How a 30-Something Couple Used Dave Ramsey’s Advice To Pay Off Over $170K in Debt

In a recent episode of the popular financial advice podcast The Ramsey Show, a couple in their mid-30s shared how they paid off $173,500 in debt — their entire home — in just a decade.

The couple, Vicente and Joanna from Grand Rapids, Michigan, followed Dave Ramsey’s advice to become debt-free and take baby steps towards becoming millionaires.

Their story is an important reminder that it may be easier to squash debt than you think with some careful planning and a bit of discipline.

In an episode of the podcast that streamed on Oct. 25, Vicente and Joanna shared that they were able to pay off their $173,500 in debt over 10 years on modest salaries.

Vicente is a middle school teacher, and Joanna is a registered nurse (RN). Both are 34 years old.

When they first began the journey of paying off their home a decade ago, they made about $85,000 between the two of them. Their income has grown to $160,000 currently, mostly due to Joanna's pay increases as she progressed in her career in healthcare.

Part of their success was due to their vow to get ahead financially early on. Plus, they had one big advantage: neither was bogged down with student debt.

While they decided to take on debt in their early 20s when they got married and bought their home, they also set an ambitious goal of living debt-free in the near future.

To better prepare, they took a “Financial Peace” class together to learn how to budget better and move towards their financial ambitions.

What helped the couple ultimately crush their debt was having a long-term goal of financial freedom. They explained they didn’t want to be “bogged down by debt and living paycheck to paycheck,” so they took some simple steps to make that happen.

The pair also explained that their families’ financial habits ingrained a sense of responsibility in them and inspired them to stay committed to the long-term goal.

Vicente and Joanna explained that they were inspired by Dave Ramsey’s “Baby Steps” to financial freedom and followed them step by step. They had to stick to a strict budget even as they began to earn more money, which required a lot of discipline.

The pair explained that this required many conversations about finances and a monthly budget to ensure both stayed within their shared dream of living debt-free.

Patience is a big part of achieving debt-free ambitions, and Vicente and Joanna certainly had it. They said on the podcast that the home they bought 10 years ago and owed $173,500 on is now worth about $450,000.

Another “Baby Step” they excel at is investing money in retirement/savings accounts — they have about $250,000 currently, putting them on track to be “Baby Steps Millionaires.”

Part of what makes budgeting and staying focused on a plan to live debt-free difficult is avoiding temptation once more money starts to roll in.

For Vicente and Joanna, that meant avoiding opening new credit cards or splurging on unnecessary purchases — even if they could technically afford them.

Vicente and Joanna admitted that setting the 10-year goal to get out of debt was difficult. Ten years is a long time to be on a strict budget, so it took a lot of “patience, perseverance, and not getting distracted.”

That included not getting swayed by the things other people were spending on and avoiding the temptation to “keep up with the Joneses.”

Over the decade that they worked to reduce their debt, Vincente and Joanna avoided taking on any more debt by only purchasing cheap cars.

“We probably had five or six cars over 10 years and all of them have been well under 10 grand,” Vicente explained. Of course, there was the temptation to buy nicer cars, the couple explained, but they remained disciplined.

Financial goals are sometimes easier to achieve when you have a clear idea of what you’re working towards. Vincente and Joanna wanted to focus on generational wealth and being able to pay for their two children’s college education in addition to living debt-free.

Vicente explained that his parents paying for his school gave him a big leg up, and the couple hopes to be able to do the same for their kids’ education and maybe even their grandkids’.

Vicente and Joanna are the perfect examples of how a middle-class couple, a teacher, and a nurse with two children can still build wealth.

It did take discipline, but the couple said they don’t regret their 10-year plan at all, and now they can enjoy some of the finer things in life — like vacations and, perhaps, finally, a car upgrade.