How We Paid of $115,000 in 5 Years

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Last Updated on August 1, 2020

Today I’m excited to share Newton & Brittney Dennis’ debt free story with you! This couple just like many of us were fed up with being in debt. They decided to get upset at their debt and they made changes to their lifestyle to get it out of their lives life. ⁠

Five years later they have paid off $115k and are now debt free! Check out their story below.

Before we get started, complete the sentence “I knew I was debt free when….”

I knew I was debt free when we submitted our last payment for our student loans on the morning of May 1, 2020. It was exhilarating knowing that we were able to pay off all our consumer debt including our car note, our credit cards, and our student loans. All we have left is our mortgage!

Yes! I like the sound of that. Submitting your last student loan payment, definitely had to be a great feeling! I can’t wait!Thanks for taking the time out of your day to to share your story. Tell me little about yourself.

My name is Brittney Dennis and I currently reside in Greensboro, North Carolina. I am a wife, a mom, and a woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Over the last 8 years after graduating with my Bachelors degree from North Carolina A&T, I have had the honor to work in many different realms of the education system and I currently hold the title of Education Curriculum Facilitator. In addition to being a public school advocate, I am a strong believer that ambition without anointing is like faith without works, it’s dead. My ambitious nature caused me to re-enroll in school years later and I have recently graduated with my masters degree in Education as of the Spring of 2020.

My husband, Newton Dennis, is also a two degree graduate of North Carolina A&T receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and his Masters degree in Industrial Engineering.

While in school, he met his now best friend and now business partner Hercules Conway. Together they have successfully created a safe and exciting environment for collegiate audiences and alumni to party and travel abroad together. Nxlevel Entertainment was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and now has left its mark in countries all around the world. Newton is currently a serial entrepreneur and Chief Operating Officer of the company.

Come on now! I love this. I am also an HBCU Grad and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. How much debt did you have and how long did it take you to pay it off?

When this journey began my husband and I had about 150,000 dollars worth of debt. The vast majority of it was our $115,000 debt accumulated through student loans which meant the most to us to pay off. When you have 4 degrees between us, you can imagine how that number got that high.

It took about five years for us to eliminate all our consumer debt. Could we have paid if off sooner, absolutely but we each had a non-negotiable that we felt was important to make this journey work for us. Newton is an avid traveler and I love to get my hair done so we made sure to have that as part of our budget. That is why it is called PERSONAL finance, it is no one way to pay off debt. It is important for people to find out what works best for them. We simply lived below our means, which was not easy but is one of the quickest ways to financial freedom. Even when we received a raise or a bonus of some sort, we tricked our mind into thinking it wasn’t real and immediately put it towards our debt.

So, tell me what was your trigger? Essentially, what made you decide that you wanted to be debt-free if you could share the steps that you took in order to reduce your debt?

Both my husband and I have always dreamed of being debt free, however when our son Britton was born in 2015, we decided to take actionable steps towards this dream. He was indeed our catalyst for this journey as we felt it was important for him to have parents pursuing financial freedom. And as an added goal, we wanted to complete this by the time he turned the age of 5 on May 31, 2020. The ideals we learn along the way, we will instill in him as he matriculates through life.

Financial literacy is the greatest gift we can give him. To start, we knew we had to create a budget and stick to it. Any unnecessary items that didn’t benefit us such as eating out multiple times a week, expensive cable television, and constantly shopping for clothes was all eliminated. We also called our providers such as cell phone to see how we could decrease our monthly bills. You will be amazed at how these companies will work with you by just simply giving them a quick call and informing them of your situation.

What sacrifices did you make to become debt-free and why was it hard for you to give them up?

To be totally honest, because we talked and pinpointed what was important to us, we didn’t feel like we were giving up much. I think that is one of the reasons why a lot of people starting their financial journey fail is because they feel they are missing something or giving up things. It is important to change your entire mindset. Instead of feeling like you are missing out on something, just focus on the things that are important to you, budget for it, and eliminate the rest.

Did either of you pick up side hustles to help expedite your debt payoff?

As far as side hustles, Newton went into overdrive and put a lot of energy into the travel entity of his business. His company has been around since 2005 but travel was only started in 2015. By leveraging his knowledge of the event planning world and applying it to travel, he was able to increase our income. For me, any professional development on a national level or extra educational union work that became available, I jumped at it and was provided a stipend at the end. As mentioned before, that went directly towards our debt.

That’s awesome! This definitely shows that anything is possible. Use the skills that you have and leverage them in a manner that can help you in the long run. What advice would you give to someone who is currently in debt and doubtful that they can pay it off?

We would say that if WE can do it, anyone can do it even if that sounds cliche. We are just two normal people, a teacher and an entrepreneur that got fed up with being in debt. You have to get upset at the debt and want to get it out of your life. Read as many books as you can, read blogs, listen to podcasts daily. That was very important to us, listening to other people’s stories of them overcoming debt empowered us to believe that we also can do it. Surround yourselves with like minded individuals who have a common goal and even if they do not, make sure you stay disciplined and keep your eyes on the prize.

Oh yes! Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals is genius! I absolutely helps with staying disciplined on this journey. Now that you’re almost debt free, what are your future goals?

Now that we have paid off our consumer debt, we want to continue to save and invest in the stock market. We have a good amount of money in the market now focusing on investing in ETFs and Mutual funds that we can use for retirement. We will continue to live below our means and use the money we were using to pay off our debt to now go directly into savings. Next year, we want to finally get into the real estate game. We plan to move out of our current home and rent it out. And then over the next decade, pick up a few properties along the way so we can have another source of residual income in retirement.