Can I pay off debt and save at the same time?

Ok I know you think 22 year old you was irresponsible, but I DO NOT see it this way! Weren't we all naive and irresponsible at 22? You don't want to hear the horror stories of 22-year-old Haley's financials lol. The good thing is we're older now, and we've learned some things! So we can put those things we know into practice.

And to answer your question - yes - you definitely can pay off debt and build savings at the same time. You just need to do it strategically.

We need to make sure you're not focusing solely on your debt tho. If you don’t have savings and your laptop crashes out, or your car breaks down on the way to work one day (Murphy's Law is real lol), you will just put those expenses back on a credit card and start accruing more debt again. You aren’t really making progress, you’re just moving your debt around.

So here's the order of operations for ya:

1. You need to save at least $1,000 to $2,000 of an emergency fund before you throw everything at the debt. I typically recommend 3-6 months of expenses, but start small and make it attainable. That's your buffer so life's inevitable curveballs don't derail your progress.
2. Then go hard on the debt using the avalanche method - highest interest rate first, minimum payments on everything else, every extra dollar from the consulting hustle goes to the balance. You can use my debt payoff planner to figure this out.
3. If you want a full break down of where your money should go, I actually just built a calculator for exactly this - plug in your situation here and it'll tell you where your money should live right now. I love it so much, and think it will really help you.

Once the debt is gone, first we celebrate our wins, cause being debt-free is a big deal, and then we redirect everything into savings for the Expensive Dreams like the wedding, the house, etc. This is honestly the fun part because you can actually start building towards the life you want without the counterweight of the debt holding you back.

About the engaged/house/wedding timeline:

You def don't need to be debt-free to get engaged. But if you are buying a house together, the convo needs to happen and include full financial transparency from both of you. Before you apply for a mortgage together you want to know exactly what you're both bringing to the table.

You deserve SO MUCH LOVE for your financial gains from when you were 22. The life you're building with your person should not be on hold. It's just being built on a foundation that's actually going to be stronger in the future.

I promise it's closer than it feels right now - keep going!!

Ok I know you think 22 year old you was irresponsible, but I DO NOT see it this way! Weren't we all naive and irresponsible at 22? You don't want to hear the horror stories of 22-year-old Haley's financials lol. The good thing is we're older now, and we've learned some things! So we can put those things we know into practice.

And to answer your question - yes - you definitely can pay off debt and build savings at the same time. You just need to do it strategically.

We need to make sure you're not focusing solely on your debt tho. If you don’t have savings and your laptop crashes out, or your car breaks down on the way to work one day (Murphy's Law is real lol), you will just put those expenses back on a credit card and start accruing more debt again. You aren’t really making progress, you’re just moving your debt around.

So here's the order of operations for ya:

1. You need to save at least $1,000 to $2,000 of an emergency fund before you throw everything at the debt. I typically recommend 3-6 months of expenses, but start small and make it attainable. That's your buffer so life's inevitable curveballs don't derail your progress.
2. Then go hard on the debt using the avalanche method - highest interest rate first, minimum payments on everything else, every extra dollar from the consulting hustle goes to the balance. You can use my debt payoff planner to figure this out.
3. If you want a full break down of where your money should go, I actually just built a calculator for exactly this - plug in your situation here and it'll tell you where your money should live right now. I love it so much, and think it will really help you.

Once the debt is gone, first we celebrate our wins, cause being debt-free is a big deal, and then we redirect everything into savings for the Expensive Dreams like the wedding, the house, etc. This is honestly the fun part because you can actually start building towards the life you want without the counterweight of the debt holding you back.

About the engaged/house/wedding timeline:

You def don't need to be debt-free to get engaged. But if you are buying a house together, the convo needs to happen and include full financial transparency from both of you. Before you apply for a mortgage together you want to know exactly what you're both bringing to the table.

You deserve SO MUCH LOVE for your financial gains from when you were 22. The life you're building with your person should not be on hold. It's just being built on a foundation that's actually going to be stronger in the future.

I promise it's closer than it feels right now - keep going!!