This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Danny Stewart, a 28-year-old public relations professional who paid down $10,000 in credit card debt. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
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After graduating in 2019, I moved into my parents’ basement while working different jobs in the communications industry to save money.
When I was 25, I got my first apartment in Chicago. I was working full-time as a PR associate, trying to manage all my expenses while also paying $1,500 in rent.
I had never had a credit card before. With rent being such a large expense, I decided to get a credit card so I could defer some costs and avoid draining the little savings I had.
It didn’t take long after opening that first card to open a second, and within a few months, I started racking up debt. I spiraled, and by 26, I had close to $10,000 in credit card debt.
Here are the lifestyle changes I made to pay it off.
I had control over my money before I got a credit card
I took out student loans for college, but I had two jobs, so I had enough cash to pay the rest of my expenses. I didn’t save very much money, but without a credit card, I had no choice but to live within my means, and I did.
I had my mom’s credit card for emergencies, but I never used it and returned it to her when I graduated. I still felt like a college kid playing an adult and waited to take the steps toward bigger purchases and greater responsibilities.
Graduating a little less than a year before the COVID-19 shutdowns made it easier to crash at my parents’ house and not take those steps. I got my first credit card and bought my first car in 2021.
I didn’t do a lot of research
I picked a credit card recommended by a credit score website based on my credit score. I decided to use it only for emergencies.
When I opened my second credit card in 2023, it wasn’t because I wanted to buy anything extreme. I wanted to pay my rent, split some of my expenses, and have a decent social life.
My salary was stretched thin, and after paying rent with my usual expenses, I didn’t have a lot of extra cash left for fun. After opening that second credit card, I was incentivized to spend $1,000 in the first three months to get bonus miles. I started using it for more than gas and a few takeout dinners.
That same year, I had to attend six weddings that required travel, accommodation, and gifts. After spending to hit that bonus promotion on the card, it made it easier to keep spending.
I started putting everything on my credit card, from groceries and Uber rides to baseball games, music festivals, and theme parks. I stopped carefully checking my checking account balance and started spending more recklessly. My debt started to climb into the thousands.
It got even harder to keep up with my monthly payments
Once the balance on my cards started to increase, the minimum payments grew, too. I was only able to make the minimum payments each month, and interest was compounding at such a rapid rate. Everything got out of control.
All of a sudden, I was almost $10,000 in credit card debt, most of it due to interest. I just kept knocking off the minimum each month while the interest climbed.
My heart would drop every time I got a credit card statement in the mail. I kept telling myself that eventually I’d get a big promotion or find a second job and be able to pay off the debt fast, but months would pass, and that wasn’t happening.
In January 2024, I realized that if I didn’t do something about my debt, it would only get worse. Even though I loved living in the city and having my own apartment, I knew that I had to give it up if I wanted to fix my situation.
I moved back to my parents’ basement when my lease ended
It was humbling to move back to my parents’ basement. I was angry and embarrassed, but grateful that my parents let me move home so I could figure things out.
Without paying $1,500 in rent every month, I was able to put most of that money toward whatever payments I could afford. Once I started paying off those huge chunks of debt, the interest began to decline.
I moved back home in June 2024. Right around Christmas that year, I got that debt down to under $1,000.
I also reached out to my best friend, who is a financial advisor
It was hard for me to push aside the embarrassment of being in debt, but it helped make the situation feel real. One of my best friends is a financial advisor. I confessed my situation to him, and he helped me see a clear path toward getting out of this debt.
He suggested I open a second checking account. I allotted $750 to the second checking account and put the rest of my paycheck in my original checking account, which was only for bills. The $750 was considered my fun money.
I’m willing to cut back so I can stay out of debt and be strategic with my money
I cut back on going out to bars and dinners because those things really add up. In one weekend, I was spending over $200 on average. I also stopped reaching for my credit card if my checking account wasn’t in a place I was happy with.
I didn’t want my social life to go on hold because I was trying to be careful with money, so I started suggesting cheaper alternatives to my friends. Instead of a ballgame, it was a movie. Instead of a night out at the bars, it was a dinner and an earlier night.
Doing all of this helped me pay off my credit card debt by my 28th birthday
Now that my credit card debt is paid off and I’m back in my own apartment after almost a year of living with my parents, I’m still carrying over a lot of those lifestyle changes.
I only go out to bars if a large group is going, and I’ll get dinner once or twice a month. I say no to a lot more things now, like weekend trips and happy hours after work, because it’s more important to take care of my finances.
I want to buy a house and pay off my student loan debt next
My two big financial goals in the next seven years are to buy a house and pay off most, if not all, of my student loans. My financial advisor friend helped me put together a plan to make all of this happen.
If I have to stay home and watch a basketball game rather than spend money at a bar, or say no to taking a vacation with friends, it’s worth it to me now that I have concrete money goals I’m working toward.
I’m not anti-credit cards. I just changed the way I use mine.
I don’t have the same type of anxiety using my credit card that I did in the past. I used to panic when I’d check my statement once a month and kept digging myself into that hole.
Right now, I have about $700 in credit card debt, but I plan to pay it off with my next paycheck. Things come up, from emergencies to friends getting married, and I don’t want to live life afraid to use my credit card. I know how to get out of debt and stay out of it. I’m more strategic.
Getting into credit card debt at 25 was a blessing in disguise
Getting into debt was the first time I felt like my life was off track. I didn’t learn how to handle my money in college, so it was a rude awakening when I was a few years postgrad. I view this as a blessing because if I didn’t learn this lesson now, I don’t know if I ever would have.
I wish other people struggling with debt would realize that it’s not the end of the world, and it’s not going to affect your life forever. Even if it feels hard to do, reach out for help because you don’t have to handle this alone.
