Joni had a six-figure income but was living off her credit cards. With over $62,000 in credit card debt, she was able to pay it off and build savings following MMI's debt management plan. Listen to her story of avoiding bankruptcy the emotional impact she experienced from her financial freedom journey.
Tara: Hello. Today I'm talking with Joni Kattau from the Dallas Fort Worth area. Working with us here at Money Management International, Joanie paid off about $62,000 in debt in about four years through MMI's debt management plan. Joni's here with us today to share her debt payoff story. Debt. We've all heard of it. Most of us have it. Debt seems to be an unavoidable reality of life.
Tara: But what happens when it starts consuming life? Here at Money Management International, we believe that financial challenges aren't meant to be faced alone. On this podcast, we hear stories of people whose lives have been changed by mmi. Their stories are unique, personal, and inspiring. Stay tuned. We're sharing each guest's long story short. Joni, welcome to the show.
Joni Kattau: Hi, good morning. Thank you for having me.
Tara: Thank you so much for joining us. I'm excited to talk to you today because I think your story is one that a lot of folks are going to be able to relate to. Why don't you just tell us a little more about you, where you live and what you do.
Joni Kattau: Well, my husband and I actually just moved to the Dallas Fort Worth area from Phoenix, Arizona area. He's in construction management. And I am a multipreneur is what I'm calling myself these days. So I left a 20 year career in corporate healthcare and I'm now a licensed Medicare broker. I'm also working on my Texas real estate license and then I'm working on a couple of other side projects with some friends and some other things that I'm doing just to have multiple streams of income and test the waters in different areas of interest for myself.
Tara: Oh, I love that. And I love that term multipreneur. That's, that's awesome. Tell us a little bit about what was happening before you reached out to us and how did you find us?
Joni Kattau: Well, so what was happening before I reached out to MMI is I was living with my head in the sand regarding my finances. I had left Seattle and moved back to Phoenix to be closer to family and I'd gone from a six figure income to not quite a six figure income, but I was still living like I had a six figure income. And so I was, I was just living off my credit cards and I thought I was making smart choices. And I realized looking back now, you know, six, seven years later, no, not, not a smart choice. But yeah, I just, I wasn't being responsible and I wasn't thinking about my future. I wasn't raised in an environment where we Talked about money or how to be responsible with money or how to budget. So I didn't have a lot of life skills in that area. And I'd kind of always just somehow managed to make it through.
Joni Kattau: But this time, I wasn't going to make it through. I wasn't going to figure out a way that I could turn things around and land on my feet. And so I remember it very vividly. It was right before my 45th birthday when it just kind of all hit the fan, and I. I just couldn't be on this hamster wheel anymore. And I called one of my credit credit card companies, and I talked to their customer service, and I'm like, what if I just stop paying? What if I just don't pay my credit cards anymore because I can't afford to keep paying them? I don't have anything to live on. I'm living off my credit. And now my credit's maxed out and there's nothing more I can do.
Joni Kattau: And he referred me to mmi. He's like, you should check out this company. And the thing that really struck me about MMI is I talked to credit consolidation companies in the past, and I was aware that what I felt their practices were, were quite predatory, where they hold your money for 90 days or more until your credit cards send you to collections or start issuing judgments against you, and. And then they'll settle with the credit card company, but by then, your credit is in the garbage. And to me, I still had a good credit score. I was still in the 600s, I think. And so I really wanted to try to protect that because I know other things are impacted by your credit score, like employers look at your credit score, your car insurance looks at your credit score. And so again, MMI had a different take on it.
Joni Kattau: And I talked to the counselor the first time, and we really went through my finances. And she was pretty honest with me. She's like, you might need to file for bankruptcy. That's how dire my situation was, is that even the counselor initially was like, you might. That might be your only option. And I really wanted to avoid that, um, at all costs as well. So. But we kept talking and we kept working through numbers, and I had to sell.
Joni Kattau: I had two cars. I sold one of my cars. I really just slashed every little expense I could get away with slashing. And I really sat down and I made myself a budget for the first time in my life, you know, at 45 years old, because I wanted to be able to start saving money. And with the MMI plan, I was going to be able to save, like, $100 a month, and then that left me like, $20 a week for discretionary spending or some very small amount. Yeah. And I just. I had to stick to it.
Tara: And you did.
Joni Kattau: And I did. Yeah. And.
Tara: And actually, I. When I was reading your story, I read that not only did you stick to it, you made some big sacri to do that. You avoided bankruptcy, and you were able to pay your debt off earlier than you had originally thought you could.
Joni Kattau: Well, I started learning about Dave Ramsey, but I also found the choose fi community on Facebook. And so I really just started reading stories, posting, asking questions, and learning from other people who've either been in my situation or just people who are just more financially savvy than I was at the time.
Tara: Clear.
Joni Kattau: So, yeah, I, you know, started working on paying off the higher interest cards faster, and then once I was able to pay the higher interest cards off, it's not like I'm like, oh, now I have an extra $300 a month. Nope, that $300 a month now went to pay off the next card or the next debt, whatever the interest rate was. I did a detailed analysis of my debt every three months. I had a notebook that I write down, you know, what my interest rates were, what my balance was, what my payment was, what my credit score was, how much I had in savings. And that also was very inspirational to myself because I could see that I was making progress. And then it just further fueled my desire to continue making progress because I felt really proud of myself for, you know, tackling this. And. And, you know, I was, after a couple of years, like, I had money in the bank, which was a totally foreign concept to me.
Joni Kattau: I'm like, I. I'm. I have savings. Like, who is this person? So it was just. I just felt proud, and I wanted to continue to feel proud of myself. And it was just, yeah. Added fuel to that fire.
Tara: I love what you said because, you know, I think you hit so many points that are just so right and common. You know, I think we just don't talk about budgeting. And sometimes a lot of us go along in life and things are fine, and then something happens, and we're forced to start that, and we just don't know where to start, you know? And so I'm. I'm. I'm happy that you reached out. I'm happy that somebody, you know, refers you and that you can share your story now, because I just feel like it's so important and, you know, I Think a lot of times we feel like, oh, you know, bankruptcy might be my only option. But you see that, gosh, not only were you able to avoid that, but do so many other things in the process, which is incredible.
Joni Kattau: So you told us a little bit.
Tara: About your counseling experience with mmi. You said, you know, the counselors were very honest about it and said, hey, this is what you're looking at. This is what might have to happen. What would you say the most important thing was that you learned throughout the process?
Joni Kattau: So I would say the most important thing that I learned through the whole process was really the budgeting, being aware of how interest works, how quickly it accrues, how dangerous it is, and really just how to build a budget, stick to it, and live within my means. You know, I have this Excel spreadsheet that I've kept now for the last six years that I track my expenses, I track my income, I track my investments, because now I have investments, which is near, too. And it's just. It's been educational, and I'm kind of sad that I had to learn it under such dire circumstances, but it is what it is. And I think that's why I had to kind of come out and say, and, you know, do these interviews like this, because I think there's a lot of shame involved with people who have high amounts of debt, and we tend to hide it and we don't talk about it. And I think that just further compounds the issue because then it puts us in a negative mental space and can affect our health, our mental health, our physical health, and we need to just break out of that stigma. Debt happens to good people. It's not that there is something wrong with us, and we need to be able to find tools to educate ourselves.
Joni Kattau: We need to educate our younger generations so that they don't repeat the same cycles. We need to be able to talk to our friends, our family, our partners about these situations so that, you know, if they know something, they're like, oh, I'm in the same situation. And I found this company called mmi, and you should call them right. Or, well, here's another idea. You know, it's just. I was single at the time. It was very. It was a very lonely and terrifying experience.
Joni Kattau: I'm so glad it's over.
Tara: And I think it can be right. And I. And, you know, you said something that it really hit home and I wanted to ask you about anyway. And it really is that debt is so common that it's something that we don't talk about. And, you know, I was going to ask how you felt like nonprofits like MMI and consumers were working together to break that dead stigma. And you did such a good job of sharing that before I even asked the question. But you did say one thing that I wanted to ask you more about, and that was the importance of having the conversation with your family members, your friends, and most specifically, your significant other. And I know we had talked a little bit about that before the interview, but I was wondering if you might be able to share a little bit more insight about that.
Joni Kattau: Yeah. At the same time that all this was kind of coming to a head, I was also entering into a relationship with a man who's now my husband. And I saw very clearly that my credit card debt and. Or just my. My overall debt in general and the way I lived my life financially wasn't going to be compatible with living a life with him. And, you know, things were going really well between us, and I've been single for a long time, so this was an exciting. It was an exciting opportunity. And I was terrified of telling him because I was pretty sure he was going to say, yeah, this isn't really what I want to do, so bye.
Joni Kattau: And he was shocked. And he did have to think about it for a little bit, you know, what the implications would be for him. Sure. Because he still had a kid to put through college, and I didn't want him to be responsible for any of my debt and certainly didn't want to be an anchor to him living a fulfilling life. So we definitely had to clear the air in that regard. But once he saw that I was enrolled in the program and I was making changes to how I lived my life financially and how I handled my finances, he was really impressed and very proud of me. And I think it was about maybe a year, a year ish later that we got a house together, moved in together. So us combining households was really a benefit to both of us because we went from paying rent on two apartments to rent on a house and shared the utilities and the groceries and all that.
Joni Kattau: So that was definitely a help. But it didn't release me from any of my obligations. I still had to pay my half the rent, and I had to pay all of my own bills and all of that. But it was still a really terrifying time. And I'm very lucky that he's such an understanding and patient man, and he's been my number one cheerleader this whole time.
Tara: I love it, and it's how it should be, and I love that you Shared that because it is, it's such an important topic and I think many of us feel exactly the same way. Things are going so great and gosh, I just don't want to throw this wrench into the plan. But if you don't, then it can get so much bigger and so much more out of control and it works out, you know. So I'm so glad that you were able to talk to us about that. So I just had a couple more questions. You seem to have such a fantastic handle on everything going forward. And so I wanted to ask you, what advice would you give somebody that was in a similar position about how to manage their debt?
Joni Kattau: Call mmi. I mean, I. I'm on the Facebook choose FI pages quite frequently and anytime I see anybody post anything about, hey, I'm struggling with debt and I can't figure out a way forward, I'm like, I used mmi. I'm not a paid advocate for them. I've just. You need to call them. I am so glad that I didn't file for bankruptcy. I am so glad that I didn't use one of those other credit card consolidation companies that holds your money and ruins your credit and does all of those other things.
Joni Kattau: Because, you know, now here I am, what, seven years later, I have an amazing credit score. We own a home, which if I had had bankruptcy on my record, would have been much, much more difficult. So one, talk to your peers, talk to your friends, talk to family, talk to a trusted counselor, clergyman, or somebody trusted in your life because it's a lot to bear emotionally alone. And again, there's a lot of shame and stigma attached to it. So don't isolate yourself. Talk to somebody. Because chances are somebody you know is in a similar situation or has been, and they found a way out and then, yeah, call mfi.
Tara: I love it. So I have one last question, and it's my favorite question. $62,000 is such a big goal achieved and in such a short amount of time. So what does being debt free mean for you?
Joni Kattau: I have the freedom to do kind of whatever I want. I mean, I'm still very money conscientious. I have one credit card now. I pay it off every single month, come hell or high water. Don't know if I can say that online, but I mean, it's. I sleep better, I feel better, my self esteem is much, much higher, you know, because I'm just not carrying around that shame or whatever and just the load of debt, you know, I'm not dragging around this $62,000 concrete brick.
Tara: Yes.
Joni Kattau: I still look at my life, Tara, and I'm like, who? Who am I? Like, how did I get here? And I'm so grateful and I know that, you know, there are other things that contributed. You know, Again, my husband has been my number one cheerleader all along, but I'm just still filled with so much gratitude when I think of where I was seven years ago or five years ago or whatever it was to where I am today. I still kind of pinch myself sometimes.
Tara: I have loved talking to you today. What a great story and you're just such a great storyteller.
Joni Kattau: Thank you.
Tara: So I thank you so much for joining us today and best of luck to you.
Joni Kattau: Thank you so much and thank you for having me on and letting me tell my story and share it with others. I really hope it helps.
Tara: This guest is a real MMI client whose success is the result of hard work and dedication. While MMI cannot guarantee results, taking early action can increase available options and improve long term outcomes. Thanks for listening to this episode of Long Story Short brought to you by Money Management International. To learn more about our work and how we're helping people in all walks of life repay debt, balance their budget, and find lasting financial peace of mind, visit moneymanagement.org.
If you're struggling through your own debt story, we're here to help. We offer confidential counseling and powerful debt repayment tools to help take control of your finances. Learn more to see if our services are right for you.
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