8 people who have gotten creative to eliminate every cent of debt
Eric Hu
From living in vans to using simple credit card tricks, everyday people have gotten incredibly creative to eliminate their debt.
If you're looking for an alternative to the more conventional path to get out of debt — or are trying to accelerate your repayment track — you have options.
Consider the strategies of these eight people who paid their way out of the red, creatively and quickly.
Anna Newell JonesAnna Newell Jones went on a 'spending fast'
In 2009, Anna Newell Jones was deep in debt — $23,605 — thanks to credit cards, student loans, and a personal loan from her parents for college tuition and expenses.
Eager to be debt-free, Newell Jones took drastic measures: She went on a year-long spending fast. "A spending fast is where you spend money on the basics needed to live. It's created by structuring a wants and needs list, which is personalized by each specific person's priorities in life," she explained to Business Insider.
She spelled out her needs — rent, utilities, cell phone without internet, necessary groceries, low-cost gym membership, medical costs, inexpensive photography exhibits for her side business, car payments and gas, a bus pass, and boxed hair dye — and eliminated pretty much everything else.
Fifteen months later, she had wiped out every cent of debt.
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Jason Roesslein lived out of a van for 5 months to cut housing costs
Tesla engineer Jason Roesslein lived in his "studio on wheels" — a 2006 Dodge Sprinter van — from October 2014 through March 2015, using Tesla and his gym to shower and eat most of his meals.
After five months of van life, he reverted back to a more traditional lifestyle with nearly $10,000 in extra savings, some of which he diverted toward paying off his student loans in full.
Courtesy of the Elders Family
Devin Elders adopted a simple mantra
Devin Elders, who paid off $110,000 in two years, looked for every opportunity to put money toward his debt instead of spending it.
"Part of the Elders' extreme savings plan involved brutally cutting every corner possible. Elder said his mantra became 'Is there a free alternative?' Every time he could have spent money on something, he would ask himself that question and almost always come up with an answer.
"For example, when he needed a ladder to paint his house, he borrowed one from a neighbor. When he and his wife wanted to go to the movies, they watched one online. And, they went to the park for picnic dates and had friends over for happy hour. When asked if he ever splurged, Elder laughed and said, 'No. It sounds cheap, but it worked.'"
See the rest of the story at Business Insider