hundreds [snorts] of dollars a year is this one right here. Look for big wins, okay? And then finally, look at food delivery and impulse spending, okay? Not to beat yourself up, even though you probably should. Just look in the mirror to do that. But just see what's actually happening. Most people find at least $500 a month across those three categories right here. So, some find actually a lot more. So, that's $500 a month going to the debt payoff instead of just disappearing into the abyss. Now, let's talk about why a higher income is more important than saving, but before that, here's a word from today's sponsor, Policygenius.

So, again, snowball, smallest balance to largest. This helps build momentum. You go from here to here to here. It's like starting a new workout plan or a diet and you start to see results. Or, if you know you just got to get through this

Summer's coming up, and I've got a lot going on with my girls. Trips, long weekends, backyard time with the family. But before all of that, I knocked one important thing off my plate that gave me a lot of peace of mind heading into the season. We spend a lot of time talking about building wealth on this channel, but there's another side of that story that most people ignore until it's too late, and that's protecting what yo

lazy way because motivation is garbage. I mean that. It works for about 3 days and then you're back on the couch 4 hours deep in a Netflix, salt and vinegar chips everywhere, and that extra debt payment that you planned on never

happen. The only score going up is the weight on your bathroom scale, okay? So, you need to automate everything. This eliminates the the decision-making so that it no longer exists. So, you need to schedule minimum payments on every

single debt so late fees never touch you, okay? That's why you have payday, minimum payment, make the minimum at least. Okay, so set up a separate automatic transfer for whatever extra cash you have and send it straight to

your priority debt. So, extra cash goes to priority debt, okay? Time both transfers to go out the day after payday before the money sits in your checking account long enough for your brain to find something to spend it on, okay? As

you're scrolling through social media and you can't stop buying stuff, okay? Buy it now, Amazon Prime, come on, dude.

So, build this once and your debt drops every single month without you having to even think about it. That's the whole point. So, set it up this week. Better yet, set it up today. I've automated all of my savings withdrawals for over 15

years now and it's worked out well. I have a taxes bucket. I have a travel bucket. I have a house fund. I have an emergency and savings bucket. That way I can look at those buckets and know exactly how much I have to spend on

those things. So, this third step is that there's no temptation. This eliminates temptation. So, the example that I like to give is I take a look at my vacation bucket and I either have Turks and Caicos money or I have Myrtle

money, okay? And then I know exactly what kind of vacation I can afford or I save from Myrtle Beach money to Turks and Caicos money. And here's a tip, Turks and Caicos sucks. It's overrated.

I was there, it was terrible. Go to Aruba, it's much better. Okay, number four is freeing up extra cash. This is common sense. So, paying off debt does not require suffering, okay? I cannot stand those personal finance channels

that say, "Cut out the $3 coffee. Eat ramen every night. Become pre-diabetic eating junk food to save $3." Stop it.

If you're carrying $20,000 in credit card debt, you probably shouldn't be booking a $5,000 vacation. That's common sense. But eating cold ramen with the lights off isn't a strategy, it's misery and misery isn't a healthy long-term strategy. So, go find the money where

you're already wasting it. Unused subscriptions are the first place to look. The streaming service you haven't opened since last spring, the app pulling $11 a month since you signed up for a free trial in 2021, cancel them today. The only subscription you should

have active is WhiteBoard Finance University, then call your insurance providers, okay, and tell them you're shopping for better rates, or use uh policygenius.com. They've been sponsoring me for years. I personally use them. The one phone call that has

saved people hundreds [snorts] of dollars a year is this one right here. Look for big wins, okay? And then finally, look at food delivery and impulse spending, okay? Not to beat yourself up, even though you probably should. just look in the mirror to do

that. But just see what's actually happening. Most people find at least $500 a month across those three categories right here. So, some find actually a lot more. So, that's $500 a month going to uh the debt payoff instead of just disappearing into the

abyss. Now, let's talk about why a higher income is more important than saving, but before that, here's a word from today's sponsor, Policygenius.

Summer's coming up, and I've got a lot going on with my girls. Trips, long weekends, backyard time with the family.

But before all of that, I knocked one important thing off my plate that gave me a lot of peace of mind heading into the season. We spend a lot of time talking about building wealth on this channel, but there's another side of

that story that most people ignore until it's too late, and that's protecting what you've already built. I've got two little girls and a house, and the older they get, the more I think about this.

If something happened to me tomorrow, heaven forbid, they'd still need to be taken care of. That's not a fun thing to think about, but it is a real thing to think about. Life insurance is the answer to that problem, and the reason

most people don't have it, or don't have enough of it, is that they assume it's expensive or complicated to figure out.

Policygenius is a marketplace that lets you compare life insurance quotes from America's top insurers in just a few clicks. They lay out your options clearly, their coverage amounts, prices, terms, there's no guesswork. Their licensed agents walk you through the

whole thing and handle all the paperwork. With Policygenius, you can find 20-year life insurance policies starting at just $276 a year for $1 million in coverage.

That's less than a dollar a day to make sure your family doesn't lose everything if you're not around. Protect the life you've built. Head to policygenius.com/whiteboardfinance or click the link in the description to compare free quotes and see how much you

could save. That's policygenius.com/whiteboardfinance. Number five, the most common sense advice I'm going to give you in this entire video, earn more money. Cutting expenses has a floor, so you can only cut so much. Income does not. Income doesn't have a ceiling, okay? I've been

talking about this for years on this channel. Increasing your income when you're financially literate, I want to focus on this because some people have a problem with me saying this. When you're financially literate, it's exponentially better than saving more. There, I said

it. Personal finance, no, you got to eat ramen in the dark. Listen to me, make more money and don't be an idiot. Even $200 a month changes your payoff trajectory in a serious way. $500 a month can cut years off of it, okay? So,

I drew today, you're in the hole for 20K, 5 years later, you're debt-free, hopefully, cuz you're watching this channel and you downloaded my 7-day roadmap and you joined WhiteBoard Finance University. But if you didn't, plus 500 bucks a month, minus 20K,

tomorrow it's paid off, right? Just for the sake of this drawing. So, what are some ideas? I don't know. Freelancing is usually the fastest path if you already have a skill someone will pay for. This could be writing, design, tutoring,

bookkeeping, video editing, you name it. So, you have something right now that the market values. Side gigs like rideshare or food delivery work if you need cash fast and consistently, but I don't recommend this long-term. At the end of the day, between maintenance on

your car and depreciation, you don't make any money. So, selling things you own is underrated and mentally liberating. Most people have a hundred, sometimes thousands of dollars sitting in a closet or a garage. But, the one people avoid because it's uncomfortable,

ask for a raise at work or start job hopping into higher positions, higher paid positions. If you've been doing good work and haven't had that conversation, you're leaving money on the table every month. If you get a $15,000 a year raise, that's 3,000 more

$5 coffees per year. Whatever extra comes in goes straight to the debt. No lifestyle upgrades, no new subscriptions. The faster you move, the less you pay in total interest. Number six, this needs to be tracked weekly, not monthly, not quarterly, not annually

for sure, weekly, okay? Very simple. Two things kill a debt payoff plan super quick. That's losing visibility into your progress and walking into one of the traps that sends people back to square one. Again, same thing as a diet.

Measure your waist every Sunday, step on a scale every Sunday. You should be stepping on the scale every day, but you know what I mean. Uh for the measurements, definitely every Sunday.

So, 5 minutes, you guys. 5 minutes every Sunday is all it takes. Open your tracker, look at how much the balance dropped, hunt down any recurring charges that snuck in, and acknowledge the progress, okay? Celebrate if you did

well, and then you repeat. So, I again, I created this free 7-day money roadmap for you. All you have to do is put in your email and you'll get it immediately. I highly recommend you check it out. People who check monthly

miss sneaky charges. Uh people who check weekly catch them before they compound, okay? Now, let's talk about the traps. I know I kind of condensed two into one section, but balance transfers, they look incredible on paper. There's 0% APR

for 12 months, but the moment you miss a payment or don't pay off the balance before the promotional window closes, guess what? You get hit with retroactive interest that can be worse than where you started in the first place. So,

these companies are making a calculated bet that you won't finish on time. Paying only the minimums is how banks make their real money off of you. $5,000 at 27% APR minimum payments only, and you're looking at almost 25 years of

payments, and more than triple the original balance paid back. That's a real stat. So, while this is happening, they're sending you credit limit increases and rewards offers to keep you in the cycle, the trap. So, debt relief companies are also the third one to

watch out for. Some are legitimate, a lot of them charge upfront fees to do things you could have done yourself, like calling the creditor and negotiating directly. So, any company that guarantees they can erase your debt overnight is one you should definitely

walk away from. And step seven is never go back, okay? Most people make that final payment, they feel the relief, and they slide right back into the same habits within a year. The debt was gone, but the behavior never changed, okay?

You went on a diet for a little bit, you started to see progress, and then you just became your old self again. You never changed as a person. Again, motivation doesn't last, but discipline does. Three things prevent that from

happening. If credit cards got you into this, try the envelope system, okay? You can try this for a while, or put money in certain buckets, kind of like I do, and you set a spending limit per category. So, here I have groceries,

dining, gas, whatever you have trouble with, okay? If you know you eat out a lot, make an envelope for it. If you know you spend online shopping, on clothes, or whatever, make a category for it. So, uh put physical cash in

labeled envelopes, and when the envelope is empty, that category is done for the month. It's not glamorous, it's probably what your grandma did, but it builds the muscle memory that keeps you from um creeping back into these old habits.

Number two, and credit cards, okay? If that's your issue, the rule is simple. Pay the full balance every single month.

I use multiple credit cards. I have a business credit card, I have an individual credit card, but if you're carrying a balance, you're paying to use their money, okay? They're lending to you. I've sat across from people carrying thousands in credit card debt

at 27% interest who want to talk about their rewards points, or what stock they should buy. Those points are worth less than a penny per dollar spent. Pay the balance, and also build an emergency fund. This is the actual thing that

stops most people from sliding back into debt. The car breaks down, medical bill shows up, the AC dies in July, and you know, without that cushion, this cushion right here, the credit card comes back out, okay? So, start with the $1,000,

build build towards 3 to 6 months of emergency expenses, but again, I actually shoot for 3 to 12. The reason I shoot for 12 is because if you're a commission sales person, or if you're an entrepreneur, or your

income is all over the place, a small business owner, for example, I think 12 months is the safe spot to be in. Okay, let's get into my thoughts at the end of the video, as always. Debt is not a

character flaw. It's a systems problem. I promise you, it's the same thing as overeating, it's the same thing as intaking too many calories than you expend, and guess what? You get fat over time, okay? So, there's two resources I

created. This is not a pitch, but it kind of is, but if I if I genuinely didn't think this could help you, I wouldn't even bring it up. So, if you're if you can't afford 10 bucks a month,

that's what WhiteBoard Finance University is. It's $100 a year, it's ridiculous. It's a joke how cheap it is for the amount of value in there. I have a full budgeting course inside of whiteboardfinance.com.

We use Monarch Money, we use a couple different things. This will completely revamp your finances, I promise you, it's the best money you'll ever spend.

If you can't afford that, or if you don't want to know that my children will have a hot meal tonight, I created a 7-day roadmap for free.

Here's a QR code for the roadmap. I'll leave that on the screen for a little bit. Here's a QR code for WhiteBoard Finance University. I'll leave that on the screen for a little bit. If not, there's links in the description below.

Some of you are watching on a TV, that's why I do QR codes. This is going to help you. This will get you 80% of the way there. If you want live streams with me, trades, long-term investing, real

estate budgeting stocks literally everything that I've done in my life at 38 years old, check this out, I highly recommend it. But remember, just because you have debt, life happens, you guys.

There's zero judgment here. I don't care. Some people have debt, some people don't. My point is is that most of you watching this are smart enough to know that you make enough money, you're just intaking more calories than you spend,

and you're wondering why you're getting fat, why your debt is getting fat. So again, check out these two things. Thank you so much, and as always, hit the bell, subscribe, share the video, notifications. Da da da da da. Share

with 12,000 people. All right, guys. Have a prosperous day. Marko, [snorts] I can't afford $10 a month. I'm not joining Wipe Your Finances University to completely change my life around and live a peaceful, calm anxiety-free debt-free incredible life chilling and drinking

wine on the coast of Montenegro, but it's $10 a month. I'm not going to do it. Sign up for the road map then, you cheap [music]