After a rough divorce, a physician from Xrayvsn.com decided to finally get out of debt. He now has his own website and is working on having enough passive income streams to retire early.
Do you have an epic side hustle or debt payoff story to share with us? We’d Love to Interview You for Millennial Boss.
1. Please tell us a little about yourself in a few sentences.
I am a 47 year old physician who underwent a brutal divorce that decimated me financially and emotionally in 2010. I have recently chronicled my financial turnaround in a blog at Xrayvsn.com.
Links I think would be of value at my site:
https://xrayvsn.com/2018/06/05/every-blade-of-grass/
https://xrayvsn.com/2018/05/15/i-have-pretty-much-made-every-mistake-in-the-book-part-iii-2/
https://xrayvsn.com/2018/07/03/become-a-capitalist-not-a-laborer-building-your-financial-dam/
2. What was the total amount of debt, type of debt, and how fast did you pay it off?
Medical student loans: $160k original amount. Paid off 17 yrs after graduation estimated $600k total
Mortgage primary: 450k. Originally 5.625% 30 yrs. Paid off in 9.5 yrs
2nd Mortgage: 135k, 7.95% 15 yr, paid off in 8 yrs
3. How did you acquire the debt in the first place? Do you regret doing so?
Had to fully finance medical school tuition and living expenses. Do not regret having debt because it allowed me to become a physician. I regret that I postponed payments by deferment or forbearance and extended payback so long costing me much more interest charges and compounding.
Purchased my forever home with no regrets and have lived here for past 12 yrs
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4. Describe the moment you decided that enough was enough, you needed to pay off your debt.
It was after my divorce when I was at my financial lowest that I knew I had to make a change or I would never be able to retire on my current trajectory at a normal age let alone try to do it early.
5. How did you end up paying off the debt? Please be as specific as possible. Describe the choices you had to make during this time. Did you have a good quality of life?
As a physician I did have a high income and fortunately did not have an expensive lifestyle. I was able to put a substantial amount each month towards the debt with the highest effective interest rate and then when that was paid off concentrate on the next using Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball technique. I was still able to maintain a good quality of life as I lived in a very low cost of living area and didn’t have an extravagant lifestyle.
6. Did you have a plan for paying off your debt that didn’t work. Why did it fail?
Once I decided to pay off the debt with the debt snowball plan it worked to perfection.
7. Can you describe a time where your friends, family or significant other challenged your plan to pay off your debt? How did you deal with it?
As I was single I didn’t have to deal with a significant other when I followed my payoff plan. No one really knew what I was doing so didn’t have to deal with any outside challenges.
Related posts:
- Jen’s Student Loan Payoff Story – $77,000 of Debt Eliminated
- Paying Off Spouse’s Debt – Til Debt Do Us Part No Longer
8. Describe the moment that you made your last payment on your debt. When was it? What did it feel like?
The last debt I paid off was my primary home mortgage. It was an amazing moment and one of my favorite posts on my blog, “Every Blade of Grass” describes exactly what it was to own every blade of Grass on my property. It was amazing because it truly gave me a peace of mind that I was completely debt free with a huge weight off my shoulder.
The fact that it happened less than 5 years from the lowest point on my life also gave me a great sense of pride that I could accomplish this turnaround so quickly.
9. What resources (books, blogs, videos, podcasts) inspired you as you were paying off your debt?
The Bogleheads forum and books were of tremendous help. Also discoverer the White Coat Investor who started a financial website geared towards physicians.
10. What’s next for you now that you are debt free?
Now that the money coming in is earmarked for me and not some lender I am trying to build up capital and create passive income streams to support me during retirement. I would like to retire early from medicine probably at age 53 at the latest.
Are you currently in debt? Here are three things you can do.
- Get an idea of how much you owe, to which company, & the interest rate.
- Start tracking your expenses (we use the free app Personal Capital).
- See if you can get a lower interest rate by refinancing your loans (take the Sofi survey here).
We’re looking to feature entrepreneurs or those who have paid off student loan debt. Sign up here to Get Featured on Millennial Boss Feature Friday.
Have you paid off debt? Share it with us below.
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