Couple Money Podcast

Want to pay off your mortgage early, but don't know how? Learn how you can find the money so you can own your home free and clear!

Pay Your Mortgage Off Early?

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be rid of your mortgage payment to own your house free and clear? 

 

Even though we got a really good deal on her place, I would love to not see that huge chunk of money leave our accounts every month.

 

Right now, we’re on a plan to knock out our mortgage early and we’re excited about the process. Of course, this isn’t an overnight thing, so something what’s been motivating and encouraging is listening to others share how it felt to get rid of that debt.

I think that's going to be the frustrating piece for everybody. Who's thinking they're gonna pay off their mortgage early. That there's going to be some big parties,

Guess I’ll just send that payment online and celebrate at home, noted. 

By the way, that’s Steve Stewart. He’s the talented editor behind some of fantastic podcasts like Stacking Benjamins, ChooseFI, and Financial Grownup. 

A few years ago, Steve and his wife went to their lender with cash and paid off their mortgage.

Today, we’re pulling from the archive my chat with Steve about hitting that huge milestone. 

In this episode, we’ll get into:

  • Why Steve and his wife chose to focus on paying off their mortgage
  • Building momentum and payments
  • How you can create a mortgage free plan that fits your goals and budget

Are you ready? Let’s get started! 

Resources to Dump Your Mortgage Faster

If you’re looking to dig in deeper on mortgages, here are some resources to check out:

If you want to chat some more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips please join us over at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

learn more about our podcast sponsor coastal credit union

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union. If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today!

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit with an IRA is you get to choose how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start-to-finish – for FREE. They handle the process from start-to-finish, and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf.

Find out how and get started today!

Direct download: 4_Why_and_How_to_Pay_Your_Mortgage_Off_Early.mp3
Category:personal finance -- posted at: 9:53am EDT

Do you feel frustrated with how slow things are going with your debt free plan?  Maybe you have credit cards, it seems like you’re barely making a dent on them. 

Today we’ll go over ways the two of you can have more wins with your money and knock out your debts! 

Dumping Debt with Popcorn Finance

Do you feel like you're stuck with your finances? Popcorn Finance host Chris shares how he and his wife worked to dump their debt and start saving together!

Nothing is more demotivating than putting a lot of effort into something and not seeing any real results. 

For many families, debt – especially credit cards – can be especially stressful. Judging by some reports, it’s a big financial issue.

Bankrate recently surveyed thousands of Americans and they found that the balance of 42% of U.S. adults with credit card debt have increased since the pandemic started

One huge hurdle is how high the interest rates tend to be with credit cards. Now if you have an excellent credit score 13% while those who have fair credit care looking at an average just under 23%.

It’s almost like being in quicksand unless you're making some significant payments.

This is why I’m happy to share from the archive, my chat with Chris Browning. He’s the creator and host of Popcorn Finance is on the show to share how he and his wife “K’” had to work together to pay off their debts. 

We get into:

  • how they got into $14k of credit card debt
  • the system they use to budget and knock out their debts
  • Handy books to motivate you to become debt free faster

Hope you enjoy!

 
Elle Martinez         
Working Together to Dump Debt and Save with Popcorn Finance           Working Together to Dump Debt and Save with Popcorn Finance          
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Resources to Dump Debt and Save Together

Want to make talking about money less stressful? Here are some fantastic resources to motivate and nudge you to debt freedom faster!

If you want to chat some more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips please join us over at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

learn more about our podcast sponsor coastal credit union

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union. If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today!

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit with an IRA is you get to choose how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start-to-finish – for FREE. They handle the process from start-to-finish, and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today!

Do you feel like you're stuck in a rut with your finances? Learn how you can break through and start making progress to dump your debt and start saving together! #marriage #money

Connect with Chris and Popcorn Finances

Chris Browning is the creator and host of the award-winning Popcorn Finance Podcast.

His goal is to break down and discuss finances in the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn.

If you haven't already, give his podcast a listen and subscribe!

Discovering Personal Finance

Elle Martinez: Do you mind sharing your story? I think a lot of people that he had interpersonal finance if they're not advisors or coaches or whatever they start off from a personal space that they had to fix something with their finances. Was that the case with you?

Chris Browning: Yeah. You know for me it was kind of a combination of things because I did go to school for personal finance.

 

I originally was planning on being a financial advisor and found that I didn't really care for the job that I was interviewing for a lot of sales jobs. So I have a little background in finance but for me, it really was getting into a ton of debt that really made me kind of focus and change things around for myself because I mean once we got married we kind of had to cover everything ourselves. And at that point we didn't have any debt but because we didn't really have much in savings. And even though we tried to make the waiting as like you know I guess inexpensive as possible we set it up. I think paying around fourteen thousand dollars for the wedding and ended up all going on credit cards because we didn't have any cash. That's kind of where the debt spiral kind of started and you know you getting a cycle of OK. Why did I make my payments? But then we didn't have anything saved so I kind of just kept perpetuating the growth of our debt. Every year. Things with them like school expenses doctor's visits emergency room stuff. And next thing we know it was like twenty-seven thousand dollars in debt. And that was kind of like the turning point for me for sure where I was like I got to do something about this I've got to get serious.

Elle: Yeah. I think a lot of people can relate to getting into debt and especially with weddings.

I mean at least it's cheaper than the average. I heard that's like $35,000.

Well I'm kind of curious like with your wedding I know there are so many things that are special about it but was there one expense you're like, ‘We knew that we had to have this in our wedding because that was important to us'?

Chris: I'm probably the wrong person to ask. I know I wasn't one of like. Do we have to buy this is this part?

But I would say for sure it was, I think it was the venue we ended up going with. That was a really nice church. And Dana Point California it's kind of like a coastal like southern coastal part of California. OK. And it was up it wasn't extremely expensive. I mean I don't know what expensive it is for your church. I think we ended up paying like twelve hundred dollars. That's a lot of money. I did but I don't know if that's expensive or not. But it was a really beautiful location that was like up on a hill you could see the ocean from there. So that was really nice.

Elle: With weddings, there are so many different ways you can go I know my husband was concerned about food like that was his thing like make sure we have like good food options. I think we ended up having like three on our menu. So nice. Yeah. So you said you realize like at a certain point something had to change. Was that something maybe you started your wife or were you both kind of feeling that at the same time I would say because we've even talked about it before.

Chris: I think I was the most stressed out about it I think because because I did have a background in finance I knew what I should be doing and it was things like you know you shouldn't be doing these things but you're doing them anyways. Yeah. It just it's you can't beat yourself up about it. It was just getting really stressful. I just think about it all the time the fact that you know where these debt payments and they weren't shrinking because we weren't making any progress we were still using credit cards and so forth to pay it off at the same time which isn't an effective strategy at all.

Elle: So did you decide to do like either a debt no more or an avalanche. How did that go for you guys.

Chris: So we had our debt spread out over I think was about three credit cards and I went with the snowball method. I was paying off. I think I would think the right one as you about the lower balances. Yeah yeah. I guess I started with that method to pay off the smaller ones in that way. The minimum payment from that could move over to the bigger cards. And I was actually doing this is this thing where I don't know where and where I heard about this but because we had some higher interest cards I would kind of look around for the longest like zero interest promos credit cards that I would sign up for those and then do a balance transfer and I would say well you know a three or five percent fee to transfer it is better than the 20 percent interest I would pay if I didn't do this. It's got a boy that I like when I used to try to avoid some of the interest charges and kind of keep keep things afloat as we get the debt down to a smaller more manageable amount.

Their System for Handing Money

Elle: That makes sense. That makes it so are you. I'm assuming but I don't want to. Like when you handle your finances are you the one that comes out with the how-to part of the plan when you guys talk about it or do you and your wife go back and forth like she handles some of the bills and you handle others? How do you guys manage your money together?

Chris: I think maybe because I just came into the relationship with more of a budget background. I kind of the I'm the one who takes charge with it at least so I have an excel spreadsheet where I like you know put our budget together and then I'm the one that puts all the data into the apps that we use and then we got a meetup and discuss it that way.

She's more hands-off on the planning side but you know get her input. So you know I'm thinking about doing this. What do you think and it should say yes it's a good idea or no. Or maybe she has some other ideas she has in mind so I make more hands on. But then she provides some of the ideas and the feedback I'm talking about.

Elle: Every couple kind of has their own method to the madness I call it. Do you guys do monthly check-ins or how do you handle monthly budget or do you do it like maybe paycheck or weekly?

Chris: We both get paid bi-weekly so we budgeted a two-week basis so we can lay everything out for the two weeks. It's relatively I guess it's a consistent speech paycheck. We kind of have similar bills. I think for one paycheck of the month we have certain set items we pay in the next paycheck. It's another set or bigger items like our rent or I split it between the two. So we try to keep it fairly consistent but I've been working on looking at it I guess a month to month basis to kind of see it as anything coming up because I've talked to a few people that's kind of what they do they'll look at their month they'll say okay we have a birthday coming up this month or we have this event we're going to go to and they plan it that way which I'm like that's a good idea instead of having like a static budget which is what I kind of do right now.

Elle: We kind of do that with our budget because it seems like I'd say eighty-five percent of our bills are the same. But then there is like next month my cousin's getting married so we have some trip expenses. You know we're gonna be eating out while we're there in Denver seeing some family and so forth. So we're cutting back this month to make sure you know there's a little buffer in there and adjusting as it goes.

I'm always curious about how other people to it. You mentioned apps, do you have any favorite apps?

Chris: we talked a little while ago and you told me you tried to like a ton of apps and I think I'm the same way I like I'm searching for the perfect app and everyone is a little bit different. So it's kind of hard but I think I've always go back to Mint.

That's the one I've been using for probably I don't know eight years but once I started out with what I needed what I was looking for something to put my budget together and track my expenses I found them that they've been good so far. You know there are times where those features I want. But it's a solid platform and it works every time.

So I'm like I don't want to mess with it too much and I haven't found anything that's really been able to replace it for me yet. But that's so far as my favorite one.

Elle: So you've paid off your debt right. And what goals are you working on together as a couple?

Chris: our next biggest goal was establishing an emergency fund because that was always like one of the things I worried about the most was that we didn't really have a ton in savings because so focused on paying down the debt.

And I was always worried like somebody would come up and throw us back into debt. So for sure, that was one of the biggest things for me was putting together we were going with six months of our expenses for our emergency fund.

And so that's the next big thing that we're working on and hoping to have finished up this year.

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast!

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your MoneyMy book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!
Direct download: 3_How_Get_Out_of_Your_Rut_and_Become_Debt_Free_Together.mp3
Category:personal finance -- posted at: 1:45pm EDT

Feeling trapped at a job because you're dealing with debt? Find out how you can pay off your debt faster. Whitney Hansen shares how she eliminated $30,000 in less than a year! 

Feeling trapped at a job because you're dealing with debt? Find out how you can pay off your debt faster. Whitney Hansen shares how she eliminated $30,000 in less than a year! 

So financial independence in the truest sense is for me when you are officially at a point where you don't have to work anymore, you're officially retired if you so choose.

But the goal of that is, is that you can start to have a lifestyle that kind of mimics financial independence earlier on.

If you're very careful and you are paying off debt and you're intentional with your spending, and if you're not letting it get out of control, I think you can actually live some of those benefits sooner.

And so that's kind of what I what I believe is that you can have this really cool life if you are willing to do the hard work.

Now, you can actually have that life sooner than 65 years old.

Whitney Hansen

Paying Off Debt Faster

I've been noticing a shift lately when the topic of money and paying off debt comes up.

I hear from friends, family, neighbors and work buddies is this idea of having more options.

It's not about a specific amount in the bank or retiring by a certain date.

It's about being drawn to financial freedom because people to want to be stuck at a career they don't like or in a situation because they are just overwhelmed with debt.

My guest today, Whitney Hanson, knows all about that desire to have more options and less debt.

My guest today, Whitney Hansen, knows all about that desire to have more options and less debt.

Today we'll get into:

  • why motivated her to fast track paying off her student loans
  • how she was able to get rid of $30,000 in less than a year
  • what first steps she suggests if you want to be debt-free sooner than later

Hope you enjoy!

[smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/More_Options_Less_Debt_Paying_off_30k_in_10_Months.mp3" ]

Want to hear more from Whitney? Connect through her awesome podcast The Money Nerds, Twitter, and Instagram! 

Resources to Help You Dump Debt and Start Building Wealth

Tired of being in debt? Here are some resources to help you dump it and start saving more!

If you want to chat some more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips please join us over at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

learn more about our podcast sponsor coastal credit union

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union. If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today!

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit with an IRA is you get to choose how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start-to-finish – for FREE. They handle the process from start-to-finish, and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today!

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast!

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!

Direct download: 2_More_Options_When_Debt_Free.mp3
Category:personal finance -- posted at: 1:32pm EDT

Looking to dump your debt faster? See how you can find a community to support you on your debt free journey!

The Power of Community with Dumping Your Debt Faster

This month is all about paying off debts. Instead of talking about debt snowballs and avalanches, apps or sites, we're going to look at the community; specifically the support network you may or may not have and how it can affect your success. 

Toni Husbands is joining us today. She’s the creator of debt free divas and author of the book, The Great Debt Dump: Running Toward Financial Freedom with the Power of Community.

Besides knowing the stats and studies about getting out of debt. Toni has personal experience with becoming debt free.

If her voice sounds familiar it's because Toni was on the podcast before when she shared her family’s story of dumping six figures of debt. She had an added challenge because her husband Colin wasn’t on board at first.

So if you're in a similar boat, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation where Toni discusses how to find and build up a community to support one another with dumping debt!

Resources to Dump Your Debt Faster

Tired of being in debt? Here are some resources to help you dump it.

If you want to chat some more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips please join us over at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

learn more about our podcast sponsor coastal credit union

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union. If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today!

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years

 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit with an IRA is you get to choose how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start-to-finish – for FREE. They handle the process from start-to-finish, and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today

Key Takeaways

Before we wrap up, I want to share a few takeaways from the discussion with Toni, I think would be really helpful for your own debt free journey. 

  • Accountability can be a huge boost.
  • Develop systems and habits to help you overcome those tough times. 
  • Short term goals can build momentum and motivation.

Of course there's so much more that we can get into, including the ins and outs about finding the best methods of paying off your debt. So, if you want to get the latest episodes, tips, and videos to help you pay off your debts faster, save more. And invest better.

Please sign up over at couple money slash join to be a part of our VIP community. It's free and you'll get weekly emails sent to your inbox with all that information sent to you for your convenience.

I want this year to be an incredible year for you and your family!

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money

Music and Photo Credits

Music in this episode was provided by artists from Audiio. Photo by Helena Lopes from Pexels

Direct download: 1_Dump_Debt_Faster_Through_the_Power_of_Community.mp3
Category:personal finance -- posted at: 6:04pm EDT

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