Hahna:                 Oh, yeah.

Melanie:              … you want to stay in the nice, safe bubble and just do things at your 9-5 or just do things the safe way, but it can get quite addictive, actually, once you start pushing yourself and getting out of your comfort zone and making more money and making more things happen because you realize the marry you get out of your comfort zone the more opportunities come your way.

Hahna:                 Absolutely. Because I know for me, when I started making some extra money, it was like, “Well, okay, if I can make $100 this month, how can I double that?” Or, “How can I now take it from,” as you said, “$100 a month to $100 a week?” Now I have $400-$500 a month, and just repeating that over and over. Then it's like, “Oh my goodness, I've been able to accrue more money, if not the equivalent to what I'm making at work and put that towards my debt.

Melanie:              Yeah.

Hahna:                 Now, what can debt teach us about ourselves, and how has your debt made you who you are today?

Melanie:              Yeah, my debt has really taught me the value of hard work and hustling. If I had my parents pay for all of my college, I probably would not be as hard of a worker as I am now. I see a lot of other people that didn't grow up with debt and not saying this in a bad way, but they don't have that same crazy drive as I do. Like, I'm obsessed, for better or for worse.

Hahna:                 We'll find out.

Melanie:              I think, you know, debt has really taught me the value of hard work, and that means doing any and all work, whatever it takes to get out of debt. I've cleaned houses. I've worked events. I've done things that I didn't really love doing, but it was something that I knew I had to do in that moment to make money to get by, and there was no shame in that. You know, it's taught me the value of hard work. It's also taught me the difference between needs and wants. You know, I think when you're getting out of debt, you really have to look at everything that's in your budget, everything that you're spending on.

Be like, “Do I need this? Does this provide value in my life? No, I don't.” You can really streamline your budget and your expenses once you look at everything you spend on and write “need” or “want,” “need” or “want.” Needs are things that you cannot live without, like shelter, like food, like health insurance, even though I did go without health insurance for a few years, which I don't recommend.

Hahna:                 Wow.

Melanie:              You know, and wants, things like going out to eat, going to the bar, stuff like that. Really just evaluating everything from a different standpoint. On that same notion, it really sort of taught me about the things that money can't buy, you know, the things like family and friendship and really focusing on the stuff that money can't buy and focusing my energies elsewhere. It's really taught me a great deal about hard work, about using my creativity to launch a career and to do other things to pay of debt, and also to just focus on the things that don't cost money and to sort of not be on this constant spending cycle.

Hahna:                 How can you live life to the fullest while being in debt, especially since you touched upon cutting back as much as you could, but there's a point where you just can't cut back anymore. How can you live life to the fullest while being in debt?

Melanie:              First of all, practice gratitude. This was something I had to teach myself when I was in that deep, dark place. I was in therapy at the time because I was so upset about my life and my non-existent career at the time, and my debt. My therapist had recommended to me, “You know, wake up everyday and write down the 3 things you're grateful for.” That really did help, actually. You know, saying, “I'm really grateful for my studio apartment that gives me warmth and shelter. I'm really grateful for this warm cup of coffee. I'm really grateful for my cell phone to be able to call my family,” you know, whatever small or large thing it is. You know, practicing gratitude.

Second of all, even though I do say cut back as much as you can, I do encourage people to have some fun money, even if it's just $20 a month, whatever it is, because I also know about debt fatigue. If you are just constantly … If you're going to be paying off debt for more than a year or 2 like I was, it's going to be hard to sustain for a long time, so you have to indulge in some fun. You know, whether it's a nice happy hour with friends or whether it's a movie, or find those frugal fun activities that feel like a treat but they're not going to bust your budget. Really cherishing those moments, and then also using your creativity to do fun things, you know, find free events in your community, curl up with Netflix, which is a pretty cheap option, go to the library.

Sort of see different fun opportunities around you that don't necessarily require money but when it does, making sure that it's worth it for you and that it's going to inspire you rather than have you feel guilty afterwards.

Hahna:                 Awesome. What good things, if anything, can come from being in debt?

Melanie:              Actually, I'm finding that a lot of good things can happen from being in debt because you are way more disciplined than so many people afterwards. There's so many statistics about how little savings people have, how people are not on track for retirement, how we're all just in debt. You know, it seems like every financial headline is doom and gloom, right? You have the opportunity to not be a statistic.

You know, if you can already put 20-50% of your income towards debt, you're going to put 20-50% of your income towards savings and investing once you're debt-free, and that will put you light years ahead of most people. I think you can really be ahead of the game, and it teaches you discipline. It teaches you hard work. It teaches you the difference between wants and needs. Also, it gives you a greater appreciation for your family, your friendships, people that support you, and also just having work to pay off debt. You can really appreciate your money once you are debt-free. A lot of good things can happen from being in debt.

I know it's really hard to see while you're in debt because it just feels like, “All of my money's going to debt. This is the worst thing ever,” but the closer you get to the finish line, once you cross it, you can really look back and look at the lessons and take everything that you learned and start to build wealth and a new life.