DJ Walker

I thought six figures would bring financial peace. Instead, I found: • Debt • Car payments • Credit card balances • Stress Income and financial peace are not the same thing.

JUST IN: A record number of Americans tapped their 401(k)s for hardship withdrawals last year

A few years ago, my retirement account felt more like an emergency fund than a retirement fund. Two years ago, my retirement account felt more like a vacation fund than a retirement fund. Today my last credit card is paid off. The lesson wasn't "make more money." The lesson wasn't "invest more money." The lesson was telling every dollar where to go before it disappeared.

FINANCIAL STRESS PUSHES RECORD 6% TO WITHDRAW FROM 401(K)S RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS BECOME EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR MORE AMERICANS RECORD 401(K) HARDSHIP WITHDRAWALS SIGNAL HOUSEHOLD STRAIN

@barstoolsports @Jerrythekid21 @rone @SonOfABoyDad @ConnorMook_ @tBushGaming @VivaLaStool Income can fix a lot. A bad debt decision can follow you for decades. I'm finally attacking mine and gaining a little bit of my peace back each day.

“School is just a waste… People are going to college for like 6 years, getting out making like $55,000” -@Jerrythekid21 “And they’re $400,000 in debt” -@rone “I was on crack making more than that” -@Jerrythekid21

Income can hide financial mistakes for a long time. Until it can't. That's why a budget is more important than a raise. It took me a lot longer than it should have to realize that. Now I'm cleaning it up one day at a time. You can too.

@Tim_Denning I fit this. The job isn't stopping me from building wealth. Debt was. Now that debt is disappearing, I'm investing, building margin, and creating options. I can see a world where that "jump" is a lot less scary when debt is removed.

My hot take... There is freaking no reason to keep working a $100K or more 9-5 job after age 35. You've shown you have the skills and experience already. Every minute you stay is another minute you get underpaid. And if layoffs strike you're cooked. I retired from corporate at 34. I'm not that smart. The modern $100K+ 9-5 job is nothing more than cowards refusing to take a chance on themselves.

@4Awesometweet @Henrytheefirst I have not but that would be an interesting study. Debt certainly impacts all of our lives in ways that I don't think we all quite understand.

@DJWalkergpf @Henrytheefirst This is why many dentists are so unscrupulous They’ve got enormous financial pressure Ever seen the consumer reports when they went to 10 dentists and the majority recommended procedures and cavities that were unnecessary This is why

Caller: “I’ve been with my now-wife for 10 years and we just got married. She’s going to graduate dental school in May and she’s going to be bringing in about $750,000 in student loans. We also have about $40,000 in consumer debt, and I’m just struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Dave Ramsey: “You have no idea what you just said. That is a devastating situation you’re in.” “This isn’t just a little bit of debt; this is a massive, life-altering mistake. She paid double what she should have for that degree.. she got screwed.” “You are in a real mess. If you will live like absolute poor people and lean into your combined high income, you can pay this off in about three years. If you try to live like a ‘normal’ dentist, you will be in this hole for the next two decades.”

@PatrickMcM57 @DearS_o_n Proud of you! What has worked for you so far?

@DJWalkergpf @DearS_o_n Yes. Giving debt my full attention and I have a plan to pay it off within 3 years or less. Currently living paycheck to paycheck

Being debt-free is a bigger flex than driving a luxury car.

@PatrickMcM57 @DearS_o_n Have you started your journey?

@DJWalkergpf @DearS_o_n 100% At 57 and in big debt. I just want Peace and a debt free life. And more Freedom within

@MikeHoffmann This was my household. Two incomes. Well over six figures combined. Constant stress. Every raise disappeared into debt payments and lifestyle creep. We finally realized freedom isn't "having" more stuff. It is owning more of your paycheck. It is finding financial peace.

It’s crazy to me that we normalized two incomes, zero free time, a garage full of financed stuff, and called it "doing well." Meanwhile, the guy with one paid-off truck and a couple boring little businesses is the one who’s actually free. We've been measuring the wrong things.

@SicilianTradr @ms_roundhill "The borrower is slave to the lender" I never really thought of it that way until I got on a detailed budget with my wife.

@DJWalkergpf @ms_roundhill Yes, all Banks that push these products are parasites 🦠 they just enslave us with “revolving debt” I should trademark that 👈phrase because it’s an experience of almost every adult in America between credit cards, mortgages and student loans… smh 🤦🏻‍♂️

Today I made the last payment on my final credit card. A few years ago, I had so many balances that I stopped looking at the total. I felt stuck. Today, every credit card is paid off. Not because I got lucky. Because I made a plan, followed a budget, and kept going when progress felt slow. On to the next debt.

We didn't spend $30k on a wedding (but we did spend quite a bit), but we fell into the cycle of car payments, lifestyle creep, buy now pay later and financed vacations. Every raise just created a bigger lifestyle instead of a stronger balance sheet. Thankful I put my CFO - ME, on a PIP.

Making $150,000-$200,000/yr is NOT a "trap". The actual traps: - $30,000 wedding ($5,000/hr party) - $40,000 car loan (you "earned it") - $2,000/mo apartments (flex for instagram) Buying things you don't need with money you don't have to impress strangers. ...That's the trap.

@SicilianTradr @ms_roundhill It really does feel that way.

@ms_roundhill @DJWalkergpf That’s awesome, no longer a Slave to Revolving Debt. That’s somebody else’s role now💪

@JonoG349979 We all have it! It's just easier to think we don't.

@DJWalkergpf High agency.

Receipt attached. 👇 Yesterday I paid off my last credit card. The biggest lesson wasn’t about math—it was realizing how much money we were wasting before we got on a detailed budget. $0 balance. On to the next debt.

@CarsonTalkMoney We've got about $4500 in relatively fixed expenses. As you venture out on your own, I would encourage you to use an app or good old excel.

@DJWalkergpf Not really, I still live at home, so I just buy food and some software products I normally only spend $250-$500 a month

As a Warehouse Manager, I help oversee millions of dollars in inventory. If inventory goes missing, costs aren’t controlled, or there’s no plan, people notice. Then I looked at my personal finances. Credit card debt. No detailed budget. Money disappearing every month. I was managing a business better than I was managing my own household. Dave Ramsey calls it being the CFO of You, inc. A few years ago, I would’ve failed the performance review. Yesterday I paid off my last credit card. The budget changed everything.

@JonoG349979 Isn't compound interest the 8th wonder of the world?? It is incredible. I appreciate that. The crazy part is I spent years thinking I had an income problem when I really had a management problem. the detailed budget exposed that pretty quickly.

You are starting to understand the high agency part of your intelligence that was laying dormant in your youth is starting to shine now. Boomer proud. Look at the 3 slides. Look at the difference between paying interest and collecting interest that is compounded. The loss compared to compounded growth is mind boggling.

@CarsonTalkMoney We do! How about you?

@DJWalkergpf Do you use a budgeting app?

@cc_video_edit @The_MMW "Quiet" is exactly the word. The weird part is realizing how much mental energy debt was consuming once it's no longer there.

@DJWalkergpf @The_MMW Nobody tells you how quiet it feels when the debt is gone.

What society sees: • Old car • Small house • Simple lifestyle • Classic clothes What society can't see: • No debt • Money in the bank • Multiple income streams • 7-figure investment portfolio Stealth wealth is the real flex.

I thought I was good with money because I had a good career and paid my bills. Then my wife and I sat down and built a detailed budget and realized how much money was slipping through the cracks. Turns out being CFO of You, Inc. is a lot harder when it's your own money. Stay on top of it Carson! Looking forward to following along.

@DJWalkergpf Let's go! I take my CFO job very serious, I make sure every dollar has a job

“I thought I had an income problem. I actually had a debt problem.” That realization changed the trajectory of my finances. I wrote about it in my latest article: open.substack.com/pub/djwalker3/…