Today I’m sharing a reader-submitted story. Mrs. Picky Pincher is the blogger and money-saving expert behind Picky Pinchers. She writes about living well while paying off $225,000 in debt. Below is her account of how she and her husband dramatically reduced their debt. Enjoy!
I’ve always been terrible at math. I remember crying in fourth grade because I didn’t understand fractions. Honestly, I still don’t fully get fractions. That discomfort with numbers followed me into adulthood and turned into a fear of anything number-related, including money management.
I was admittedly spoiled growing up. My parents weren’t rich, but they prioritized my wants—letting me use their platinum credit card at 16. I never had to work summers and my parents covered most of my expenses, including an expensive private university. I accumulated the kind of debt only a doting parent would tolerate.
When I graduated college in December 2013, I thought I knew everything. I didn’t. I took a low-paying, hourly receptionist job at a terrible company, didn’t budget, and had no idea how to manage variable income. I could barely afford groceries, yet I still bought myself a new Calvin Klein dress when I wanted one.
I had zero self-control. Over a few months I spent $1,000 on Amazon and charged most of it to my credit card. Thankfully I eventually paid off that card, but I continued to splurge and eat out constantly. I was wasting money and didn’t realize it. At the time I was stuck with a $450 monthly car payment and $600 rent, which were hard to cover given my low income and bad spending habits.
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- How I Paid Off $40,000 In Student Loans in 7 Months
Here comes the debt
When Mr. Picky Pincher and I married in May 2015, we combined finances—and debts. He carried $14,000 in credit card debt and $45,000 in student loans; I had a $450 car payment, and I agreed to take on $25,000 in student loans from my parents. That’s a lot for a newlywed couple.
One night we sat down to review our finances. As newlyweds planning to buy a home, we were excited—until the numbers hit us. Not only could we not save for a house, we couldn’t save at all.
I cried in front of an Excel spreadsheet for the first time. We were desperate to make home ownership possible, but every expense seemed necessary and unavoidable. I felt like a failure and was ashamed of every red entry in our bank account.
Then Mr. Picky Pincher found Mr. Money Mustache’s blog, which gave us practical advice and a much-needed wake-up call. After learning more about personal finance, we made a plan to eliminate our debt while maintaining a decent quality of life.
A plan is hatched
1. We looked at what we were spending
Mr. Picky Pincher handled the numbers. He built a spreadsheet listing all expenses from recent months—groceries, takeout, utilities, rent, entertainment, and debt. The results were shocking: we were spending $1,000 a month on food. I thought the numbers were wrong and nearly tossed his calculator out the window.
Once we saw the truth, we realized we were making decent money for our age but burning it through poor habits. That eye-opening assessment gave us a starting point.
2. We set long-term goals
Before we made a detailed monthly budget, we defined long-term goals to keep us motivated: owning a home, becoming debt-free, and aiming for early retirement. We also agreed to be debt-free before having kids, to avoid normalizing debt for the next generation. Writing these goals down made them feel real and actionable.
3. We made a budget
I had never budgeted before and it felt intimidating, but Mr. Picky Pincher guided me. We treated the budget as a set of short-term monthly goals that would move us toward our long-term objectives. It became our financial “Bible.” Our budget wasn’t perfect at first and has required adjustments, but it helped me become comfortable with numbers and make informed choices.
4. I slashed expenses like it was my job
With a budget in place, we had to cut deeply, especially in entertainment and food. I started small—canceling a monthly Birchbox subscription and borrowing books and DVDs from the library instead of buying them. I stopped purchasing expensive new clothes and embraced thrift store finds.
Most dramatically, we reduced our food spending from $1,000 to a goal of $400 a month. That cut was challenging—especially because we’re picky eaters—but we learned to cook flavorful, affordable meals. It took about a year to find shopping and cooking strategies that worked, and reaching the $400 goal felt amazing.
Saving became addictive. We moved to a cheaper apartment to save $400 in rent, sold my car to eliminate the $450 payment, and even chose small lifestyle tweaks like sewing handkerchiefs to avoid buying tissues. Each change freed up money for debt repayment.
5. We increased our income
Eventually there was less to trim, so we focused on earning more. I accepted a job that paid $17,000 more than my previous position—partly because I didn’t want to pass up the income jump. Mr. Picky Pincher stayed with his company long enough to receive raises. Those income increases amplified our ability to pay down debt.
Hot diggity— the plan works!
I didn’t expect the plan to succeed. I thought debt freedom was for extreme achievers, not for a numbers-averse person like me. But the plan worked—very well. After two years of consistent effort, we were setting aside $3,000 a month for debt and savings. That felt enormous to us.
Using what we now call our Face-Punching Debt Plan, we paid off $14,000 in credit card debt in one year. We made our dream home a reality in September 2016 with a sizable down payment, then used $16,000 cash to renovate. After securing our home, we focused on student loans and paid off my $25,000 student loan in seven months.
Paying FedLoan in full and making that final call felt incredible. Since then, we’ve been working on Mr. Picky Pincher’s $45,000 student loans, and after that we’ll tackle our $145,000 mortgage. It may take about five more years to be completely debt-free, but the effort is worth it.
This journey taught me the value of hard work and the satisfaction of financial progress. I’ve become more content, proud of the discipline we built, and comfortable being a bit unconventional. I’m excited about the future as we move toward financial independence.
How much debt do you have? What steps are you taking to pay it off?