Debt payoff can be hard when you have a big balance attached to your name. How is it possible to go from $170k in debt to debt free in only a matter of years? Darius Smith did it and shares how you can do it too.

Darius spent time at multiple different colleges, racking up $40,000 in student debt, then buying a Mustang, paying for a wedding, putting some charges on credit cards, and finally combining his wife’s debt with his. They started to use the “debt snowball” method, but after having to take out business loans, the debt grew even more.

This is when Darius decided that he and his wife needed a plan to conquer their finances. They moved into a friend’s extra room for cheaper rent, stopped going out as much, began working more than one job, and siphoned all the money they could into savings and debt payoff. As of July 2021, they are debt-free!

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Join the BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bpmoney
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Visit Wealth is My Worth:
https://www.wealthismyworth.com/
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Darius’ FREE Spreadsheets:
Net Worth Calculator: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wzEzAEMC8Fbj0WF14g7w-6VtYpjH5lbQaZ5aZrAdJwc/edit#gid=0
Debt Pay Off Plan: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gexkYSUm2jglME7FVVpdk2FnNj2YloFTT5z_Yc2OTEU/edit#gid=0
6 Month Spending: Tracker:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RIX4tvsiv9GkYlPBIkFYwgGHTRcfCOH4Ve9EFwg7tto/edit#gid=0
Sinking Funds Tracker: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z5vzlCh5bfW8qrzLUL8Tj0NwUb0a1GkhKaNGkrJkTOg/edit#gid=0
Lifetime Earnings Calculator: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JIgCoaaCjW-ah3QI4M6QXi_uDe8nrlL_n0p82jFQy-Q/edit#gid=0
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Get Tickets to BPCon 2021:
https://www.bpcon2021.com/
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Connect with Darius:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darius-j-smith/
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Seth Jones’ Episode of the BiggerPockets Money Show:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-money-podcast-121refinance-wait-ratescoronavirus-impacting-mortgage-market-seth-jones
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Ramit Sethi’s Episodes of the BiggerPockets Money Show:
Episode 73: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-money-podcast-73-ramit-sethi-teach-rich
Episode 127: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-money-podcast-127-ramit-sethi
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Follow Scott and Mindy on Instagram:
@scott_trench or https://www.instagram.com/scott_trench/
@mindyatbp or https://www.instagram.com/mindyatbp/

Episode 221

Show notes at: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow221

0:00 Intro
4:16 Mindy’s Favorite F-Word (Frugality)
9:10 7 Years of College
14:46 The Financial Turning Point
16:58 Having the “Money Conversation”
21:47 Piling On Business Debt
25:08 Higher Income, Lower Expenses, and Back to Vegas
29:00 Attacking the Debt
36:35 Debt Free!
42:02 Pausing Student Loan & Mortgage Payoff
1:04:10 Famous Four
1:12:59 Reviewing Darius’s Story