Navigating Debt and Financial Milestones

The chapter follows the speaker's multiple journeys of accumulating and paying off significant debt, touching on struggles during low-income periods and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. They discuss the impact of their business on their debt and share insights on financial discipline and the cycle of debt accumulation.

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Want to know how to get out of debt for good? It’s not as easy as it sounds! The more you chip away at that number, the harder it becomes to resist frivolous spending. But by fostering a healthy money mindset, building credit, and using credit cards the right way, you can stay out of the red!

Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast! Ashley is a business owner and rental property investor who is well on her way to financial independence. But only a few years ago, she had racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt on not one, not two, but THREE occasions. In this episode, she shares why she struggled to break free from the snare of consumer debt and why a drastic mindset shift was needed to climb out of a $150,000 hole.

Ashley also takes a deep dive into credit history and touches on each of the five factors that impact your credit score. Along the way, she offers several personal finance tips that will help you pay off debt and raise your score—such as “tiering down” from credit cards you no longer use, increasing your credit age with one simple hack, and striking the perfect mix of credit accounts. Finally, how important is credit? Is it a trap to avoid or a necessary evil that can help propel you toward financial freedom? Stick around to find out!