How We Paid Off $32,000 in Debt on a Teacher's Salary

I need to be honest with you right off the bat: this isn't one of those "I paid off six figures of debt in 18 months!" stories. We're teachers. We make teacher salaries. And it took us almost three years.

But we did it. $32,429 in credit cards and personal loans, gone. And if we can do it on a combined income of $87,000 in a medium cost-of-living area, then this might actually be doable for you too.

How We Got Here (The Embarrassing Part)

First, let me tell you how we ended up $32,000 in debt, because I bet some of you are nodding along. It wasn't one big thing. It was a thousand little things that added up over five years.

A wedding we couldn't really afford but felt like we had to have. Two car repairs that came at the worst time. Medical bills from when I didn't have good insurance. Christmas gifts we put on credit cards. Furniture for our first apartment. A vacation that "we deserved." Moving expenses. More car repairs.

Nothing dramatic. Just regular life on credit cards, slowly compounding into a mountain we couldn't see until we finally looked.

The Wake-Up Call

The moment I knew we had to do something was when I calculated how much we were paying in interest. $437 per month. Over $5,000 a year. That's a decent vacation. Or a used car. Or a huge chunk of a house down payment.

We were literally throwing away money every single month. And at the rate we were going (making minimum payments), we'd be in debt for another 12 years. Twelve. Years.

That was the kick in the pants we needed.

What We Actually Did

We didn't do anything revolutionary. No crazy side hustles (though we thought about it). No meal prep Sundays with chicken and rice for every meal. No canceling Netflix and living like hermits.

We did this: First, we stopped using credit cards. Cold turkey. They went in a drawer. This was hard at first because we were so used to the "convenience," but it forced us to actually plan.

Second, we figured out where our money was actually going. Turns out we were spending $600 a month on food. For two people! Restaurants, DoorDash, grabbing lunch between classes, coffee shop stops. Once we saw the number, we couldn't unsee it.

Third, we used the debt snowball method. Started with the smallest debt ($2,100 on a store card) and threw every extra dollar at it. Paid it off in three months. That little win? It motivated us like crazy.

The Actual Numbers

Here's where we found money to put toward debt: Food: Went from $600/month to $400. That freed up $200. We still ate out, just way less. Subscriptions: Canceled six services we barely used. Saved $47/month. One car: We sold my newer car and bought a reliable 2008 Honda for cash. This freed up $380/month in payments and insurance. Tax refunds: Instead of spending them, we threw them at debt. Both years, about $3,200 total.

Our average monthly payment toward debt: around $1,100. Some months less, some more. But we kept at it.

What Almost Made Us Quit

Around month 14, we were so tired. Our friends were going on vacation. We were saying no to everything. The debt felt endless. We had one of those "is this even worth it?" conversations.

Then we looked at what we'd already paid off: $16,000. Over half way. We'd come too far to quit. Plus, we calculated that if we stopped now, we'd still be paying off this debt for five more years.

So we kept going. But we also built in some flexibility - we took one small weekend trip that year. We went out for our anniversary. We didn't make ourselves miserable.

The Final Payment

When we made that last payment in June, I honestly cried. Not like cute movie tears - like ugly crying. Because it meant we were free. That $1,100 a month was now ours to do whatever we wanted with.

It took 34 months total. Almost three years. Not fast, but way faster than the 12+ years it would have taken making minimums.

If You're Starting This Journey

Look, I'm not going to tell you it's easy. It's not. There were months we were grumpy about it. Months we felt like we were missing out. Months where progress felt painfully slow.

But on the other side? It's so worth it. We just booked a vacation and paid cash. We're saving for a house. We don't lie awake at night stressing about money.

If we can do this on a teacher's salary with no side hustle, no extreme measures, and still having a life, you probably can too. It just takes time and consistency.

You've got this. Even when it feels like you don't.