Getting Out Of Debt!

Getting Out Of Debt!

Written by David Herbert December 29, 2018

WE WERE BEING CONSUMED IN DEBT, NOT BECAUSE WE ENJOYED NIGHT OUTS, LUXURY CARS, BIG ASS TV'S OR FANCY CLOTHES.

Summer fields

We knew there was a better way, better than the 40-hour work week, 45 years and then retire to do the things that you want to do with your life. We wanted better for us and better for our children. Being told "no" and "sorry we can’t afford that" as a child, I knew that I wanted something different when I raised my children.

It started when we saw Harry Singha at a personal development event in London. Most of the information was new to us, but all of it made sense. We took steps to start implementing what we had learned, taking action and moving forward. A month later, we came across another event and took part. This was a 2-day weekend event. Most of the events were in London. Having to travel from Cornwall, 200 miles away, staying in London for 2 nights, and covering the cost of the event meant that sometimes we were living tightly. Knowing that it would pay off in the end, we went for it. Straight away, we gained some real nuggets to take away and use to move our business forward. We knew we were in the right room.

Having four different businesses to apply it to meant we were losing focus and having small successes in all areas, rather than a large success in what we needed at the time. We were almost addicted to self-development events—not in a bad way, not "course junkies," as we did take action on what we learned and were improving in all aspects of life. We became knowledge seekers, as the more you learn about the things you didn't know, the more you realise how much more there is to learn.

Having large financial obligations, including legal fees from a two-year court battle for the adoption process, we were getting swamped. After a few months, we decided we had to find another way. That’s when we decided to move to London, where we would have a $12,000+ difference a year.

We previously had an IVA and knew we did not want to go through that again. We had obligations to pay and, by any means possible, we were determined to pay every penny back. Moving to London was not a choice for fashion, or to be closer to the city lights; it was a necessity to save and repay.

1 year on, we have paid 95% back. We have a little more to repay and then we will be free. The last remaining debts are to close friends, and we value their friendship and have all intentions of paying every penny with interest. There is one guy who helped us in our dire need, and we have found an awesome gift to thank him and his partner—they will love it.

We have learned that you can travel on a budget. We have learned how to get the best deals, where, and how to save. When we were in Miami and got an invitation to Las Vegas to sell Tegan’s books, it was such a great opportunity that we could not miss it. We ordered 150 copies of her book. (We were lucky that Amazon had put her books on a 50% discount. The great thing is that her books usually cost $14, and we receive $6.93 in royalties. When her books were discounted, we still received the full amount of royalties.) 150 books cost us $10 each. I wish we had more finances to buy more. Knowing that we would receive the royalties in 30 days gave us hope for the month to come.

Tegan Helen with book, Money for Kids

With the invitation to sell the books and a recommendation to sell them for $20, we set out. Fly or drive? Flying was $600, and we needed accommodation for 10 days in Vegas. Or we could take a 10-day drive for $800 with a few stops along the way. If we slept in the car for a couple of nights, we could spend the day at Disneyland. "Do what others won’t so that you can have things that others can't."

Office discussion over desk

We had return flights from Miami to London, which was the end of our trip (well, the end of our visa stay). But what were we to do? London was the original plan, but then what? Seeing all the snowy pictures reminded us that we did not want to go back to London with its expensive rent (a minimum of £700 a month). Looking for the best possible deal, we found a cabana in Costa Rica with a pool, close to the beach, for £300 a month. (We use Airbnb, so all bills are included.) Moving to Costa Rica was a necessity, providing us with accommodation and an internet connection so that we could work online, acquire more clients, complete other books, and pay off our obligations. It turned into the most incredible 3 months of our lives.

Family exploring the woods

Getting up early (4/5 am) to see nature and wildlife became a necessity, as we still could not afford to live in our home country. We sometimes lived so close to the breadline that issues would arise. We are dead-set on paying back as much as we can, but sometimes we leave ourselves short. LAX is a prime example of this. We had issues with the plane tickets, and the company we bought them from had not communicated with the airline, leaving us without a ticket and with very little money left.

Trafic at LAX airport

We had to spend a couple of days at LAX airport waiting for a refund, then trying to buy a ticket on the day, which meant we didn’t have enough money to get where we needed to be. If this was the worst experience of our travels, I would be relieved, but there is more on that for another day. Look out for Worst Week Ever.

About Author

David Herbert:

English Author, Entrepreneur, Minimalist and Digital Nomad.