Inspiring Stories of Debt Freedom – Southwest Recovery Services

Debt is a huge crisis in America in 2020. The cost of living only continues to increase and employment is less stable than it has been since the 2008 financial crisis. When you’re drowning in a sea of debt, it can be hard to see a way out. However, it is possible to find debt freedom! Check out these stories of people who beat the odds and rewrote their financial future.

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DeShena Woodard

DeShena says her struggle with debt began in college when reps from credit card companies came to her school to sign students up. Having never been educated in money management, she soon became addicted to the freedom of charging up items that she didn’t have the cash to pay for. Before she knew it, she had several cards she was paying on, along with student loans, vehicle payments, and a mortgage. As a young professional raising a family, she was soon living far outside her means. From the outside her life looked perfect, but inside she was dealing with stress and turmoil. Upon getting her dream job as a registered nurse and a hefty salary increase, DeShena took the opportunity to change her mindset and her financial life. She paid off more than $50,000 in debt in under 3 years! Check out her blog at Extravagantly Broke to learn more about how she did it.

Melanie Lockert

Melanie’s debt story begins where so many do: in college. She graduated with her undergradate degree in theatre in 2006, before the 2008 financial crisis hit. After graduating, she was able to find a job in the arts and began making her minimum payments, as so many of us do. In 2010,  she was presented with an opportunity she couldn’t turn down: she was accepted into her dream school, NYU, for a master’s degree. She put away her good job and stable income to live her dream. That dream came with a hefty price tag: she accumulated another $58,000 in student loan debt. While in school, she continued to make payments on her undergrad debt and after graduating, she paid off $68,000 of her debt in 4.5 years. Then, she took the leap into self-employment and doubled her income. She paid the rest in one year. Today, she is a writer and speaker who specializes in the relationship between debt and mental health. Learn more about her work on her blog, DearDebt.com.

Deacon Hayes

Deacon says that his family’s over $50,000 debt felt like slavery. His whole life was spent getting up every day to go to work, earn a paycheck, and then spend the whole thing paying back debt. He had bought into a mindset that said he needed a lot of stuff to be happy: new cars, the nicest house, every expensive toy and electronic device they could ever want. But they soon found that they couldn’t even enjoy these things because they had to work so hard to afford them. They knew they needed a change and they needed it fast. So, they got to work making what some might consider extreme changes. They started with selling anything that wasn’t essential, including Deacon’s brand new car. They also cut down on non-essential monthly expenses like the gym, chiropractic visits, and cable TV. Their hard work and dedication paid off big time. They eliminated their $52,000 debt in only 18 months. Check out more of Deacon’s story on his blog, Well-Kept Wallet.

Southwest Recovery Supports Your Goals

If you have a debt placed with Southwest Recovery, you can count on us to support you in your journey to debt freedom. Ask about our payment options that can help you quickly eliminate this debt from your credit report. Not only can we help you clear debt, we will do it with a positive attitude that makes you feel respected. Give us a call today to start your journey to debt freedom.