Million Dollar Debt Challenge! Let’s pay off $100M (or more) in homes across the world!

Jan 6, 2020 | Best Budgeting Tips, Budgeting, Finances, Get Out of Debt

This year, we want to work together as #FreebsNation and pay off $100 million of debt so that we can make a positive impact in homes around the world. Let the debt challenge begin!

Join us in eliminating debt this year in our quest to payoff $1 Million in Debt! Fun Cheap or Free

UPDATE: The 2020 $100M debt challenge has officially closed and you blew. our. minds. with how awesome you did!

Once upon a time we were newlyweds, navigating life with a new baby and the added stress of starting a business for the first time. We had $0 in savings thanks to a failed real estate venture, and had quickly racked up $15,000 in credit card debt (just to pay the bills!), in addition to struggling to make payments on a $10,500 car loan that we couldn't afford.

It was, in a word, terrifying.

The debt was choking. Suffocating. It felt like carrying around a backpack of bricks; constantly weighing us down, slowing us from reaching our goals. A painful, continuous feeling that we were in over our heads and that this burden might never go away.

But it did!

Many of you already know our story, but in a nutshell, we buckled down. I created a budgeting method that actually WORKED for our family. We sold that car we couldn't afford, and Bubba rode his bike to work – rain, snow, and shine. I invented a bank account system, frugal methods, meal planning techniques, (and everything else I have shared on this blog for years) that started working. And fast!

We paid off over $15,000 of credit card debt in just 13 months, on a $31,000 income…and got our life back.

Since then we have done everything we can to get, and stay, debt-free. We pay cash for as much as we can, pay double payments on any loans to pay them off 2x as fast, and even paid off our house instead of putting in a pool (which, let's be honest, sounds way more fun). By focusing on our DEBT above all else, it has allowed us to help others, and to grow financially in ways we never thought possible.

…and now it's your turn!

This year, we're practicing what we preach in our secret-sauce Budget Boot Camp program (use the code MILLION for 10% OFF) and we're kicking debt's booty in 2020! Our goal at FCF is to help families across the globe pay off $100 MILLION in debt this year. We firmly believe that by helping our Freebs stay conscious of and focus on debt, that we will not only help the world economy, but will strengthen families, improve marriages, and help our #FreebsNation achieve financial freedom in record time.

So…what do you say? YOU IN??

Here's how it works:

STEP 1: MAKE A DEBT PAYMENT

Starting January 1, 2020, focus on your debt! Have extra money left over at the end of the week? Have a tax return check that just came in the mail? Have some old clothing or furniture lying around that you could sell for extra cash? GREAT! Put EVERYTHING you have toward existing debt, and make it a goal and focus to pay it off AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!

So, what is considered debt? Debt is any money that you owe to someone else. For example, existing credit card debt, principal on mortgage loans, car loans, student loans, outstanding medical bills, etc.

Any debt you pay DOWN in the year 2020 counts. We're talking about principal, not interest or taxes.

NOTE: If you keep accruing the debt, it defeats the purpose! We are tracking debt we are ELIMINATING. So if it's a credit card that you continue to add charges to each month, that's probably not the best. But…if you stop using the credit card, and then make payments on it until the balance reaches $0, that's the magic we are looking for!

STEP 2: SUBMIT THE AMOUNT TO HELP US GET TO $100 MILLION!

The challenge has been closed, but look at how awesome #FreebsNation did!!!

DEBT PAID OFF BY FREEBS IN 2020!!

Created using the Donation Thermometer plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/donation-thermometer/.$100,000,000Raised $102,562,672 towards the $100,000,000 target.$102,562,672Raised $102,562,672 towards the $100,000,000 target.103%

Keep scrolling for our best tips for paying off debt!

STEP 3: STAY MOTIVATED WITH #FREEBSNATION

Don't forget to celebrate the small victories each month! Set a goal to pay off your debt each month and crush it!

Sharing good news always makes your wins more significant and will help you stay motivated. Interact with our social media platforms to share your wins! Instagram and Facebook are always a good place to start. 😉

WHY WE WANT TO ELIMINATE DEBT!!!

This exciting idea hit us like a bolt of lightening just a couple weeks ago! We were SO inspired by our Secret Santa project in 2019. Our community was so generous! We noticed that when so many people donated even super small amounts, it added up quick and we could make a BIG difference in so many lives. We were touched. It was so… Incredible. Moving. Life-changing.

It reminded us that being frugal is the best way to help OTHERS! We want to help even MORE people. We want to help you find the financial freedom that comes from being debt-free so that your marriages, homes and families can be a little more peaceful and you can do more of the things you love.

Frugal living is powerful! Join us as we pay off debt and work towards paying off debt and saving money this year at Fun Cheap or Free

Hopefully, as you find yourself becoming more financially secure you'll be able to educate those around you (kids, siblings, parents, etc.) and even find yourself in a position to donate to causes that are important to you and bless even more lives! We're seriously stoked about how much potential this challenge has to make change around the world!

So how do we do that!?! Easy peasy…

LET'S GET FRUGAL!

We're going to take what we know and put it to good use! Here are just a few of our favorite resources, tips and tricks for getting organized so that you can save money.

The biggest note I've learned over the years is that the simplest way to get out of debt, even on a tiny income, doesn't come down to the big numbers. It's the $1, $5, $10 daily decisions that make a difference. Check out How to Get Out of Debt in 3 simple steps here!

Join me as I walk through a day in the life of our family's frugal living where I share tons of tips and tricks to help you save money!

Plan on doing a few spending freezes throughout the year to help you save BIG! Sounds scary, but it's not! You'll see!!

The Simplest Budgeting Technique EVER is a great way to help you track your spending each month.

If you haven't already tried organizing your money into 7 bank accounts, this is a revolutionary idea that will change your life!

We know the grocery budget is typically the biggest budget for most families next to their mortgage… here are the BEST tips for setting and sticking to your budget and here are some tips for saving money while you're out grocery shopping!

Using what you have on hand to make delicious and healthy meals for you family is what we like to call shelf cooking and it is LIFE over here, so be sure to check out ShelfCooking.com for ideas for how to make the most of the food you have!

These are just a FEW things we can do to become more frugal. We'll be sharing loads more tips and tricks for how to thrive on a budget this year to help us pay off debt!

What do you say? Are you IN?!

Join us in our $100 million dollar debt challenge and making a bigger impact on the world this year! Fun Cheap or Free

Still not sure where to start when it comes to tackling your debt? We can help! If you haven't checked it out already, don't forget about my Secret Sauce online budgeting program, Budget Boot Camp!

BUDGET BOOT CAMP

Budget Boot Camp is a super fun video program that makes money easy to understand. This is the last budgeting program you will ever need. I have taken my years of expertise, trial and error, and straight-up street smarts and compiled it into 27 videos that will not only tell you, but hold your hand through the entire process.

Budget Boot Camp - The last budgeting program you will ever need from Fun Cheap or Free

Learn to set goals, budget the SIMPLE WAY (without sacrificing quality of life), keep those budgets, stop fighting about money, pay off debt, increase your paycheck, learn to afford just about anything, and more! All you need is a screen and you're set!

Budget Boot Camp has already changed thousands of families' lives for the better as it has helped them conquer debt and get control of their finances for good!

Check out what people are saying about Budget Boot Camp:

BUDGET BOOT CAMP TESTIMONIALS

We absolutely love hearing your success stories!

It truly is incredible what you can do when you focus in on eliminating debt and stick to your budget!

If you're looking to make a change to your spending and saving habits, let us help you whip your wallet into shape!

Let's do this!

Jordan Page Signature from Fun Cheap or Free

25 Comments

  1. Melissa

    Just curious: is it only money towards debt or can we count savings like an RRSP contribution?

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      This is JUST for debt! But if you are debt-free, then have your own challenge and see how much money you can save this year! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kendra

    I think you should do a bunch of gift card giveaways for anyone who paid down debt!!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Thanks for that good idea!

      Reply
  3. Christi

    I’m totally on board with this challenge! Also, the link to your Facebook forum is not working. It says it is not available. Just so you know….

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Oh man, thanks for letting us know! It’s been fixed now, so you should be able to find the Facebook group! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Elin

    Is it seriously at 219 % already?!! 🙊
    You should do $10M or $100M or something 🤪

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Isn’t it crazy?! The Freebs are awesome! $100M sounds like our kind of challenge 😉

      Reply
  5. Stacey

    Some kind of giveaway to celebrate sounds great!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Noted, thanks for the input! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Erin Steele

    We should celebrate by your family coming to visit us! We live near Palmyra, so basically the Mormon Mecca!!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Haha!!! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Dawn

    Please help me to get out of debt my family of 6 is in need of help

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Our site has LOTS of free resources to help you to get started! You can check out all of our budgeting posts HERE. Our Facebook group is also a great place to get advice from others who are in a similar situation as you. You can find that HERE. Hope that helps! It’s a hard task, but you can crush your debt!

      Reply
  8. Suzanne

    Such a fun idea to get everyone fired up and doing it with a lot of others really helps to stay motivated. It‘s so nice to see the tracker go up when I submit my amount of debt I‘m paying off. We, as Freebs, will reach more than $100.000.000 by December 31st, I bet 💪🏻😎

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Isn’t it such a great feeling knowing that you contributed to reaching such a large amount?! We can do it!!! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Janette

    Is there somewhere we can see people’s individual payments and amounts? I think it would be encouraging to see the “small” individual amounts and how they add up. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      No, there’s no way to do that unfortunately. But that would be cool! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Danielle Reid

    Love this! For a celebration, how about donating a few BBC memberships to some colleges and/or those unable to pay for it on their own, so they can know how amazing it is to pay off debt.

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Great idea!

      Reply
  11. Danielle Reid

    My husband says “Block party…your place” lol

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Ha!

      Reply
  12. Elin

    And it’s past 100 Million!! Wow! It’s been so exciting to follow this during this year, and encouraging! Thank you so much FCF Team for your all the work you put into brightening up the world a bit! ❤️❤️❤️

    Reply
  13. Nadia D.

    I got to this a little late but I want to contribute my amount! We paid of $37,500 in debt last year, paying off all our credit cards and some other things!

    Thank you for building a community around living your best life, not by adding more complexity but using simplicity and discipline to find happiness!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      WOW, way to go!!! This is so amazing, thank you so much for sharing with us! We are just so so happy to hear that our community has been beneficial to you and your family! XOXO

      Reply

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