Couple pays off $200K in debt in five years

Drew and Farrah Keller of Franklin are debt free as of April of this year.

The couple said they were tired of living paycheck to paycheck so they took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace course and paid off $200,000 in debt in five years.

“We stopped the sinking ship, stopped accruing more debt, saved a thousand dollars and started changing our behavior,” said Drew.

They made a budget and tackled their credit cards with the smallest balance first.

“Pay your minimums and take all the extra money that you have and slam it toward the smallest debt you have,” Drew said.

Once one debt is paid, use the money to pay off your next highest debt— for the Keller’s it was the $7,000 balance on Farrah’s car—and keep going.

Next, they paid off $44,000 in student loans, then their $133,000 home.

There were challenges— they cut the cable, ate a lot of leftovers, shopped at Goodwill and took up side jobs to supplement their primary incomes from jobs at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

However, they said it wasn’t non-stop sacrifice.

In the midst of paying down all that debt, they had two daughters, and took a month long trip to Europe.

“We would reward ourselves. It was fun. We had fun along the way,” Farrah said.

Anybody can become debt free, according to Tim Brandon, education and marketing coordinator for Graceworks Lutheran consumer credit counseling service.

“It is perfectly feasible. Unfortunately, it is difficult to do and you have to have a plan,” Brandon said.

He recommends paying yourself first.

“Treat yourself like you are one of your other creditors, make that payment to your savings account every month,” said Brandon.

Much like the Keller’s, he also recommends creating a budget, a realistic goal, a timeline, and start paying down your credit cards and loans.

“Pay extra. Don’t just pay the minimum payment. If you just pay the minimum on a credit card you are going to be paying it for 20 or 30 years,” Brandon said.

The Kellers’ said they will be debt free for life, and hope to inspire others.

“Income is a shovel and debt is a hole that you are down in. Some people have bigger incomes and bigger shovels and some people have bigger debts and a bigger hole. The point is don’t look at the size of your shovel or the hole that you are down in, just start digging,” Drew said.

Rachel Murray is a WHIO-TV consumer reporter. You can watch her reports on News Center 7, follow her on Twitter @RMurrayWHIO, and like her fan page on Facebook.

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