As you know, I love a compelling debt payoff story. Melanie recently reached out and asked to share how she paid off her student loans. Below is her experience—enjoy!

Hi, I’m Melanie. I work as a CPA by day and maintain a personal finance blog in my spare time. I’m 24 years old and live in Northwest Iowa with my husband and our baby boy. Early in our marriage we paid off $20,000 in student loan debt within a year while living on a single income for five of those months, and we also covered part of our wedding and honeymoon costs. We didn’t have extraordinary salaries—just determination and a plan. Our journey inspired me to help others find financial freedom, so here’s how we did it.

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I often hear from people who, after buying their first home, quickly become overwhelmed by the financial burden of homeownership—especially when they purchase more house than they can realistically afford. It’s easy to get in over your head when buying your first home.

When we bought our first house, we were pre-approved for $150,000.

If we had bought at that amount, we likely would have become house poor—owning more home than we could comfortably afford. While $150,000 might not seem like much in some places, at the time it would have bought a solid starter home in St. Louis, where we lived.

That pre-approval felt risky because we were very young—around 20—and had modest jobs. Even though we both worked full time, our combined take-home pay was only about $30,000 a year, and I don’t think we should have been approved for that much.

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Just a few years ago, many people thought I was crazy for leaving my day job as a financial analyst to pursue my blogging side hustle full-time. At the time, most saw my side project as a hobby rather than a legitimate business. Some questioned the security of my decision, wondering why I would leave a stable career I had prepared for in college. I understood their concerns — becoming a full-time blogger was an unconventional path that most people didn’t fully understand.

Back then, the idea of making a living online was unfamiliar to many, which led to confusion, skepticism, and unsolicited financial advice from coworkers and supervisors. I did have a great job: good pay, benefits, and a generous annual bonus. I could have stayed there indefinitely. But the truth was, the work was slowly killing my enthusiasm for life. I wasn’t simply indifferent — I dreaded going in each day and felt increasingly unhappy and stressed.

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Do you want to learn how to build credit?

You might feel intimidated, but building credit doesn’t have to be difficult.

I started building credit at 18 after accepting a credit card offer in the mail. My first card had a small limit—around $300. I never maxed it out, it had no monthly fee, and while it offered few perks, it was an easy way to begin establishing credit.

Today my credit score is over 800, which is considered excellent. I don’t let my credit score define me, but I recognize how much it influences many aspects of life—from insurance premiums to loan terms to utility and phone deposits.

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Hello! Today I’m pleased to share a guest post from Chris about value investing. Chris launched a digital marketing business focused on freelance writing, content marketing, and SEO while working full-time and raising two children. You can find more of his writing on his blog, Money Mozart.

Have you been thinking about getting into investing but don’t know which approach to choose? Are you overwhelmed by the number of options and the flood of information?

If so, consider one of the most reliable long-term strategies: value investing. In this article we’ll explore what value investing is, why it works, and how to decide if it’s suitable for you.

Related content on getting started with investing:

• How This 28 Year Old Retired With $2.25 Million
• How I Saved $149,000 for Retirement by 30
• How I Became A Successful Dividend Growth Investor
• How My 401k Loan Cost Me $1 Million Dollars
• What is Micro Investing?
• What Are Dividends & How Do They Work? A Beginner’s Guide

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