Being debt-free is an ultimate goal for many, but it’s a journey that some struggle to find out how to achieve. For Brandyn Rodriguez, a mother of two, two methods were her saving grace to clearing off $137,000 in debt.
Rodriguez revealed to Good Morning America that after several failed attempts at getting out of debt, she started following the debt snowball method and a zero-based budget. She describes the debt snowball method as listing your debts from smallest to largest and then focusing on the smallest first while submitting payments on the other debts. The ultimate goal is for you to “repeat the process and continue building the ‘snowball’ until you finish paying off the largest debt last.”
Along with her methods, Rodriguez balanced working as a restaurant server and at the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.
“Every single time I opened up that billfold to give a customer their receipt or to write an order like, hey, you’re here for this. This is not the sexiest, fun job that you may want to be doing right now but you’re here for that reason,” Rodriguez shared.
Her husband also got a second job as a Home Depot worker to add on to supporting the mission of becoming debt-free.
Becoming Debt-Free
According to Rodriguez, her largest debt was from her student loans. After aggressively paying them off since September 2019, she officially paid off her student debt almost exactly a year later.
Lending A Helping Hand
Following the financial victory for her family, Rodriguez has steered clear from gatekeeping and is spreading the knowledge through sharing her experience and advice on her PositivelyB website and Instagram.
“Through social media, you really don’t know how much you are connecting with people but then you get DMs and someone’s like, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know I just paid off my student loan.’ … and it’s like I am making a difference or at least helping someone.”
Brandyn's Advice For Tackling Debt
- Don’t look at the big numbers and break it down into smaller goals.
- Make a plan that works best for you and tackle that plan.
- If you get tired or exhausted, take a break. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break. It’s going to take time and it doesn’t matter what the timeline is.
