BiggerPockets Money Podcast - 488: How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt FAST ($30K+ in 1 Year!)

Episode Date: January 5, 2024

Today, we’re going to show you how to pay off credit card debt FAST. It isn’t glamorous, and it won’t be easy, but if you can do it, an entire world of wealth-building, opportunity, and financial freedom awaits. So, if you’ve gotthousands in credit card and consumer debt and are tired of feeling shackled to failing finances, get ready to take some notes—this is what it takes to become debt-free!  Brittney Reynolds found herself like many Americans: out of money, maxed out on credit cards, living well above her means, and having no financial independence. She was going on vacations she couldn’t afford, renting in a high-cost-of-living area, seeing her debt climb with every swipe, but realizing too late how much of a problem it was. By the time Brittney faced reality, her credit card debt had ballooned to $36,000. But, instead of ignoring it, she made some drastic life changes. Now, only a few months into her debt payoff journey, Brittney has already paid off $12,000 in credit card debt, with plans to be entirely debt-free by the start of the summer. How will she pay off such a massive amount of debt in under a year? Stick around to hear her strategy; if you’re in a situation like her, you too could be debt-free faster than you think! In This Episode We Cover How to pay off credit card debt FAST, no matter how big your balance is Building wealth as a complete beginner and how to invest when starting from zero The simple ways that we overspend without even realizing it  How not having enough savings can leave you vulnerable in life One move that will help Brittney pay off her debt in record time  Whether to invest, save, do both, or neither while paying off debt And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group Network with Other Investors on The Path to FIRE Through the BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott on BiggerPockets Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! Money Moment How to Pay Down Bad Debt—Fast Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-488   Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email us: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast, my dear listeners, and happy, happy new year. Today, we are talking to Brittany Reynolds, who is a TikToker and has been documenting her journey of paying off over $36,000 in credit card debt. We're going to learn about the decisions that Britt made to pay off that debt super quickly. And we're doing it today, and we're excited to talk about this topic because Americans recently eclipsed $1.08 trillion in credit card debt. And we think that the spreading the story about how Britt is attacking that debt may help you pay off that debt all the faster or avoid it altogether. Hello, hello, hello. And welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast.

My name is Mindy Jensen. And with me as always is my New Year, New Him co-host, Scott Trench. Thanks, Mindy. Great to be here with my New Year Resolute co-host, Mindy Jensen. I think that kind of works. It kind of works. It's a new year. It's brand new.

Welcome to 2024. Brittany Reynolds. Welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast. I am so excited to talk to you today. Thank you. I'm so excited to chat with you guys as well. So Brittany, let's jump right into this. When did you get your first credit cards? Yeah, I got my first credit card, which was a Wells Fargo card when I was, I think, just out of college. So like 2017. How did you find it? Were they on campus? How did I find it? That's a great question. I honestly already had my Wells Fargo checking and I was like, sure. I'll just. do this one, I guess. Like, I didn't put a single, a single thought into it. I was like, that sounds great. How big of a credit limit were you extended in your early 20s? I think it started at about 1,500 and then just like kept increasing and increasing and increasing, not necessarily with the Chase card, but I signed up for a travel card, or with the Wells Fargo. I signed up for a travel card with Chase was where it all really went downhill. Did you sign up for the travel card for

the travel reward so you can earn points and then travel for free? Yeah, I signed up. I was like, great. I surely can spend like $4,000 in the first like three months and get X amount of points. Like, that's awesome. Oh, yeah. It's super easy to spend $4,000. Now, did you pay it off right away? No. I honestly don't think there was ever a time in my credit card journey, like up until now as I'm paying it off where I was actively paying it off. I was just kind of slowly chipping. away a little bit. Did your parents talk about money when you were growing up? Yes, we, I grew up very suburban middle class. So we talked about money. We were very much like T.J. Max family. So we would save a lot on little things, but it was more of like a scary type of topic thinking

about overspending. We never really like bought really expensive things. So I think once I had a credit line and had quote unquote access to that. I was like, yeah, let's buy all the expensive things that I want. So, you know, you got this first one for $1,500. I would love to hear the journey of how you accumulated all this credit card debt starting with like, did you just max that out and then go up? What did you buy? What did that look like? Do you remember all of those things that you spent the money on? Yeah, yes and no. I think in the very beginning, it was just kind of random purchases, maybe like lunch with a friend, going to get drinks. And then again, once I got the Chase travel card, I saw that as a way to put my big purchases on there, basically

just like financing any like big purchase that I had. So a lot of it was a mix between travel. So I would really, really overspend on Airbnb's. I was very much because I didn't live like a luxury lifestyle growing up, I was like, I want luxury. So when I was traveling, I was like, why would I book, like, just a regular Airbnb? I want to book an Airbnb that's like really nice and makes me feel this way and whatnot all for like the aesthetic, basically. And those would run me like $2,000 for just like lodging for the Airbnb. And then on top of that, like I never had any rules for myself when I was traveling. I was like, whatever. Like, I'm on vacation. like I'm going to spend whatever I want.

And then some other really big purchases were furniture. When I moved out from roommates in the Bay Area, I got my own apartment, which the apartment was a totally price. It was 1750 for a one bedroom in the Bay Area, which was like an incredible deal, honestly. So I bought an infamous $4,000 couch, which wasn't originally. I bought it as, it was a modular couch. I bought the first three pieces and then they discontinued the color. And I was like, oh, no. So now I need to buy the fourth piece.

So it ended up being like, I don't know, I think like $4,800 or something. And it didn't even fit in my apartment. Wow. Do you still have the couch? I still have the couch. The couch is in my storage, you know, right now. Yeah. The couch, I always joke.

I'm like, the couch is coming with me to my grave. Like, I am keeping this couch forever. But I also have. have like such a love, hate every single time someone, like, came to my apartment and compliment on the couch. I was like, that couch. Oh, I, I, I think it's, it's both horrible and great.

It's the symbol of kind of this part of your journey here. And, and I think it symbolizes a lot about this, this period of, of accumulation, um, of debt accumulation and credit card debt. So thank you for sharing all of this. Tax season is one of the only times all year when most people actually look at their full financial picture, including income, spending, saving,

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I was in a relationship in the Bay. living with my partner. Rent was just like extremely high. I had at that time, like, maxed all of my cards because I just could not keep up with paying rent and paying bills. And my credit card minimums were outrageous. My Chase card, I believe my minimum was like 700 and something for the month. So the relationship also was just like not like mentally healthy for me. And so I knew I needed to end the relationship, but I also knew that I didn't have savings or literally anything to move out on my own if I was going to do that. So I knew in my gut that I was like, I'm, I got to call my mom. Got to go my mom and I need to like make this choice for myself. And like, yeah, a lot, it's a huge

180 of just like leaving the Bay Area, moving back down to Southern California, moving back with my parents. But I knew that, like, for so many different reasons, that was what I had to do. When you first got your credit cards, did you know how they worked? And did you understand, like, interest and realize how high the interest was? Or did you just look at the card and be like, hey, hey, I mean, because I did. Yeah. Yeah. I think in the very beginning, I was really afraid of them. In the very beginning, I was like, okay, like, I remember I had a friend who had a credit card. She had a Nordstrom rack credit card. And she would talk about like her credit card balance. And I was like, that's so stressful. Like I would never do that. Like that is such a memory in my, my early credit card days.

And I think I just got really desensitized to it as time passed and as the debt grew higher. I was like, you know what? Like, sure, I'm in this credit card debt. I'm going to pay it off someday. I don't know. I don't know exactly how. but you just kind of, I feel like people hear, because my number that I had before I started actively paying it off was 36,000. And people hear that number and they're like, that's so crazy. Like to me, I was so familiar with that number because it had just like slowly accumulated. And I was like, well, yeah, it's high. Like, it's high. I know that it is. But yeah, I just got desensitized. I think that that's not an unusual journey in this or an unusual, like, reaction to this in this, you know, debt accumulation phase that so many people find themselves in.

And I'm so thankful that you have gone on TikTok to share your journey with other people because there can be a lot of shame in this I have debt mindset. And, you know, the, the idea that you have this debt and, well, I guess that's just how my life is going to be. I'm never going to get out of debt. So why would I bother paying it off? I'm just going to keep accumulating it. And then, you know, at some point, it just becomes this like I can't even function.

I'm so lost. And I love the part of your story that I love the most. Spoiler alert to all of our listeners is that you moved back home with your parents to pay off your debt. What was the impetus behind that? Was it was it the relationship in the? the Bay Area that was just not healthy and like coupled with the debt. Yeah, yeah, it was definitely a mix of both because, I mean, obviously I was so sick of being

in this credit card debt. And I was like, I looking at what I make, because I make like a pretty solid income and then factoring in like, okay, if I move back in with my parents, I will be able to pay down at minimum $4,000 a month. And so for the first time, I feel like I was able to plan for the future, whereas when you're in credit card debt, like, you just kind of can't because you're like, well, I like, I want to move. I was ready to move from the Bay Area, but I was like, I don't have hop up and move money. Like moving is so expensive. Even moving back in with my parents, it was like $800 for the U-Haul to drive my stuff down. And it's like, okay, that was my like final big purchase on my credit cards.

I was like, we're putting the U-Haul and then we're stopping. Like, we're stopping forever. So, you know, what I've noticed with a number of people who amass debt is a, you almost kind of stop looking at it. And you don't even like think about it. You don't know the balance. You don't want to look. You're kind of afraid to know.

And it just kind of compounds. And that's how it goes on for a period of years. Is that paralleling, you know, any part of your journey? Was that how you approached it for some time leading up to that? Yeah, I think I was addicted to looking at my debt. Like, I was addicted to, like, checking my bank accounts and checking my expenses. And I still am. Like, I feel like I'm logging in sometimes multiple times a day to, like, look at my accounts.

It just really became, like, my whole entire identity of just like, oh, I'm always thinking about it. Like, when I go out and get drinks with a friend, I'm always thinking about it. Or, like, I don't know. It was kind of the opposite of just addiction to the whole. the whole thing. Wow. So, you know, I would say that's unusual, right, at least in my experiences, a lot of folks just don't, don't want to look and don't know. But your experience is almost like, I can't help myself. I'm watching it go up and up and up with it. And so all the more impressive

that you were able to just pivot, you know, turn the corner, pivot and begin attacking it. When did you move back in and make this change? Yeah, I moved back in officially in the beginning of August. So the relationship ended. We were in a lease. And so we had to break the lease, which thankfully, we were able to, we just had to find someone to fill the apartment. And that was, it's funny, that was kind of like the turning point where I realized that I wanted to end the relationship. I was like, before I had even really thought about it, I was Googling, like, how to break a lease. And I was like, okay, like, I think there's something here. So, yeah, officially moved back in August and started like really, really,

really actively paying it off. Awesome. And how much have you paid off so far? Um, I have paid off, I think about like 12,000. So I started at 36. I'm now at 23. That's awesome. That's fantastic. Watching that, it feels like I, similar to how I felt like looking at the number, I almost feel desensitized towards the fact that that's like so much money. Like the fact that I'm like able to pay it off so quickly. I'm like, yeah, like I feel like I have to sit and be and remind myself to be, like, proud of that progress because it's like, it's just such a big number. Yeah. What is the day-to-day life like for you? You know, was there an abrupt change? I mean, obviously, you moved back in with your parents, but are you, is it just like all work and no

fun right now? Are you just grinding out this debt until it's gone? Or is it pretty manageable? And if so, what's the change been, like, from before the move? A complete 180. Like, my life looks so wildly different than what it looked like in the Bay Area, which was really, really difficult to adjust to, like, right when I moved back in with my parents, because I was like, oh, my gosh, like, I'm someone who was so surrounded by friends and community, and I don't know anyone who lives by my parents anymore. So I moved back in, and I was like, whoa, like, I am isolated right now. So, but honestly, I kind of needed that after, like, after, after, living in the Bay Area, going through a breakup. I was like, you know what? Like, I'm going to lean

into this right now. I'm going on a lot of walks. I am cooking dinner with my parents, just like hanging out and reconnecting as adults, which has been fun. So it's like, I just always am reminding myself, like, it's temporary. I am going to be, like, come back into my own, like, identity again. But right now I feel like very, like, stripped, sort of. Awesome. And remind us what what you do for work. Yeah. I work in brand marketing. Brand marketing. And this is a remote job that allows you to work from from home yeah so very very very thankful for that um my work was like very understanding about moving and um the whole process there so it's been and they know all about the tic-tok and everything which is fun that's awesome so well let's let's talk about tic-tok that's how

we found you um why did you start talking about this on tic-tok why did you choose to share your journey I honestly don't even remember, like, thinking through at all posting, like, the initial video that I posted about my credit card debt. I was just, like, I'm going to be, like, this is random. Like, I'm just going to, like, talk about this because I think it's interesting that I, like, am moving back with my parents, whatnot. Who knows? And then that video, like, quickly went viral for several reasons. Like, half of the comments, I would say were, like, this girl's an idiot. Like, she sucks.

She's stupid. And then half of the comments. all those people suck. Horrible. Like, it was, it was horrible. Um, I mean, I found, like, I thought it was funny, honestly. Like, I didn't really, like, they were annoying comments, but it didn't really, like, affect me much mentally because I was like, you know what, like, whatever. They can think what they want about the whole situation. Uh, but it's just, again, like, the shame spiral that so many people go into with debt. There's so much misinformation and people are always like, oh, well, if you're in this debt, it must be because you did, you had this like emergency or whatever. And it's like,

okay, sometimes people just overspend and like, was it the smartest decision I've ever made? No, like, of course not. I'm not saying like those choices I made were good. I'm just saying they are what they are. And like, let's just call them what they are and pay off the debt. So it's been interesting. Well, and you're not even remotely the first person that has ever found themselves in debt. And quite frankly, when you said people thought 36,000 was a lot. I'm like, I kind of think that's low. I've spoken to a lot of people who have way more debt than you. So for people to say, oh, you're so stupid.

First of all, anybody who says that, you're stupid. You are wrong. This happens to a lot of people. And, you know, it's real nice to sit there behind your keyboard and be all mean. But Brittany is a real person. And she's doing a lot of good by sharing her journey because I'm sure you have also gotten comments that say, hey, I'm in the same position. And it's so nice to hear from somebody who is doing the same things I'm doing.

and, you know, I don't feel so alone. Definitely. Yeah, I think now as it's moved past that first initial video, most of everything is like very positive. And it's like this fun community of people who are like, I'm getting these messages that are like making me tear up. Like so like I've never like been able to feel okay before. And it's like, it's amazing. So it's been really fun to connect. And so after that initial video, I was like, you know what, like something. And there's like a community here. And, let's just like pay off my debt like all together on the other end of it too like I'm isolated I'm in my parents house now it's fun to have this sort of like internet community what um what strategy are you using to pay off your debt I assume that this debt is not all one giant balance at one

interest rate there's probably multiple tiers of it on different cards and different interest like how are you approaching it and what's the order of operations yeah so there to start was three cards my first credit card that I ever got, the Wells Fargo card, the Chase travel card, and then another Wells Fargo card, which I did a balance transfer for. So my initial strategy was, it was kind of random. I paid off the smallest one because I was like, I want to like wipe one out. And now I'm going to the highest interest rate, which is Chase and chipping away at that one. And then my Wells Fargo, the other Wells Fargo card is a zero interest card, so I'm paying that one off last. Awesome.

The debt's Nova Lynch. Yes. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. I know. I was like, you know what? And it's just, it was so interesting.

I mean, you get like a million and a half different like feedback and advice from like everyone in the comments. And it's really interesting. People are like, you have to do it this way. And you have to do it this way. And I'm like, I'm just going to try to do it. You know, it's, I love that mentality because like the game is keep generating. $4,000 a month in cash to pay off your debt. And it doesn't matter. It will impact you by a matter

of a week or two, potentially, whatever strategy you pick. And so I love it. It's just like there's no, there's no point in using brain power against that. It's whatever feels right. Yeah, I think people get really in the weeds with paying off their debt and trying to figure out like what the exact method is. I think there are absolutely strategies you can utilize and like different things you can utilize like a balance transfer or like personal loan or whatnot. But that's, doesn't work for everyone. And I think just got to simplify it a little bit. So when will you be debt free? I will be debt free by June. Awesome. You know, that could be May 28th if you followed the optimal, just, that's fantastic. We're super excited. Could be May, yeah, May 30th. If I do this,

if I do what Joe said in Arkansas. Yeah. No, that, that's fantastic. And so what are you going to do with you're debt free? What's the, what comes after that? So it's interesting. So it's interesting. because I'm just trying to figure that out. I'm like, haven't really even been able to conceptualize what my life looks like debt-free. So it's like, okay, I make a good amount of money. I am going to obviously build up a little bit of savings before I move out from my parents' house, which I'll be able to like fairly quickly without putting $4,000 onto my credit card. So the plan is to move to L.A. after, which is about an hour and a half away from my parents. I'm so excited for you. Look at this. You could have stayed in the Bay Area, moved out and moved in with a friend, and then chipped away at your debt little bit by little bit, while also probably still accumulating debt because you're there with your friends and that's where everybody is, you know, everybody goes out. And friends give you a lot of peer pressure to spend money. And it's it's a lot easier to not spend money when you're not being.

constantly bombarded by, you know, hey, you want to go out? You want to go out? No. It's, you know, sometimes it's hard to say no. And there's, you know, the shame abhor the word shame when it comes to money because we're not taught about this. Like how much money, how many money courses did you have in high school and college? Zero. Literally. No. None. Zero. So same. So we're not taught about this. And then you're thrust into the world and hey, here's your first paycheck. and you're like, wow, that's a lot of money. And then the next paycheck comes and you're like, oh, yeah, I got to pay rent. Okay, well, that's this paycheck.

But then I also have to eat. I'll just put it on my credit card. And then, oh, electric. I got to put my electric bill on my credit card and so on and so on. And then all of a sudden, you're $36,000 in debt. And you're like, how did I find myself in $36,000 in debt? I don't know how I'm going to pay this off. I guess this is just my life now.

And I think that a lot of people go down that route. you said in one of the videos that I watched, you said, we have a plan. Who is we? Me and the girly is on my TikTok. I'm like, I feel like it's just like a little community where it's like we're all, I don't know, I always try to remind people like we're literally all doing life for the first time. Like all of our first times doing everything that we're doing. So it's, it takes time to learn. Yeah. I don't know. It's been like such a. interesting, interesting journey. I love that. Tax season is one of the only times all year when most people actually look at their full financial picture, including income, spending, savings, investments, the whole thing. And if you're like most folks, it can be a little eye-opening. That's why I like Monarch. It helps you see exactly where your money is going and more importantly, where your taxed refund can make the biggest impact. Because the goal isn't just to look backward, it's to actually

make progress. Simplify your finances with Monarch. Monarch is the all-in-one personal finance tool designed to make your life easier. It brings your entire financial life, including budgeting, investments, net worth, and future planning together in one dashboard on your phone or your laptop. Feel aware and in control of your finances this tax season and get 50% off your Monarch's subscription with the code pockets. What I personally like is that Monarch keeps you focused on achieving, not just tracking. You can see your budgets, debt payoff, savings goals, and net worth all in one place.

So every decision actually moves in Edle. Achieve your financial goals for good with Monarch, the all-in-one tool that makes money management simple. Use the code Pock at Monarch.com for half off your first year. That's 50% off at Monarch. mark.com code pockets. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast?

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literally anything else before I started paying off my credit card debt. So, yeah, as far as, like, other things I want to do, I have a high yield savings account, which I'm excited about. I would love to learn more about investing. I don't know anything about it, really. Like, I understand that it builds a lot of wealth, but I don't really know, like where, I mean, like, Mindy, like you were saying, it's like, where to, I don't even know where to begin. and like what to look at, you know.

Oh, Brittany, we're going to be such best friends. I love that. Let's do it. Can I put one bug in your ear about an idea to explore? When you move to L.A., L.A. has a new rule, I believe, that allows 80Us to be built in many houses. If you can find a house, that makes sense. You know, you can put down 5% once you get out of your debt. Your income's pretty good, it sounds like, to be able to pay $4,000 on that. You might be able to buy a house.

And if you bought a house that moved into one of the ADUs, you might be able to rent out the main house and cover most or all of your mortgage, depending on how much research you do and all those different types of things. And that can be a really powerful way to free up things and you still get to have all the ways. We call it house hacking. And we're a real estate nerds. So we love all that stuff. Do you have a 401K at your K company? Do you invest anything into your 401K? Do you contribute anything?

A small amount. So I decrease. it, I think I'm contributing like 3% or something of my paycheck to my 401K. I feel like the temporary decrease in that for this like short amount of time was well worth it to me. I'm like, that's not going to like affect my my future really. I think, again, people get really nervous with stuff like a 401k or like, I have to always be contributing. Like, this is my future and totally. Like I think that 401K is great and important. You should. have one, but also, like, my priority right now is getting the debt down my retirement fund.

So, you know, arguing with Joe from Arkansas again here on this point. I just, I love the approach of I'm going to put 100% of everything towards the most important thing. Get that done. And then move on to the next thing. And the next thing and the next thing. Like, yeah, like, there's just this pressure of like, oh, you should be maxing out your Roth and your 401K. And you should be saving up for a down payment. And you should be paying off your debt. And it's like, well, sorry, we don't all make a bazillion dollars and can't go down this, like, wonderful list that would be ideal all the way through it. We have to prioritize and pick the most important thing. And I love the approach you're taking with it and agree completely with it. Sorry, Joe. Yeah, sorry, Joe. Sorry, Joe.

I also think there's a lot of value in being able to sleep at night and having this way on you is very stressful. And it can, you know, stress, too much stress can cause health problems too. So if your best mental state is to be debt-free, then throw it all at that. The only thing I would encourage you to do is to see if your company offers any sort of 401k match. Yeah, right now they don't. So I work at a startup, so it's like early stages. So they don't. So I was like, I'm not missing out on anything right now as far as like a 401K match.

So hopefully they're able to match 401K soon, but they don't. need to yet because I can't contribute to my retirement. So you're going to be debt free in June. That's super, super exciting. What are, are you going to continue making TikTok videos after that? Yeah, I definitely will. I'm excited to like go on the apartment hunt and see what we find. I'm excited to like figure out budgeting, learn about investing and whatnot. I think like it's, I'm just taking it day by day at this point, I'm like, okay, we'll, like, see what, what comes up and where that goes. I don't know, like, if I'm going to keep making, like, payday videos or what. I'm making money from TikTok now, which is crazy. So that has been, like, a good addition. Yeah, it's been nuts. I'm like,

this is so ironic, like, all of this. But so that, I mean, who knows, like, maybe I will be able to pay it off a little bit sooner. But yeah, it's been crazy. I'm going to send you a copy of the book that Scott wrote. He is too modest to say that he wrote a book called Set for Life, which is a kind of blueprint for how you can grow your wealth and become set for life. And it's a really awesome book. It's aimed at people that are your age. And it will kind of walk you through the beginnings of investing and just accumulating cash so that you can start thinking about buying a house. If that's your plan, our company, Bigger Pockets, teaches people how to invest in real estate.

So real estate is kind of our jam. But if it's not your jam, then just rent. It's perfectly valid to rent. Scott is actually the CEO of the company, and he used to be a renter. Yeah, it's just a, and, you know, there's an other book that Bigger Pockets has called The Book on house hacking. If you're interested in that, we'd be happy to send J a copy on that one. That was written by Craig Curlop, who has kind of mastered that and has a bunch of

creative approaches. Like, how do Airbnb this section and live here and, you know, make crazy cash flow? Because the Airbnb laws often don't let you Airbnb unless they live in the property. So it's a great way to. That's awesome. You got to celebrate yourself. You wrote a book. You're killing it.

I feel like that's like been a part of the like paying off the debt celebration. of like, it's okay to be happy about the things you're doing. I feel like people get very in their head about like, oh, I'm excited about this thing, but I don't want to talk about it. And I'm like, hey, no, like, we can all like be excited. If you're surrounded by good people, they should also be excited for you. There's just, yeah, a lot of shame also around celebrating yourself, which I think we got to. We do have to celebrate ourselves. Woohoo for everybody on this call. So, Brittany, have you considered doing anything to accelerate your debt payoff outside of just, you know, all the awesome things that you've already done, like moving back home with your parents and not going out and spending money? Have you considered anything like side hustles or getting a second job or anything like that?

Yeah, I did when I was living in the Bay Area. I dog walked. And I was the most depressed I've ever been in my whole life because I was like working my full-time job. and then on the side, house sitting, dog walking, just like spending pretty much like any of my extra time, like, trying to do side hustles and make more money, which I just like was not set up mentally to be paying, like, paying off my debt. Really, I think like, there's a lot of strategies to pay off your debt quicker. But if you're not in the headspace to really like utilize them and take advantage of them, I think it can like hurt you in the long run. I feel like a lot of times.

And I'll say, like, I'm very privileged that I get to, like, live with my parents and not pay rent and I make good money. I think, like, I have peace with the timeline of paying off my debt. I haven't really thought much now about, I mean, now the side hustle is TikTok, I guess. But, like, getting an additional, an additional job. Yeah. Are you using the TikTok money to pay off your, to throw at your debt, or are you doing something else with it? Yeah, a mix. So I'm putting some of it.

away because I have to pay taxes. And then I am putting a little bit onto credit card debt and then putting a little bit into my high-yield savings account. Because I'm trying to like save at the same time, I feel like there's been 50-50. Yeah. I'm so excited about that. But there's been 50-50 reaction to that as well of people being like, why would you be saving and not just like putting everything onto your credit card debt? And for me, that savings account, I mean, first of all, I think, a savings account was going to help me prevent being in credit card debt long term, but also just mentally knowing that, like, okay, like, I have some money and it's building a little bit, and that's exciting. And I can, like, now look towards the future and not just at my credit card debt.

What's a piece of advice you'd give somebody that wants to follow in your footsteps? You've given a bunch here, but what's kind of the one thing you'd love to have sticking in someone's head if they're trying to replicate your journey in the big move? you made. I mean, first of all, just be honest with yourself about where you're at and what is serving you and what isn't serving you, whether that's financial, whether that's a relationship, whether that's the city you live in. Be honest about where you're at and think about what you can prioritize to get to the place where you want to be. It takes time to reach your goals. Got to be patient and that's hard. I'm just like sitting like twiddling my thumbs at my parents' house right now. Just like, I want to move. But yeah, got to be patient. I love that so much. Everything about your story, except for the whole I got myself into debt thing, I love. Except for that.

Except for the beginning, the whole reason you're here. But, no, everything that you're doing, it shows a maturity far beyond your years. And I know that you're going to finish up your debt payoff journey in June or before. And then start your, hey, let me learn more about money and teach my people. and teach my people along the way. So where can people find you online? Yeah, you can find me primarily on TikTok. I would say my, I'm like, I should know my username off the top of my head. I think it's Britt Reynolds, but I'm like I should know, but yeah, primarily TikTok. I have Instagram and whatnot, but I don't usually post debt journey stuff. People are welcome to follow my Instagram if they want as well.

But yeah, primarily TikTok. Awesome. And we will include these in our show notes so that you, You can go and check her out as well. And I kind of love that you don't know your TikTok name. You're not just out there shoving it down everybody's throats. Oh, my guys, I don't know. Well, I know your TikTok handle, and it's at Brit underscore Reynolds. So that's B-R-I-T-U-N-O-L-D-S. If you want to follow along with Brittany's debt payoff journey, go check her out on TikTok.

And please give her some advice on how to speed up by a handful of days in one direction or the other. She really appreciate that. I'm looking for all the advice. Like, let me know. That's awesome. Oh, start to go fund me. Everybody help me pay off my debt. I know.

People have been like, you should put your Venmo. I'm like, no, I'm not doing that. Yeah. Brittany, thank you so much for sharing your journey here for making the big changes and inspiring, I think a lot of people to attack their own debt. So really appreciate it. And look forward to seeing this debt payoff journey and where you go next and how you build a lot of wealth. with the new approach to finance you're taking. So thank you so much. Yeah, thank you both.

This was a pleasure. This was so much fun, Brittany, and we will talk to you soon. Yeah, talk soon. Holy cat, Scott. That was Brittany Reynolds. She was fantastic. I love her so much. She's my new best friend. Scott, what did you think of the show? Yeah, I thought it was great. I mean, we need, you know, to share more stories like this, right? Because this is how wealth is created, right? It is, you know, folks are imperfect. They don't know what's going on. They don't have a lot of financial education. It's challenging, you know, getting started in your 20s with, you know, here you go, go figure out finance here and make mistakes. And she had her aha moment. She made the big changes. She moved back in with her parents and humbled herself and is going to attack this debt in a six to nine month period. And we need more people to do that in this country and in general with whatever means that they have available to them. Not everyone can move back in with their parents. of course, it's a great opportunity, but it's, it's, uh, we need more people to, to make these kinds of decisions because that is empowering. And one thing that I, kind of stuck with me is that she felt trapped in that relationship, partly because of

the financial situation that she was in. And that's really powerful statement and something to think about. There's real world consequences to this, um, besides the number on your, on your, on your, uh, personal financial net worth statement. It's freedom and the ability to feel like you have control over your destiny and your economic. economically independent. You don't need to be financially free to have that, but it's good to be debt-free and have some of that more flexibility to get away from, you know, a bad situation or whatever. It's not saying it was a bad situation necessarily, but, you know, she wanted out of the relationship and she felt like she couldn't for a little bit. And we need, and this stuff has real-world consequences. So really

proud of her for making those decisions and, you know, hope she's inspiring other people to make similar decisions and to go hardcore and paying off that debt because it can help you, it doesn't necessarily make you happy, but it can help you avoid unhappiness in certain situations. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, Scott, because I think that that gets glossed over a lot in the personal finance world. There's this ideal that, oh, just spend less than you earn, invest wisely, and you can become financially independent. But not everybody has these ideal relationships. And that is a serious consequence of not having any liquid cash is you can't make moves, financial moves, moves for your safety, moves for your mental health. You can't make

the moves that you might want to make because there's simply no money there. I love that she isn't just throwing every dime at her debt. She's continuing to put a nominal amount at her 401k, but she's still continuing to put money into her 401k. She's putting money into a savings account so she doesn't get her debt completely paid down and then start from zero trying to then save. And the, but the number one goal for her is to pay off her debt, and that's what she's focusing on, almost to the exclusion of everything else. But what I hear from her is, I've got a plan. I've figured out how I'm going to do it, and this is where I'm going.

Just in case you're wondering, we did connect with her. She's only made, I think, maybe a thousand or two off of TikTok so far. So that's not a material part. I mean, it's helpful, obvious, of course, right? It's not a material part of her payoff journey here. So this is not like a big, big money, TikTok, pay off debt story. This is just making one big decision right, right, which is housing and taking advantage of an opportunity that, you know, is, again, humbling, but the right one.

And we'll set, we'll help her knock this thing out and get on a new trajectory with her personal finances going forward. Yep. And I have made a note in my calendar to check back in with her in June to see how her journey is going. So stay tuned later this year. And we will check back in with Brittany to see exactly how. she's handling the debt payout.

All right, Scott, should we get out of here? Let's do it. That wraps up this episode of the Bigger Pockets Money podcast. He is Scott Trench and I am Mindy Jensen saying, bye for now, Curious Cow. If you enjoyed today's episode, please give us a five-star review on Spotify or Apple. And if you're looking for even more money content, feel free to visit our YouTube channel at YouTube.com slash Bigger Pockets Money. Bigger Pockets Money was created by Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench, produced by Kailen Bennett.

Editing by Exodus Media, copywriting by Nate Weintraub. Lastly, a big thank you to the Bigger Pockets team for making this show possible.