Practical Tips to Pay Off $25K in Debt

Show Notes

• Guest: Jason Scott
• Host: Tara Alderete
• Publication Date: December 24, 2024

Highlights

• 01:26 | The initial debt situation and how he found MMI
• 03:55 | The process of enrolling in a debt management plan
• 05:34 | The benefits and support from MMI
• 08:59 | Key lessons learned about managing finances
• 12:38 | Life changes and opportunities after becoming nearly debt-free

Episode Transcript

Tara: Hey. Today I'm talking with Jason Scott from Reading, California. Working with us here at Money Management International, Jason paid off $25,000 in debt in four years through MMI's debt management plan. Jason is here today to share his debt payoff story. Jason, welcome to the show.

Jason Scott: Thanks, Tara. Glad to be here.

Tara: I'm really happy to have you. I'm looking forward to hearing your story, how you came to us, what everything was like happening. But before we jump in and get started, could you just tell us a little bit more about you, where you're from, what you do, things like that.

Jason Scott: Yeah. So, as you had mentioned in the beginning, I live in reading, California, and currently I am a patient liaison for a company where I schedule patients who leave the doctors that leave their doctor's appointment to be seen by physical therapists. And in 2023, I had a great accomplishment by graduating cybersecurity. I went into school for cybersecurity in March of 23, and then it was only a nine month program, so graduated in 23. And so now I live in Reading, California, just enjoying my time with my wife. I want to say debt free, but not clearly, because you still have some debt in some way, shape, form, or fashion, but not as much as I had a. Thanks to MMI.

Tara: I love it. That sounds so good. I'm wondering if you could just share with us a little bit more about what was happening before you reached out to MMI and then also how you were referred to us, what that process looked like.

Jason Scott: So my wife and I had accumulated about $25,000 in debt. We had used credit cards and just to try to live and just try to enjoy, because at that time, we could afford it. And then when I went to school into cybersecurity, I think it was actually before that, when I was still at my other job. So at my other job, I think we were just getting to a point. We were just getting fed up to the point where we just really weren't having any extra money. And so I being through, I was working through a company that was union based. I went to my union vice president, and I was like, hey, I said, do you got some time to talk? I said, I'm really just trying to find out a place to kind of help with debt consolidation. I said, my wife and I at the time were just kind of not drowning, per se, but just the point.

Like I said, we just didn't have any extra cash, and so just things were kind of tight, and we just were tired of living that way. And so because of that. She said, yeah. She's like, there are probably some places on the website for the union. She's like, that you could probably look up. She said, unfortunately, I don't have anything that I can give you directly. She's like, but you should be able to find a bunch of places on the website, on the union website that might be able to help you. So with her directive, I actually went onto our website, onto the union website, rather.

And then when I went to the website, I started just looking through debt consolidation, and that's where I found MMI. And so I started talking to my wife about it and like, hey, I don't know on how, what you feel about debt consolidation. I was like, but this may be a great idea for us to maybe start in a good direction and maybe try to make some progress in trying to cut back on the debt that we have. She said, I don't know anything about. She was like, I don't know anything about the company. I don't know anything about debt consolidation. She's like, is this something that, did they give us a loan? Do we have to pay them back? I'm like, I don't know. I have no idea what debt consolidation looks like either.

I got on the website and I found a phone number, and I called and I spoke to a lady named Crystal, and I was just talking to her because I wanted to know the ins and outs about what the program looked like before I even entered into the program.

Tara: Right.

Jason Scott: And she kind of gave me the ins and outs a little bit. She said, you know, she said, unfortunately, we don't do loans. She said, you know, we're a nonprofit. What we do is we help with lowering the, not the balance. But she's like, we help the, we talk with credit card companies and we lower your interest so this way you can get ahead on your debt.

Tara: Right?

Jason Scott: And I was like, oh, okay. I was like, that's wonderful. So I told her, I was like, let me call you back. I'll have to talk to my wife first. I'm not really too sure if my wife is game with this, because she was hoping that we could get a loan and pay back. So I hung up the phone with Crystal that day, and I talked to my wife, and we just kind of talked it over, and we got a lot of our finances together, our bills, our debt together, and we just kind of sat down and just kind of talked about what we wanted to put into the program and what we didn't and what we wanted to keep out and what? We did it. And so after about, id say two weeks maybe, of just having a conversation, I called Crystal back and I'm like, hey, I think we're ready to proceed with this debt consolidation. And she's like, okay.

She said, what cards? So she just started getting a list of everything that we had with debt wise. And I believe we started it in 2019, and then I believe we were able to pay it off in 23.

Tara: You were able to decide what accounts you wanted to include in the program and which ones you didn't. So it sounded like you could keep accounts off if you wanted to have them open and use them. So you guys decided to jump in and just give it a shot. So can you tell us a little bit more about how working with the debt counselors at MMI and getting on the program helped you see a path forward to reducing and eliminating this debt?

Jason Scott: Well, instead of having to pay everybody individually, you pay MMI. And then what MMI does is they actually take your monthly payment and they disperse it to all the credit in the amount that they come up with and the creditors come up with as well. So I think, like, and I'm sure these numbers are probably not accurate 100%, but I'm pretty sure they're close. I think, like, we were spending anywhere from like seven or $800 a month, just all in credit cards and bills, to like $500 somewhat of monthly. So that really helped us save like three or $400 a month just by going with MMI. And what was really cool is they were also able to get a lot of our interest down. And so with where we were paying, there was this one company, and I won't mention names, but there was this one company that we thought we were doing a good thing by going to them. Unfortunately, it was a mistake.

They were actually worse off than what we had expected because we also had gotten a consolidation from low, a consolidation loan from them as well. But their interest rates were like through the roof. So with where we had made a bad mistake with that, we were also able to put that into our MMI consolidation counseling payment as well. So, I mean, that was just great. That just worked out for us also.

Tara: Wonderful. So not just credit cards, but really any sort of debt. And I think you're right. I think the key, the success of these programs, one of the biggest things is that reduced interest rate, which is the thing that allows you to pay it off in such less time with a smaller amount and be successful that way. So I'm glad you were able to include different types of accounts as well, and just kind of reduce those interest rates overall.

Jason Scott: So credit cards and that loan and then any other bills that we had, like past bills, doctor bills. Oh, that was wonderful, too. We also put doctor bills in there. So, I mean, a lot of people will go to the hospital and they'll get, like, they'll have to have, like, you know, some emergency surgery or something that, you know, I mean, really, no one can pay for. Cause hospital bills sometimes are astronomical in price. So we even got a chance to put our hospital bills in there. And what was really cool is at the very end, when those were starting to get paid off, like, we would get emails from MMI saying, hey, congratulations. You had just paid off.

So and so, you know, so that was. And it was just so wonderful to, like, open the email and actually see a lot of that achievement also. So that was also wonderful because, like, I could go back because the emails were coming to me, so my wife didn't really know about it, so I can really go to her and be like, hey, guess what? I just got an email from MMI, and guess what they said. She's like, what? I'm like, oh, by the way, so and so just got paid off. And, you know, we would celebrate and just be excited of her. That's just one more a debt in our life that was being canceled or.

That was done with these milestones along the way. I love it. So, Jason, what would you say was the most important thing that you learned through the process?

Jason Scott: Don't get over your head. In debt. Don't get over your head. Don't go above your means.

Tara: Yeah, yeah.

Jason Scott: Don't exceed your means. You know, like, you know, we all have a monthly income, and sometimes, you know, we. We want to try to think that it's important to spend what we like, but a lot of times, if we're living above our means, you know, it could hurt our pocketbook and not realize the mistake we actually made. So just another advantage of being with MMI. I'm really. I'm really happy that my union vice president told me about it. You know, go look at the union website, because at this point, I didn't. Bankruptcy wasn't an option, and I certainly didn't know which other way to turn, so.

Tara: Right. I think it's probably the most important lesson that you. That you can learn and, you know, it's financial wellness and debt and all these things. It's a journey. It is, and it's definitely not a linear one. Life happens and all these different things happened. You know, it's really how you manage it and deal with it. I feel like that counts.

So while we're talking about the topic of debt, it's so interesting because debt is so very common. Most of us have it in common, but yet we don't talk about it. So how do you think debt counseling nonprofits like MMI are working to break that debt stigma?

Jason Scott: I would have to say probably the best way that companies like MMI break that debt stigma is confidence. As a customer of MMI, I think the one thing, and I must speak from experience, because I think that's the only best way to give that answer to you. I think it was the confidence and the first impression in the analyst or the consolidation rep who are not. Consolidation rep? Yeah, the consolidation rep who actually showed me what it's like being in the program, and she actually broke down numbers. So confidence and understanding, I believe, is the best way to get away from the debt stigma, you know, because if you have someone who doesn't know what they're doing and they're not going to give you confidence, then it's really not going to give you hope to understanding that your debt is going to be canceled by the end of the program or you're going to be finished by paying it off. Because she was saying, like, we're going to take this much debt. In my case, I had 25,000. So she's like, we're going to take this much debt.

We're going to break it over a series of payments a month. And then she's like, and then in so many months, she's like, you'll be out of the program because everything will be paid off. And then what was another cool thing about that, too, is even by being in the program, you know, while it kind of put more money in our pocketbook, it was also showing us that if we wanted to add more to our payments, that would help pay it off more. But then as you were paying off stuff that got paid off, you could actually reduce your payment if that's what you chose to do. And so we chose to do that as well. So that was another great incentive. So the best way, I feel like, is confidence and understanding to kind of help your know your money and to know how your debt's going to be paid off in a series of months.

Tara: Excellent. Excellent. So, Jason, last question, and my favorite, probably what does being debt free mean for you? And now that you've been able to get rid of that $25,000, that's a big goal achieved, what comes next?

Jason Scott: I think the one main thing for my wife and I with what comes next would have to be probably just looking for more opportunities on how we spend our money. You know, we do date night, you know, either once a week or once every two weeks. But where we live in reading now, like, the cost of living, because we lived in Kentucky before and now we live in reading. And so, like, you know, going from Kentucky to California, like, there is a big price difference. However, though, I want to say the freedom of knowing that we're not tight every month or we're living beyond our means certainly gives us a lot of peace of mind. But also the what's next? It's also given us the opportunity to buy a better vehicle that we really enjoy now.

Tara: Oh, I love it. Wonderful. So new vehicle and date nights and it sounds great.

Jason Scott: Yes. Yes.

Tara: Jason, I so much appreciate your time with us here today. Is there anything else that you'd like to share?

Jason Scott: Only recommendation I could say with anybody who is having a problem with debt. Give MMI a chance like me. You know, we were, I don't want to say drowning, but close. You know, we certainly were living well above our means. And, you know, because we invested and took the time to look into finding a company like MMI, it certainly gives us that peace of mind because if we didn't have that opportunity to like MMI, we probably wouldn't be living in reading, California. Because the price from our house, our place that we're living at in Kentucky to where we're at living at now, it's completely different. And I don't think that opportunity would have been possible had it not been for MMI.

Tara: Wow. Incredible. Thank you so much. And congratulations, Jason. I really enjoyed talking to you today.

Jason Scott: Thanks, Tara. I appreciate it.

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