George Kamel - What No One Tells You About Paying Off Your Debt

Starting point is 00:00:05 There are a lot of things no one tells us. You have kale in your teeth. Sushi doesn't mean raw fish. I am breaking up with you because you were a rebound. That dress does make you look fat. You can't be anything you want. You don't have the face for modeling. Humanities degrees are worthless.

Starting point is 00:00:21 And that was just one interaction with my philosophy professor. We had a weird relationship. Dude, what, TMI? Okay, so some of those you don't need to hear. But others are hard truths you should probably know. And I love you enough to tell you in front of your back. And that's why today I'm hitting you with the six hard truths. No one tells you about paying off your debt.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Let's get to it. Hard truth number one. The financial system is designed to keep you broke. I got a question for you. What does success look like? If you buy into credit card ads, you'd probably describe success as having everything they show you in the ad, like hopping on a plane to Italy just to try the world's best gelato and not having to wait for it.

Starting point is 00:00:55 That's what I thought it was anyway. And I'm a high achiever, so I went hard. I did everything society told me to do. I killed it in school. I got to good grades. I got to my dream college. which, to everyone's surprise, University of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama. Go Rams, war-tied.

Starting point is 00:01:09 If you know, you know. And if you don't, it's because I made that up. How can I trust you about anything? And of course, I took out student loans like it was monopoly money. I opened up a credit card or two to build my almighty FICO score, and I even landed a bona fide, salaried, big boy job. But despite the fact that I had a degree, a job, and was fully potty trained, I did not feel like I was winning.

Starting point is 00:01:27 I was still stressed, frustrated, anxious, resentful, and broke. But that's where they've designed the financial system to put. you. So if you've fallen for this, don't beat yourself up. You are not alone. But also, you've got to accept hard truth number two. It's not all your fault, but it is your responsibility. So if it's the system, then it's not my fall, right? Fair point, my friend. From misguided counselors to well-meaning family members who encourage you to get that credit card or take out the loan to finance your future, the hard truth is, you still did it. You took out the loan. You sign on the dotted line. You bought the sofa and the clothes and the new iPhone and desert titanium on a credit card,

Starting point is 00:02:01 and it's in your name. So it's your responsibility. to get yourself out. No one else's. And it's easy to blame someone else, but at the end of the day, it's up to you to do something about it. Now, the cool thing is, you don't have to wait on anybody. You can start right now and get it done at the pace that you set, which leads us to hard truth number three. If you're stuck, it's because you're choosing not to move. Okay, so cleaning up your financial mess, it's no picnic. And I'm sure the idea of cutting up your credit cards and selling your precious car to get rid of that car payment and downgrading and working a bunch of side hustles, it sounds about as appealing as those chat GPT recipes that serves.

Starting point is 00:02:33 up dishes like chocolate, gravy, chili oatmeal. Wally warned us about this. We weren't listening. Wake up, America. But how does living paycheck to paycheck always behind on payments and scared of the future sound? Well, it sounds like a sweaty pillowcase that you're never allowed to change.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Hashtag gross. So one is for the rest of your life, and one is short-term sacrifice that ends with you being free. So you have to choose your heart. To put it another way, you get to choose your hard and stick with it. Which brings us to hard truth number four. Change always sucks at first.

Starting point is 00:03:03 Not too long ago, I bought some new boots. Now, my old ones were pretty comfortable. They were worn in, cozy. Felt like a warm hug from an old friend. I liked those old boots. But there was a problem. The glue was coming undone. The souls were almost as bald as Dave Ramsey.

Starting point is 00:03:16 Dave, don't fire me. So I bought those new boots, but when I put them on, they did not immediately feel good. They were stiff, awkward, and uncomfortable. Not unlike my moves on the middle school dance floor. Or my adult moves on any dance floor. But here's the thing. I kept the boots on and I kept walking around.

Starting point is 00:03:30 And what do you know? By the end of the week, the discomfort was going. gone. I wore those bad boys in. So embrace the suck and keep moving. But that takes motivation, doesn't it? Which brings us to hard truth number five. You need a why. As the classic Miley song goes, ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb. Right? Well, actually, I disagree almost entirely with that lyric, because it does in fact matter what's waiting for you on the other side. Why else have you eaten eggs on corn tortillas for lunch eight days straight, not come within 100 feet of a Starbucks since the Paleolithic period, sold off half

Starting point is 00:04:07 your belongings, and told your friends you'll only hang out if the itinerary is on the list of 10 free things to do in your city. Whatever's waiting for you on the other side, that's your why. It's got to be worth it. It's got to be good. You need to make sure you're super clear about it. Maybe it's that your whole family's been broke and you want to change your family tree. You want a different life. Maybe you want to be freed up to make different decisions and to retire early and to travel and have amazing experiences. Whatever it is, find it and use it to fuel your journey. But I said I disagree with Miley almost entirely because there is one thing she's right about.

Starting point is 00:04:37 But before I get to that, I've got a bonus hard truth for you. You are paying way too much for your phone plan. Unless you're one of those unicorns that are still on their dad's family plan that existed since 2006, and you only pay $11 a month for unlimited everything. Now, I'd be very jealous of those people if it weren't for Tello. Because with Tello, we too can get ridiculously affordable phone plans. I'm talking just $25 bucks a month for unlimited everything and plans as low as $5 a month. And all without contracts or sneaky fees.

Starting point is 00:05:02 So go to tello.com slash George, and you'll get an extra $5.5 off the unlimited data plan for your first month of service. Or just check out the link in the description below. And since this video is all about paying off debt, once you do become debt-free, you're going to have extra money sitting around, and you need a good place to put it.

Starting point is 00:05:17 And I'm a big fan of making your money work harder for you. And that's why I recommend a high-yield savings account like the one from online bank, Laurel Road. You've been working hard, so let your money pick up some slack now by getting a top-tier interest rate to grow your cash. With Laurel Road, there's no minimum balance, there's no monthly maintenance fees, and your deposits are FDIC insured so you can rest easy.

Starting point is 00:05:35 So get your money working harder for you by going to laurel road.com slash George, or you can always click the link in the description to get started today. Okay, enough easy, sappy, happy truths. Let's end on hard truth number six. It's a journey. So Miley did get one thing right in her song. Sing it with me. It's the time.

Starting point is 00:05:54 Okay, you know what? I'm just going to go do 50 push-ups to reclaim a man card. Just kidding. Can't reclaim what you never had. In one sense, it is about the climb because while you're fighting to get to what's on the other side as fast as you can, it's not an instant fix. You're going to be here a minute because real major change does not happen overnight. And that's a good thing.

Starting point is 00:06:20 How many minutes you ask? Well, if you follow the debt snowball plan I teach on this channel, the average person will get out of debt in 18 to 24 months. Hey, that's pretty good. And listen, people come from all over the world to do their debt-free scream right here at the Ramsey Solutions headquarters. And here's what I find with these people. Yes, they got out of debt. And that's wonderful.

Starting point is 00:06:39 But they haven't just transformed their finances. They have transformed their life. So once they realize they can take control of their finances, they realize I can take control of my marriage, in my career, in my health, if I just take these same baby steps and get really focused with intentionality. So this is so much more than just getting out of debt to create some margin. You are freeing yourself up to more options, more peace, more confidence, and more brain calories for what really matters most.

Starting point is 00:07:05 And if you want me to be your money mentor as you go through this journey, Be sure to check out this book right here. It's called Breaking Free from Broke, the ultimate guide to more money and less stress. And this book will give you the ick when it comes to debt, and it's going to show you a more peaceful path to build wealth once you're out of it. So go check it out with the link in the description below. All right, one last hard truth before we go.

Starting point is 00:07:24 If you don't like, subscribe and share this video, this channel's journey will end far too soon. And Miley won't be happy about that, so get to it. And by the way, it's easier to pay off debt when you're not wasting your money. So watch this next video on 21 things broke people wasted money on or click the link in the description to go check it out. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.

George Kamel - What No One Tells You About Paying Off Your Debt

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