How to Pay Off Debt When You\’re Totally Broke (My $34k Story)

Look, I\’m gonna be real with you. When I was $34,200 in debt making $52k a year, every article I read about debt payoff felt like it was written by someone who\’d never actually been broke. \”Just cut back on lattes!\” Cool thanks, I don\’t buy lattes because I literally cannot afford them.

So here\’s what actually worked for me. Not theory. Not what should work. What actually worked when I was checking my bank account before every grocery trip and avoiding calls from numbers I didn\’t recognize.

First, you gotta know the actual number

I avoided this for like… two years? Maybe longer honestly. I knew I had credit card debt and a car loan and some medical bills but I didn\’t want to add it all up because then it would be real.

But here\’s the thing – not knowing doesn\’t make it go away. It just makes you anxious all the time without being able to do anything about it.

So one Saturday morning I made coffee, sat down with a notebook, and listed everything. Every credit card. The car loan. That medical bill from when I didn\’t have insurance. Student loans. All of it.

$34,200.

I\’m not gonna lie, I kinda wanted to throw up. But also… there was this weird relief? Like ok, that\’s the number. That\’s what I\’m dealing with. It\’s bad but it\’s not infinite.

The snowball vs avalanche thing

You\’ve probably heard of these. The debt snowball method is where you pay minimums on everything and throw extra money at your smallest debt first. The avalanche method is where you target the highest interest rate first.

Mathematically, avalanche saves you more money. I went with snowball anyway.

Why? Because I needed wins. I needed to see progress. When you\’re that deep in debt and feeling hopeless, paying off a $400 credit card in two months feels amazing. It proves you can do this. It builds momentum.

My first payoff was a store credit card with like a $380 balance. Took me 6 weeks of throwing every extra dollar at it. When I made that final payment I literally did a little dance in my apartment. Sounds dumb but I needed that feeling.

Finding money when there is no money

This is where those generic articles really lost me. \”Cancel your subscriptions!\” I had Netflix and that was it. \”Eat out less!\” I was already eating rice and beans most nights.

Here\’s what actually made a difference:

I sold stuff. Not like a garage sale (I lived in an apartment) but Facebook marketplace and eBay. Old video games, clothes I never wore, a guitar I hadn\’t touched in years. Made about $600 over a few months. Every dollar went to debt.

I picked up extra shifts. I was working a regular 9-5 but I also started doing DoorDash on weekends. Not my idea of a good time but an extra $200-300 a month added up fast.

I called my credit card companies. This sounds crazy but I literally called and asked for lower interest rates. Two out of four said yes. One dropped from 24% to 18%. That\’s real money over time.

I got a side gig doing something I was actually good at. For me it was helping small businesses with their spreadsheets. Made maybe $100-200 a month but it was better than nothing and I didn\’t hate it. I wrote more about side hustles that actually pay if you want ideas.

The budget that actually worked

I tried like five different budgeting apps before I realized I just needed a simple spreadsheet. Income at the top, fixed expenses (rent, car payment, insurance, minimums on all debts), then whatever was left got split between groceries, gas, and extra debt payment. The 50/30/20 rule didn\’t really work for me when I was this broke, but it might work for you.

The key thing – and I cannot stress this enough – was giving myself SOME money for sanity. Like $50 a month that I could spend on whatever without guilt. A beer with friends. A movie. Whatever.

When I tried to be too strict I\’d eventually crack and blow $200 on something stupid out of frustration. The $50 \”fun money\” actually saved me money in the long run.

When I wanted to give up

There were so many times. Month 8 or 9 especially. The initial motivation had worn off, I was tired of saying no to things, and it felt like the debt wasn\’t going down fast enough.

What helped was having a visual tracker. I know this sounds cheesy but I had a paper thermometer thing on my fridge showing total debt paid off. Coloring in another section – even if it was only $50 – reminded me I was making progress.

Also talking to people who got it. Not everyone understands. Some friends would be like \”just come out, it\’s only $30\” and not get why I couldn\’t. But I found a couple people – one coworker, my cousin – who were also dealing with debt and we\’d check in with each other.

The timeline nobody talks about

It took me 3 years and 2 months to pay off that $34k. Three years. Most articles make it sound like you\’ll be debt free in 12-18 months if you really try.

Maybe some people can do that. I couldn\’t. Life kept happening – my car needed new brakes, I had a medical thing, rent went up. Some months I could barely make minimums.

But I kept going. Even when progress was slow. Even when I wanted to quit.

What I\’d do differently

Honestly? I\’d have started sooner. I spent years just paying minimums and trying not to think about it. If I\’d gotten serious earlier, I\’d have saved thousands in interest.

I also wish I\’d been easier on myself. The shame and anxiety I carried made everything harder. Debt doesn\’t make you a bad person. It makes you a person who made some decisions – sometimes good decisions that just didn\’t work out – and now you\’re dealing with the consequences.

If you\’re in debt right now, especially if it feels impossible, I just want you to know it\’s not. It\’s hard and it takes time and there will be setbacks. But you can do this. One payment at a time.

Oh and one more thing – while you\’re paying off debt, keep an eye on your credit score. Mine went from 580 to 760 during this journey, and that opened up a lot of doors. Also maybe read my piece on whether credit cards are friend or enemy because spoiler alert: they were both for me.

And for what it\’s worth, if you need someone who gets it, you can always reach out. I remember how alone it felt.