Don’t underestimate small but life-changing decisions.

The smallest action of cutting off my phone contract led me to pay off more than USD11k I had in debt in less than five months.

Exactly thirteen months ago I cut off my cellphone contract. Yes, I did!. This decision might seem easy but isn’t. In fact, even when I knew that I was paying off for something I didn’t need it was quite difficult to quit.

That small decision helped me to save about $350.00 until Feb,2021. This is so important since you have a few hundred dollars more in your pocket but the biggest lesson here is that it helped me to avoid buying by emotions and also to pursue financial freedom like a psychopath.

As a result, a few months later I ended up paying off two credit cards and a loan car. It was the first time I felt like a winner I can’t describe that feeling. But felt I was achieving big things.

Joy and motivation came over me.

Things change in my favor, I was doing things in a different way than I had have been doing for years.

Once and for all, don’t expect different results doing the same things.

These are the key factors in the process of getting out of debt that allowed me to go from cut off my cellphone contract to pay off thousands of dollars in debt.

Pandemic hacked the world

It changed in my favor fortunately

I am a developer so my job not necessarily requires me to be at the office.

In that regard, before the pandemic started, I used to work from home a few days a week, and the rest of them went to the office.

But thanks to the pandemic things changed on my side. I started out to work fully from home. A bit of real luck for someone who was away from his family.

During the lockdown, I realized that I didn’t need a phone contract plan. Everything I needed I had already at home — a laptop and internet connection.

Who does needs it while staying and working from home the whole day? Nobody, absolutely. You have everything you need.

Don’t underestimate a small action

Read it again, please.

It will lead you to a big achievement

Eight months ago I probably made the most powerful decision in the pursuit of financial freedom. I had decided to get out of debt at all costs.

Yet, I knew it will require me courage, discipline, commitment, and hard work.

I had been trying to do something like that but I always ended up doing the same mistake. I used any excuse to justify my wrong decision. I failed at it miserable all time.

The time to renew my cellphone contract had come. I took my phone I called the company.

This is the smallest but most powerful and right decision I have ever made in the last ten years in terms of personal finance.

They want you their slave

They want so bad to keep you their slave

Cellphone companies know how to make money — a lot of money. Most of us don't, sadly.

The day I called the cellphone provider I understood the strategy the companies use to keep you their slave at all cost.

Come on! I just wanted to cut it off. One salesperson is enough to do it.

I went through over five different salespersons who were trying to convince me to keep the contract. They were offered me several different options — really compelling deals. I was tempted seriously.

I was about to fail one more time. Fortunately, I didn’t.

Takeaway

Keep you strong on your decision. Even when the deal might sound compelling and good for you. It isn’t.

Bye Bye credit cards

I would no longer be their slave

Cut off the cellphone contract was only a tiny decision I took. Believe me, I took it seriously. I was decided to get out of debt as soon as possible. At least with the smallest debts.

I knew very well my next victims. They were two credit cards.

At that time both amounted to more than $7,000.

I don't really want to talk about how I fell into the hell of owing several credit cards. I will dedicate a full blog post to it.

Yet, one thing I would like to highlight is the fact that no matter the reasons you got into it. You need to acknowledge that you will never be educated enough to handle them.

Whether you spent the whole amount of them for your wedding, at a night party, or because you needed to pay your student loan fee it doesn’t really matter.

You will find everywhere to someone says that you need to pay off the statement balance in full every month is the key. While this could be good with money at your hands you don't know what could happen.

This is why this advice doesn’t work

First of all, because we aren’t educated financially. We don’t get along with money.

Being in a good relationship with money means you should know all things about money, emotions behind purchasing, inflation, deflation, maintenance charges, cash advance fee, and everything in between.

How I did pay off those two credits cards

By then I had got a full-time and a part-time high-paying job. So for the first time in my life, I had leftover money in my hands.

I decided to pay off $1,500 on the 10th of each month for the next five months. If we add up we will get this.

USD 1,500 x 5 = 7,500.

Takeaway

If you dont have leftover money now, dont worry. Start just after read my piece looking for new small income streams (sell second-hand things, get hired, find a side hustle, whatever) and commit to yourself to add that amount to your debt.

As someone said,

Shipping beats perfection

Keeping moving forward in a tiny steady way is better than nothing.

Remember the problem isn’t the lack of money but the lack of commitment and determination to getting out of that whole.

Why buy a car using a loan?

A “valid” reason I got a car loan

One year ago, before the pandemic, I sold my previous car since I needed urgent money.

After selling it, I was commuting to the office using public transportation for about three months. A few of my coworkers used to do the same.

Yet, the problem on my end was I carried always the office’s laptop with me which is really dangerous.

In my country carrying worth things on public transportation is not a really good idea. Sadly. Quite often, passengers, are sault and gangster steal their belongings.

You cant imagine the fear I felt every time I needed to get on the bus. I was sitting down with a little panic.

In spite of I needed I car, at that time I owned a considerable amount of debt so a car loan wasn’t a good deal. I did it, though.

I sold the car. A few minutes later I did pay off the loan car

I created the advertising on a local marketplace website.

I got quickly interested users. But since I work full-time I needed time to show it up to potential clients. I didn’t want to do this I didn’t have time.

Yet, the real problem was I didn’t want to sell it. A bunch of thoughts flooded my head. All of them were just excuses to not do it.

Finally, I decided to spend a whole morning. I knew I needed that time to do whatever I needed to do to sell it. Luckily there was a person who was really interested in it.

I sold it to him. I got $5,350. I earned $150.00 and the most important part I kept moving forward toward my financial goals.

Let’s do calculations.

Sale — — — — — — — — $5,350.00
Car price — — — — — — $5,200.00 -
Profit — — — — — — — — $150.00

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of people struggling with debts just right now. I knew even people who suicided themselves because of debts.

We deserve more my friend. We deserve financial freedom at all costs. But we need to have the gut to take the first step.

Once you commit to yourself nothing can stop you.

Eight out of ten of my friends have been struggling with debt for a long time. So this is a common mistake among us.

It’s time to get out of it.

In my case, a phone call was the beginning of this war I started out to get financial freedom once and for all.

I went from a call to cut off the phone contract to pay off more than USD11,000+ in about five months.

Financial companies will find a way to convince you to stay. They know very well how to make money — your money. Yet, we have the power to turn it around this time.

Thanks for reading!