One money memory that sticks with me is what it felt like to be buried in credit card debt. I keep that memory close because I never want to go back to that place — feeling suffocated by what I owed yet unable to stop spending.
Not that long ago, I was pretty bad at managing my money: for every $10 I made, I’d spend $15. You don’t need a calculator to know how that ends. It didn’t take long for reality to catch up, and soon I was drowning in five figures of credit card debt.
But here’s the thing — swiping my credit card made me feel so free. It gave me a quick high, even though it was really just digging me deeper into a hole I didn’t want to admit I was in.
If you’re reading this and thinking, yep, that’s me, I want you to know: I see you. I was you. And here’s the good news
Being stuck in debt doesn’t have to be the end of your money story. It wasn’t the end for me. I went from drowning under credit card bills to building a multi–7-figure net worth and learning how to use debt with intention and purpose. But first, I had to get the bad debt out of my life.
So if you’re stuck in that same cycle of swiping and stressing, here are three things that helped me break free — and they can help you too.
- Face the numbers.
This sounds simple, but it’s not easy. You have to put your eyes on the real numbers and ask:
- How much do I owe?
- What’s the minimum payment due on each card?
- How long will it take if I only pay the minimum balance each month?
I remember sitting at my kitchen table, scrutinizing every expense on my printed bank statement. It was equal parts terrifying and freeing. Who spent $100 at that steakhouse? Who bought a $200 leather jacket from Marshalls? All me. But once I saw the truth, I could finally make a plan to get out.
At first, I just focused on paying the minimums. I owed about $15,000 — and when I did the math, I realized paying just the minimums would require five years to pay off the balance.
So step one: take a good, hard look at the numbers. There’s no running from it. Stick to paying at least the minimums — that’s your no-excuses baseline.
- Pay a little extra — no matter how small that amount is.
Here’s what I learned really fast: minimum payments mostly cover the interest — barely touching the real balance owed. Once I understood that, I pushed myself to pay just a bit more.
The extra amount didn’t have to be big. An extra $20 here, $50 there. If the minimum payment was $100, I’d try to send $150 each month. It didn’t feel like much, but that extra bit chipped away at the principal and cut my payoff time to three years instead of five.
Think of it like digging yourself out of a hole — every extra dollar is one more scoop of dirt off your chest. Keep scooping.
- Remove easy access to what got you into debt.
This last one felt drastic at the time, but it was the best thing I did: I hid my credit cards from myself. I literally put them in a drawer at home and left them there, did not touch them for months.
Why? Because I knew myself — if those cards were in my wallet, I’d swipe them. So I switched to cash and my debit card only, and did that for six or seven months. It forced me to live within what I actually had — no more “I’ll pay it later” mentality. It also helped me build the discipline of constantly checking my numbers.
If you’re serious about ditching debt, you have to stop feeding the beast. For me, making my cards hard to reach was my built-in “no excuses” policy. It worked really well.
Final thoughts
Getting out of debt isn’t easy — but it’s 100% possible. If you feel stuck right now, please hear me: you are not alone. I was there too. And if I could claw my way out, so can you.
So grab a pen, face those numbers, pay a little extra when you can, and if you need to — hide those cards. Your future self will thank you for every single step.
What’s one step you are going to take to start digging yourself out?
By Christine Wong-Tai
About the Author
Christine is the Founder of Compounding Penny, an expert financial educator, and a real estate investor who grew up in poverty and created a multi-million-dollar net worth. She shares practical strategies to help others manage their money and build wealth on their own terms — including through her masterclass, which you can find at compoundingpenny.com.
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