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I am so excited to share another debt-free success story with you!
As I immerse myself into this debt-free journey, I find myself motivated & inspired by those who have successfully achieved debt freedom! Reading their success stories gives me the motivation to keep going as I navigate my way through this debt free journey.
When I tell people that I’m going to be debt-free, it’s crazy how many scoffs or stupid looks I get. They feel like it’s not attainable. Truthfully, before I joined the debt-free movement I felt the same way. It’s easy to think like that because at the moment you don’t quite understand how it works. Your friends and perhaps your family members might think you’ve lost your mind to live a frugal lifestyle.
It’s my goal to share this series so that people can see first hand that there are many individuals who have been in debt, paid it off and are now inspiring others to do the same.
Today, I’m so excited to introduce you to Diana Farmen. She is the content creator of Diana On A Dime and she had six-figure debt. To date, she is debt free and has paid $201,096.74 in 5 years while working on a teacher’s salary! Before we get started, go follow her right now on Instagram and Twitter!
Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Diana. I attended Syracuse University for my undergrad in Inclusive Elementary and Special Education. After obtaining my undergraduate degree, I decided to go back and pursue a Master’s degree in Literacy Education.
What did your debt consist of and how much did you (or do you) owe?
Most of my debt is from undergrad – $201k in student loans. I’m currently 27 years old and just finished my fourth year teaching. My debt consisted of student loans totaling $201k. I have $0 left to pay towards my debt!
At what point did you realize you wanted to be debt free?
It was totally out of necessity. When I just started grad school, my father called me and told me I had a bill in the mail for my private loans from undergrad. The bill was for $1,400. This didn’t include my federal loans or my debt from grad school. As a teacher, this was going to be basically impossible to manage. I completely changed my life plan at that time: I moved back home to New Jersey where my salary would be higher, but living in my childhood bedroom made it cheaper to live. I knew if I ever wanted to live on my own and have a solid future for myself as a teacher, I’d need to pay off my debt.
How did you make additional money to clear your debt?
I love having multiple income streams. My most steady side hustles throughout this journey have been private tutoring, babysitting, working reading intervention programs offered through my school, working summer school, and other after and before school programs. Recently I started working for VIPKID and have absolutely loved it, I wish I had started this sooner.
Did you face any difficult challenges as you worked towards eliminating your debt?
Creating my plan in the beginning. When I first figured out the massive debt I’d be in post-grad, the numbers literally didn’t work out in the mock budget I made. As a teacher, my starting salary wasn’t the best and didn’t support even my minimum payment. That’s when I completely changed my plan, even the grad school program I was enrolled in.
I was terrified for my life post-grad and didn’t know where I was going to get the money from. By moving back home, it allowed me to support myself and afford my minimum loan payment each month. The beginning was slow, but as my side hustles started to grow, my payments grew larger and larger every month.
Now that you’ve reached this goal, what’s next for you?
After living at home for almost 4 years to pay off $133k, I still have some debt to pay off. But, I have moved out and plan to continue to pay down my student loans. My goal is to pay them off by my 30th birthday. At that point, I will beef up my emergency fund and plan to boost my retirement contributions as well.
Where Can People Find You on Social Media?
Instagram: @dianaonadime
Twitter: @dianaonadime
Facebook: Diana On A Dime
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