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Dallas family homeless for 120 days; Payback $43,000 student loans, now debt-free
- Saint Naheem
- Nov 23, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 25
You'll never know what you're made of until you have to endure adversity to accomplish what can seem like the impossible. I'm Saint Naheem and this is my family's debt-free story. We couldn't have done it without YAH (God) being our light.
The Mission
Our objective was to be debt-free by the end of 2023. The experiment I came up with involved sleeping in our car for 120 days (and utilizing a hotel as needed), so that we could use the extra money we would've spent on renting and utilities to pay down our debt.
Below is a timeline.
On March 21, 2023, we were excited to move out of our apartment early (with no penalties), due to all of the issues (water leaks, mold, etc.) we were having.
March 22, 2023 was day one of our experiment. Around that time, I owed about $18K in student loans and my wife owed about $54.5K. Our loans were still on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we weren't accruing any interest.
By June 12, 2023, we had saved $28.5K in our Chase account. We had this money saved up for a few reasons:
If the Supreme Court approved the $20K loan forgiveness for each of us, then cool.
If the Supreme Court denied the loan forgiveness, then we could pay down our student loan balance.
On June 30, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the $20K loan forgiveness program. In response, I paid $13K on my student loan (bringing my balance down to around $5K) and $13K on my wife's from our savings.
Nevertheless, I noticed in my wife's student loan account that the U.S. Dept. of Education forgave $29,242.77 of her student loans, as part of a separate loan forgiveness program called Borrower Defense, due to her attending ITT Technical Institute. So that win brought my wife's student loan balance down to $12,281.07.
On September 29, 2023, I made my last student loan payment, which was $347.40.
On November 22, 2023, my wife made her last student loan payment, which was $1,208.43.
In the end, it took us 10 years and 9 months (February 2013 to November 2023) to pay off over $236K. Our total debt repaid would have been a lot less, and we would have been done a lot sooner if we had stopped borrowing money and avoided the traps covered in the Mindset Evolution System. Learn from our mistakes, which 📉slowed down our progress.
Our Routine
Living out of our car for 120 days was not easy, but we made it work. Below is a snapshot of our day-to-day routine for the most part (which sometimes was subject to change):
Prayer and Bible study
Breakfast
Gym (so my wife could get ready for work)
Library (so I could work remotely and so our son could do homeschool)
Park (to cook lunch with our Butane stove)
Back to the library
Pick up wife from work
Grocery store (to get snacks)
Gym (to workout and shower)
Park (to cook dinner and do push-ups)
Grocery store (to wind down and rest)
Gym or gas station (to park and rest)
Our Experiences
Being homeless and living out of our car was both humbling and helpful, but got irritating at times.
The Benefits
We were able to prepare and grow mentally and spiritually for the end times
We were able to reach our financial goal of being debt-free in 2023
I was able to expand my creativity
The Ugly Parts
Not being able to truly rest
Using public bathrooms
Using public showers at the gym
Using public libraries
Using public parks to cook
Seeing a lot of people wasting time or living without purpose
Not having a refrigerator or bed
Having to pass gas
Being uncomfortable
Weird sleep patterns
A Harsh Reality For Millions Of Americans
Most people don't realize how close they are to being homeless or living on the streets.
About 62% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2023 CNBC article.
About 49% of Americans don't have a $1,000 emergency fund, according to a 2023 Ramsey Solutions article.
Consumer debt (which includes credit cards, student loans, auto loans, personal loans, medical debt, mortgages, and HELOCs), rose to $17.06 trillion for Americans, according to a 2023 USA Today article.
Housing rates are increasing.
Food rates are increasing.
Insurance rates are increasing.
In other words, most Americans are about a missed paycheck away from losing the basic comforts they have fought so hard to gain.
Hopefully, our story gives people hope.
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