Michael Lacy 0:00

You're listening to the winning to wealth podcast and this week we're gonna be talking about the importance of finding your why on your wealth building journey.

Unknown Speaker 0:11

You're listening to the winning to wealth podcast where you'll hear real stories from real people who are on the path to building real wealth. These stories will show you how to earn more money and pay off debt, start investing, and make better money choices so you can build wealth for your future. Now, here's your host, Michael Lacy,

Michael Lacy 0:33

what's up? What's up? What's up teammates? This is the winning to wealth podcast, Episode Number 47. And on this week's episode, I have an incredible, incredible debt free story for you guys. So if you've been listening to the show for a while, then you've already heard me talk about how I was notoriously bad with money until I was like 25 years old. Like if you google

Worst money mistakes and then click on the top few articles that pop up, I can almost guarantee you that I made most of those mistakes if not all of them. Like for example, I pulled money from investments during a market downturn, then I just stopped saving money for retirement altogether for a while. I didn't track my spending, which led to overdraft fees. I used a credit card for emergencies which led me to have over $20,000 in high interest credit card debt. I financed a brand new car and I just made so many really, really bad money choices in my early 20s. But the thing that I haven't talked about enough was the fact that there were a few times I actually did try to do the right thing with money during that time. Like I tried to budget like 1000 times. I worked super hard to increase my income like at the time there was probably nobody working as hard as me in my circle. And even though I pulled the money out, I did start investing for retirement at like nine

10 years old. The problem for me was I just didn't know why I was doing those things. Like my reason was just that I thought I was supposed to. So when I was working a second job or trying to figure out budgeting, or there was a market downturn, and I thought I was losing money, and anytime in general that things got tough financially, I would just quit doing all the things that I thought were the right things. It really wasn't until I became a husband that my reason for being financially responsible actually started to mean something to me. So I knew that my career in sales can be volatile. I also knew that my wife had an autoimmune disorder that could lead her to being disabled at any given moment. And so these two things meant that we really didn't have a choice. We had to get our lives together. And we did. We paid off $61,000 worth of debt in 16 months and in the almost six

years since our wedding, we've increased our net worth from negative 50. Something to a six figure number that's comfortable enough for us to not worry about me not having a job right now. We didn't magically become budgeting wizards. We just knew that we couldn't quit because the reason was bigger than both of us.

Today's guest is Daniel Davis. Danielle runs the blog money in matrimony where she aspires to empower married couples to start taking control of their finances, just like she did with her husband, after they found themselves over $100,000 in debt, then yo Hello and welcome to the winning to wealth Podcast. I am a huge fan of your work. So thank you so much for being here with me today.

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 3:47

Thank you, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me.

Michael Lacy 3:51

So you know I you go by money in matrimony which is just a fantastic name on Instagram and your website and everything.

I love that name. So I do want to start this episode off by just talking about how you and your husband met.

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 4:09

Okay, yeah, so actually, my husband and I met in middle school. We were in the same eighth grade class together. And when he walked in, I was like, He's mine. And that's not even my personality, but I was like, yeah, that's gonna be my boyfriend. And I mean, like the rest is history. Um, we didn't keep in touch too much after Middle School. We kind of dated you know, did some old boyfriend girlfriend type thing in eighth grade. But then once we went to two different high schools, we we didn't really keep touch but probably junior year, we reconnected at like a high school dance. And then from then on, it was it was us two. So yeah, we've been knowing each other like a long, long time.

Michael Lacy 5:00

So, I mean, like, basically middle school sweethearts, like you kind of had a little gap in there. But like, y'all are like it like, you know, like, this is kind of a yes. We like grew up together. Yes, exactly. Exactly. So when did you guys decide to get married

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 5:19

after Hurricane Katrina, so my husband and I are both from New Orleans. And we've made it

you know, for a while, but after Hurricane Katrina, it was just like, let's just go ahead and do this. Like, I was very surprised by it. We had talked about marriage. We didn't have any kids or anything. But

what he proposed, I think it was late 2005 I remember, but after that, he was just like, let's go ahead and do this. And so we ended up getting married in 2007. So it's been 13 years that we've been together. Wow. Okay.

Michael Lacy 6:00

So talk a little bit about let's go back to that play or stay there, I guess I should say, Yeah. What was you guys's financial situation like as individuals when you decided to get married?

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 6:11

That's a great question. So at the time, both of us were still in college. And so we basically walked into the marriage. I'm going to take a guest and say it was about $50,000. So I went to a private college, and then he joined me at that private college, right where I didn't have many scholarships to cover tuition. And then outside of the student loans, we also had a little bit of credit card debt, you know, because they just give the credit cards away for free on the time, right? Yeah, that's it. That's it. Give me the hat, the water bottle and a T shirt.

Yeah, give it all to me. Okay. So we had a little bit of credit card.

That. And then we also had auto loans after could well, I had a paid off car before Hurricane Katrina, but I'm in the midst of it all depression, all that kind of stuff. I didn't change my oil. And I was driving back from Texas to Louisiana. And, um, like, I blew my engine. So that was the end of my paid off car. And so I went down and got a new car, but it was finance. So and then he was like, Well, you know, I'm not sure he had left his car in New Orleans. And so he's like, Well, you know, you got a new car, so I'm gonna get a new car to

Oh, we both have new cars. We're here in Texas. No job, like, it was just a mess. So yeah, that's what made up the $50,000 in debt. You know, it sounds like

Michael Lacy 8:00

He kind of goes along with

I don't know.

Not all the time. Not all the time. He was like, Oh, you got something new. I want something new, which is very Yeah, marriage, right like it is. It's very common in a relationship to do that. So I want to ask like, This all seems normal, you know, you've got student loans, your car breaks down, you go get a new one, like, Did none of this sounds like anything just earth shattering out of the ordinary? So what happened that made you decide, you know, something's not right, we've got to start paying this debt off.

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 8:42

So back in 2011, we were attending a church, which we love, and they're the ones that introduced us to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace program. And so, you know, I listened to them talk about it, and I was like,

I tapped him on the shoulder. I was like, I think we need that. And he was looking like, yeah, whatever kind of thing. And I started researching Dave Ramsey, because I had never heard of him at that time. And so I started doing some research. And I mean, I just started just listening to the podcast. I mean, just every episode, all that work, just, I wouldn't stop and I was like, okay, we need to do this. It took some while to compel while to convince him to do it, though.

He had like 25 excuses in the class was being offered on like a, I think it was like a Tuesday or Wednesday. So of course, we're working and doing that kind of thing. But he was just like, yeah, I have to work during the middle of the week. I don't feel like doing that after work. How long is it again, and at that time, it was 13 weeks. It wasn't the nine week program that he offers now. And so he just really wasn't for it. But um, I just

Michael Lacy 10:00

kept pushing and pushing. And then eventually he, I guess he just got tired of me asking. And so we ended up signing up for the for the class. So okay, so you, you said that you were the one that really kind of stepped up and really took charge of this. So what were those conversations like, I mean, you're coming to him saying, I want to do this, I want to do this, I want to do this. And what was what was his kind of what was his thought process?

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 10:29

I mean, I just basically so so how I, if I remember correctly, how I think I got him to do it was I said, Look, if we could pay off some of this debt, you could get more miscellaneous and fun money. And so I think he was on board with that.

I think he was on board with that, um, because who doesn't want more money, right. And so like we had allocated like this small little amount that

We would get every month every two weeks, really. And he was like, that's not enough money. So I knew if I mentioned that to him, I could kind of get him on board. And so I think that was like the thing that kind of made him say, Alright, if I can get more miscellaneous and fun money, then I'm gonna go ahead and try this. So that that was kind of the starting conversation. So once once you had him hooked, or you hook him with, hey, you can you can have fun once we're done with this, you can do this and that, what were some of those first steps that you guys took in addressing your debt?

So basically, we sat down and we looked at the numbers. So of course, when you go into something like this, you think you have way less debt than what you really have? Oh, my God, just just looking at just thinking about it just makes me like cringe right now. Like I know the numbers now, but back then I didn't. I wasn't really aware of the numbers. And so you

That was the first step, just taking a look at the numbers and then deciding to take that first step and start, you know, paying off those smaller debts first, because that's what I had learned in the program. So, you know, kind of snowball those debts and start working on the smallest ones first to get those quick wins. And so that's how that's how we that's how we started. And so did you have a goal in mind of like, okay, we're gonna do this. And well, first, let me ask, how much debt Did you have once you decided to pay it off? And did you have a goal in mind that you want it to be debt free by a certain date?

So I'm gonna have to tell you like a another part of the story. Okay.

Michael Lacy 12:45

It's gonna get interesting on the podcast this week.

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 12:50

Okay, so the first time we went into this, like, we, I mean, we were ready or so we thought, right. So bye

I don't know, five or six months into it, it was like, yeah, we want to go back to living like everybody else. And so we didn't stick with it. Right. So that was back in 2011. It wasn't until 2017 that we got serious about paying it off. So that's a gap of what six years? Yeah, exactly. So that's that's a huge gap of six years. And I mean, we we just had like a, there was a turning point in our lives and that's what kind of made us get really serious in 2017 and then pay off the debt and in 2020, okay, so I want to go back.

Michael Lacy 13:53

What happened? Because you,

you, you've already made a lot of the heart

choices you've been sacrificing for a few months like, and it is it's a hard journey for those of you guys that are listening that that are just getting started. It does get hard at times. So what happened for you guys back in 2011 that made you say that that's it done?

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 14:17

I think we just it was too much of a sacrifice at the time. And so we were young that and at that time, um, I don't know if it at least I didn't find the debt free communities like these, these groups are all over everywhere now. But back then, I don't know if I just wasn't looking for it or if they really weren't as visible as they are now. And so it was hard. It was hard, not being able to just do what we wanted to do with our money. And so eventually, you know, we just kind of fell off and went back to, you know, paying just enough right?

To get by and so we kind of coasted for, you know, six years, we would start the plan again and then stop, start stop. And so it was just a, it was just a never ending cycle. So do you feel like it was like a pace issue? Because and the reason I ask is because a lot of people who kind of figure out the debt free journey from Dave Ramsey

Michael Lacy 15:23

have this thing with gizelle intensity. And that works for some people. Like it worked for us in my marriage. We did it. Looking back on it, I wouldn't have done it that way. Again, if I could go back and do it over, but I've talked to so many people that either they stick with it and they do it or they run into that wall. It was so was that kind of the case for you. Was it just like the pace at which you were doing it that made it tough? I think it was the pace and I had neither him nor I had any any friends or family that were doing anything similar instead

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 16:00

We didn't have we didn't have a tribe pushing us. And we're both very family oriented. And so it was just hard. It was just hard to make the connection. And you know, we just kind of, we gave up, right? To be honest with you, we just kind of gave up. So and you mentioned friends and family there. I mean, were they at least kind of like fake supportive? Or were they like, Why are y'all doing this? Like, because I know I had some family. I was like, y'all are young right now doing this silly stuff. You got the rest of your life to pay off debt? Like, What are y'all doing? Enjoy your money? You know, so like, what was your family and friend dynamic like around that time? So family, they will support anything we did, right? They that's just them, right? They our team, john and Danielle all the way. And so I don't even think that was so much of the problem. It's just that we knew nobody else was doing it. And so there was nobody to think

talk to about it. I mean, sometimes you just need a listening ear. Right. And so, I mean, have we told them, they probably would have, you know, stood behind us. So that wasn't even and I think we may have mentioned it, but we, you know, we just kind of let it just slide. Um, as far as friends

I didn't have any friends on the on the debt free journey at that time. And so again, there was just nobody to talk to no accountability partner. Um, so again, like we just didn't have those. We didn't want to find those listening ears, I think, right. Okay. And so now I want to bring it back to 2017. Yes, something happens and you say, Alright, that's it. I'm not playing with this thing or more. I want it done. What happened in 2017?

Well, and 2017 we had we found out

Michael Lacy 18:00

That we would become parents after being married for 10 years. So we're 10 years in, we're doing whatever we want. It's just us, right? And then we find out there we're going to, we're going to be somebody whose mom and dad, oh my god, that just that changed the game for us. That changed the game for us. So let me ask this question, because I have this theory that and you're like the perfect person asked, because you started this debt free journey younger or earlier in your marriage. And then you came back later, as you're about to be parents. I have this theory that it's almost I would say, it's a little easier or maybe simpler to do this in those early days of your marriage, because you don't have those habits. Because you can in a marriage, you know, you can feed off of each other like, you know, you get a car so he's got to have a car and so you just develop these habits and these tendencies over time and I feel like I have this theory that it's a little

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 19:00

little harder to overcome those. Would you say that that to be the case for you guys that like getting started on the second journey was like a little harder? or What was it like in comparison to the first time? So actually, I think the second time, it was still hard, right? Either way, it's going to be hard. But this second time, I, in some respects, it was a little bit easier. And here's why. We, once we found out that we will become parents, it was like, we finally found out why, like, we had a reason, right, we had a real reason now to get out of this debt. And so I think in that regard, it was a little bit easier for us to push through because it's like in in the forefront of our brains. We're like, we have to do this for our child. Like, you know, we don't want our child coming into a situation like this. We don't want to, you know, burden her with with any of the issues or any of the financial mistakes.

Michael Lacy 20:00

Right, that we've made. And so in that respect, I think it was a little bit easier because we had that y on the forefront of our mind. So can you talk a little about the importance of finding a wife for the couple? Maybe there's a couple out there who doesn't have kids yet, right? They don't have that big. Why? Because I'll say like, for me, when my daughter was born, that's what kick started my journey into financial independence. We were already debt free. We were our we were saving like, 15 20% of our income. When my daughter was born, it was like, Alright, let's bump this up to 50. I don't want to work anymore. Like, you know what I mean? Like so? Yes, it does change. It can. I won't say it does, but it can change things for you having a kid. But what about the couple who who's not at that point yet? Like, can you talk a little bit about the importance of finding a wife even for them? Absolutely. If you have, if you don't have a Y, you don't have anything pushing you go forward. Like there. There's

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 20:58

I mean, it's

just hard to explain but you you know, you you feel it um, you have to you have to have a reason to sacrifice that much you know it doesn't matter how much debt you might have but you have to have a reason why I'm so you know to push you forward and so I thought that was very important for us. I believe that we had a y prior to finding out that we will become parents. However, I don't know that we dug deep enough um

and I'm just trying to find the words to say this. I don't know if we really dug deep enough

to figure it out if the if that makes sense. Like, I'm like, I just don't think we dug deep but this was like, with the whole kid thing. It was just like obvious like in your face instead.

Like you couldn't run or hide from it. And so, yeah, you have to have that while otherwise, it's a possibility that it won't get done, or you'll have to keep starting and restarting. And, you know, it'll just take forever. So absolutely sit down and figure out, you know, what's your reason for wanting to partake in this financial journey? Love it. Love it. So again, so I want to ask what was the the total when you guys sat down in 2017? How much debt Did you guys have at the start that second start?

So at the at the second start, I think it was about I think it was the 108 it was it was close to 108,000. By that, I mean, we were still like, financing cars and that kind of thing. So and then,

and let me sit let me say this. The 108 was just cars and student loans. We didn't have any credit card debt.

I'm not including our mortgage in that. So this is only consumer debt because we bought a house in 2016. So that 108 was just straight navient Sallie Mae student loans

and and car notes. Yep. So once you found your why you get reorganized? How long did it take you to pay off your debt from that second starting point from the second start in 2017, it actually took us about 35 months and three of those months, I was on a maternity leave. So I took a 12 week maternity leave from my job, but it was unpaid. So what I did do to bring a little bit of income from the house was I took 20 days of PTO and I just stretch that over the 12 week maternity leave. Otherwise, I would have had like zero income sweat, I took a big hit.

On my income when I took that maternity leave, but I was like, yeah, I'm not. I didn't want to take six weeks there was my first child. And I was like, yeah, I'm gonna need way more than that. And so I opted for the 12 weeks. Gotcha. So

Michael Lacy 24:15

the in the, I mean, there's a clear difference here between the first start of your journey and 20 or 2011. And then the second stage of your journey. Yes. How did you manage to stay motivated for 35 months?

The reason I asked this question is because people hear our story 61,016 months and they're like, oh, my goodness, that's fast. That's crazy. That's insane. And I'm just like, yeah, it didn't last long, though. It felt like a blur. When I hear 35 months, those are the stories that really get me because I know what it took for 16 months. I know the level of discipline that it took for that short time and you more than double our time, making the

sacrifices in these hard choices. And that just makes me curious. So how do you stay motivated when you're debt free journey is going to take years.

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 25:12

Lots of prayer.

I mean, being in touch with the numbers, and I'm talking about on a weekly basis, like just having it all up in our faces.

Just really, we really just kept communicating about what our goals were, what would happen the day when we finally could get rid of that type of debt, what we could do with our money, even though we still had the mortgage. You know, we just kept, we kept visualizing ourselves at the finish line. And I think that's key like you have to see yourself cross the finish line, otherwise, you won't make it and another thing that that kept us going is like I said, that

fact that we were bringing a child into this world she should not have to suffer for the financial mistakes that we made right the foolish mistakes that we made. And so we kept all of that on the forefront of our brain and went in went in hard hard you got to stick to this journey for that long you got to go hard there's no there's no tiptoeing around it when you're that long no like no you're absolutely right about that. And and because you made so many sacrifices. Did you guys do anything to celebrate when you hit Submit on that last payment? the crazy part is the last thing that we paid off was his his auto loan. And like I hit the submit button and it was like, just not

Unknown Speaker 26:54

not

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 26:57

No, no, no, congratulate

laces. So I just set there because I paid it he, I think I may have paid it while I was at work or something like it was just something random. We didn't do it together. And I ended up just sending him a screenshot of the confirmation. I was like, well, your car's all paid off. And I mean, we didn't like we didn't and that's probably just our personalities like my husband is like, way more just like he's just laid back just nonchalant cool guy, but we didn't like go out to eat or anything. I think we like ordered something and had food delivered to the house or something like it was it was like nothing like we didn't really celebrate, but I'm already visualizing in my mind, like how I think I want to celebrate when this mortgage is paid off because that's that's a that's a totally different feeling right there. So, but yeah, for this for this milestone, we probably should have celebrated, but we were just like, Alright, we're done with it. On to the next one.

Michael Lacy 28:00

So you mentioned earlier when we were talking about how you felt like the pace was a part of the problem. So the second go round, how did you find better balance?

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 28:13

That's a good question. Um,

I think so. So what we kind of put in our mind was that any money that we make, from this point on once we found out that we were going to be having a baby, any money that we make from this point on, like, we didn't, we didn't allocate it to anything, you know, fancy, no trips, none of that. And so by us not having those, you know, those obligations, or things that like we just, we just kind of cut it out. And I know that sounds crazy, but by us not saying Oh, in 2018, we're going to do this or we're going to do this for our anniversary. Like we that money wasn't allocated for any of that. We

stated just strictly to pay off debt. We just kind of roll with that. And that's what I think helped us

to just move forward with with paying off the debt and to stay motivated. And one thing Another thing I will say is that, um, to keep us balanced every now and then my husband is more of the, I guess the fun guy, right? So I'm gonna, I'm an accountant, by

many accountants you meet might be like, kinda, I'm not gonna say boring, but

we'll, we'll find another word for it, but but just not as fun, right? And so, um, every now and then he'll be like, Hey, you know, maybe we should catch a movie or whatever. And so to keep some kind of balance, he made sure that our budget included like some fun money, some some date night money, some babysitting,

Money, um, so that we could, you know, just kind of go out and have a good time. So I think that's what that's what really helped

Michael Lacy 30:10

to kind of keep everything going and to keep everything balanced. Love it. So I mean, so you pay off 100 and something thousand dollars in 30 something months. That's a couple grand a month that you freed up now and cash flow, man Yeah, feels good, don't it like,

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 30:29

Oh my god, I just kept saying how, like, how are we living? Like we were living? I mean, we were we were bringing in decent incomes right and so it just made me question like why we made all the silly decisions that we did like, why didn't I work hard enough to get scholarships? I didn't have bad grades I had I had a good GPA. However, you know why did not take the time.

My junior and senior year to apply to multiple scholarships so that I could attend the private college that I wanted to, but I wouldn't have had to take out the student loans. And then we're both doing them together. Like We're the same age. So like, we were doing the same silly stuff, you know, together. And so that's just the crazy part about it. And I'm like, I, when I think about it, I just keep saying, Look at all the opportunities we miss.

Because of all this debt that we had, like, I mean, we could be living living totally different lives right now and not 30. But you know, no regrets, right, but it just makes you wonder, you know, right. So, looking forward. I mean, what goals do you guys have today and in the future for your family?

We got to pay off the mortgage like I want to pay the mortgage off in

Fix yours. So we've had the house for four years. So that would be a total of 10 years for paying off the mortgage. But what oh, husband over here.

Like it, we'll take a break. Like, come on Jay. Like, let's just push through and do this. So we can just do what we want with our money and have like, true true financial freedom. Like we've we've reached that first step, okay, by paying off the consumer debt, but now like, let's get it in with this mortgage. And so sometimes that's a battle, because I don't know that. I don't know that he sees it yet. But I see it. I see it and it's doable. It can be done. And you know, a few years and so that's what that's what our biggest goal is right now, but we just have to get on the same page.

Michael Lacy 32:56

Well with how incredible you guys are, how incredibly fast

You guys blaze through all of your other debt, and how you got on the same page this second time, I have no doubt that you guys will figure out the best strategy that works for your family and get that mortgage knocked out sooner rather than later. Whether it's six years, eight years, 10 years, whatever it is

that you guys get that done. So the how I like to end the episode I like to pose some hypothetical questions. So let's say that there's somebody somebody's listening to this, and they want to eliminate their debt. But for some reason, their spouse just does not want to talk about money. And since you are missing money in matrimony,

I want to get your take on what you think what would you say to that person that's struggling to just get their spouse to even open up and just have the conversations that lead to debt freedom?

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 33:56

That's a really, really good question. Um,

I would say that both partners, both spouses, they need to understand each other's money story. You have to know, you know how your spouse feels about money before we can start talking about the numbers. And so what I mean by that is if the ex questions like,

what was your first experience with money? What did you learn about money during your childhood? Who taught you like these are? These are things that you have to you have to kind of dig deep in this area? Another question might be like, what triggers you to spin what triggers you to save? You know, you just want to kind of understand your spouse's mindset around money. And then once you understand that, I think it'll be easier to move forward and to communicate with each other about money. So let's say there's another person that's listening right now and you

Michael Lacy 35:00

They have a lot more debt than you. And they feel like

I don't even know where to start. I don't know what to do this is too much. It's overwhelming. What would you say to that person?

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 35:16

That's a good question to the first thing I think I'd say, though, is you have to know your why.

This, this was hard work, sacrifice the lot.

And so I think it's just important, like I said, to know your why, because in order to make any kind of transformation, you have to understand why you're doing what you're trying to do, if that makes any sense. So that would be the first thing. The other thing I'd say is, you have to have a change in mindset. Right? So what got you into the debt is not going to be the same mindset.

Got that we'll get you out of the deck. And so I think that's important. Like you got to, you got to switch your mindset. If it's negative, then it needs to be positive. Another thing I'd also say is, find your tribe of like minded people, like find your people write, you hear people say that all the time, like find the people who are doing what it is you are trying to do. So that's another tip. And then I'd say,

Don't compare yourself. Don't compare your journey to somebody else's journey. We're all different. All of our journeys are going to be different. And so, you know, be grateful for the journey that you have and improve it. I love that personal finance is personal that last day matters so much. Because we think like when we get in personal finance, we think like oh, keeping up with the Joneses only relate to

Michael Lacy 37:00

spending. But you can do the same thing. You can have the same mindset when it comes to saving when it comes to paying off debt, comparing where you are to other people, and it can be just as harmful as when you're going into debt because your neighbor bought something. Yeah, it is. It's very, very important to be aware that, but thank you so much for sharing. I've really enjoyed talking to you. This has been a lot of fun.

conversation, hey, with that said, I want to give you the opportunity let people know where the best place is to connect with you and anything you have to offer that can help anybody that's in marriage right now trying to manage your money better.

Danielle Davis from Money In Matrimony 37:40

Okay, so if anybody wants to connect, you can find me on Facebook or Instagram at money in and that's AI in matrimony, and I also have a website WWW dot money in matrimony.com. And currently, I am working

On an E book. And so it's like a, it's like a 30 day financial cleanse. And it's just some basics to help you just get the process started and take control of your, of your finances and so working on that now hoping to be finished within the next couple of weeks.

Michael Lacy 38:19

Awesome way you guys be sure to check out Danielle every single spot she mentioned. I'm gonna be sure to link to her social media pages and her website in the show notes which you can find the link to in the episode description.

And now it's time for this week's win of the week. Danielle and her husband started their journey in 2011 with around $50,000 worth of debt, which is a lot and then they ended up stopping the journey a few months in and then they didn't fully commit to it again until a whole Six years later. As she mentioned by that point

They had kind of dabbled in it a little bit, they would pick it up, put it back down, start stop all that stuff, but by the time they recommit it, their debt had more than doubled to over $100,000. Now this time even though the debt was double, they ended up sticking with it for almost three whole years and they became consumer debt free earlier this year. Why? Because the second time around, they had a why that was greater than them.

building wealth is a marathon.

And marathons aren't sexy or even fun for that matter. Like there are going to be times when you want to stop and go back to doing what everyone else is doing like Daniel said, Be Your Why is important because it's the thing that will keep you going when you absolutely do not feel like it. So every time I wanted to do something done with my money over the last few

I would always think back to, okay, so what's going to happen if you buy this Corvette right and you lose your job, or Taylor can't work, or both of those things happen at the same time. And that would allow me to stop, pause and make the good financial decision.

And now that we're facing that exact scenario where I don't have a job, and Taylor could potentially be going on leave for a long time. I'm grateful for the hard choices we've made. But I'm also understanding of the fact that having a really strong y is what has carried us for the last six years. So my question to you is, what's your why, like, What keeps you going on this journey when it gets hard, because it gets hard for all of us. And so this week, I want you to write it down and keep your wife someplace where you can see it on a regular basis.

And when the journey gets hard or you're tempted to make a decision that's going to drive a wedge between you and your money goes. lean into that why and allow it to push you forward.

Now, if you enjoyed this week's episode, all I ask is one thing, that you share this episode with a friend. In times like this, where we've got super high unemployment, we've got this crazy virus still running rampant through our country. He just don't know who could use an encouraging an uplifting story like Daniels. Also, if you'd like to watch the video version of these episodes from this point forward, head over to winning to wealth.com slash YouTube and subscribe. Today's episode with Danielle was actually the very first video interview released and I'm super super excited about this so if video is your thing, go subscribe to the winning to wealth YouTube channel you can find that again at winning to wealth comm slash YouTube. But hey, that's all

The time I have for this week so until we talk again, keep racking up those wins one at a time. Take care.

Unknown Speaker 42:10

You've wrapped up another episode of the winning to wealth podcast. To learn more about how you can start making winning money decisions head over to winning to wealth.com