The Little Red Journal: Minimalism + Money

We paid off $17,000 in student loans in less than 18 months. | Learn how!
After paying off the student debt, we then saved $16,000 in 7 months for a down payment on our first home. | Learn how!

A little background into our debt:
I've always been a fan of donating, and after watching Adam Baker's TED Talk one night in November 2012, I realized that there was something else I needed to change in my life. By that time, I had been vegan for nine months and was looking for the next big challenge to work towards.

It was only natural that I looked at our finances, and we were in debt for roughly $17,000 in student loans. This happened to be the same amount of debt that Adam Baker was in when he and his wife decided to sell their crap, pay off their debt, and finally do what they loved. Although their end goal was slightly different than mine, I knew it would only be beneficial to take a serious look at where we were and how we could dig our way out of the student debt.

With the help of my budgeting skills that I learned through Mint.com and a strong desire to be debt-free, we set to work.

Our next financial goal:
We welcomed baby Eleanor Jane in February 2015 and are now budgeting for daycare expenses. We'll continue to save money for one of the biggest investments of our lives (Eleanor!), and pay off our Kia Rio hatchback and VW GTI.

Check out the video that inspired us to take action below.

More inspiration:

I highly recommend investing $5 to watch I'm Fine, Thanks. This is a movie that Adam Baker helped film, and I was sobbing by the end of it. I looked at my husband and said, "I want freedom. We're getting rid of our student debt!" After watching the film, I sat down and researched for several hours what minimalism really was, how to pay down our debt, and began to think about what we truly needed to survive.

I am incredibly lucky to have seen this movie before we're too far into our lives and marriage. Although we were childless at the time, this movie definitely inspired us to get serious about what we wanted in life, and spawned another journey that I didn't expect to take. Watch the trailer below and see how it could inspire you.