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In this issue of The Payoff Challenge:
Community Debt Payoff Snapshot
Submit your debt payoff totals for this week!
Weekly Action: List Two Things for Sale Online
Debt Payoff Shout Out: Christine
Money News: AI is Taking Over Budgeting
My Home Payoff Update
New Video: Venmo’s 5% Cashback Debit Card
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Community Debt Payoff Snapshot
Congrats to the everyone who paid off some debt this week! Someone actually used their tax refund to pay off their student loans. Bravo! Let’s put this into a fun comparison.
We paid off a total of $2121 last week! Sheeeeesh, that’s like two round-trip tickets to Europe. You all paid off a transatlantic trip this week.
$530 was the average paid off, which is like the cost of a KitchenAid mixer. Why this comparison? Cause you can make some crazy foods with those things. Have you seen all the attachments?
$530 is also the equivalent of 143 gallons of chocolate milk, 99 more gallons than last week. Look at you just drinking your chocolate milk and paying off debt.
Numbers only move if people act—which brings us to this week’s check-in!
Weekly Check In!
How Much Did You Pay Off This Week?
⏱ Takes under 60 seconds. Any amount. Any debt.
This isn’t about how big the number is—it’s about progress. If you haven’t made a payment yet, consider this your nudge to go make one right now. Missed a week? Just submit the total since your last entry.
Submissions will be included in future week’s Snapshots!
Caleb’s Actionable Strategy
List Two Items For Sale Online
As I write this, I’m literally going to do this tomorrow because we’re trying to get rid of some things we don’t need.
Action: This week, just list 2 items online. That could be on Marketplace, Craigslist, Mercari, etc.
Then put that money from the sale towards your debt. This one is so simple, this section is stupid short.
Really, you have stuff you don’t need. Just post two of them. Or one. Or twelve.
No seriously, I know you can think of things you need to sell.
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Payoff Spotlight
Paid off $40K in 14 Months
Shout out to Christine and her husband for the progress they’re making towards paying off their debt!
Here’s what she had to say about their progress so far:
In January 2025, we realized nobody was coming to save us. We were drowning in over $240K debt, living paycheck to overdraft. I sat down and wrote down ALL of our debt, decided it was time to start really getting a handle on our budget and started chipping away.
Now in march 2026 we have paid off almost $40K of that total debt and have consistently kept our bank account on the plus side by budgeting and being more intentional with our money. Our goal is to be completely debt free in 2 more years!
That’s pretty inspiring. Seriously, $40k? They’ve made so much visible progress in the last year, not least of which is that they now have a budget that helps them focus on the goal of paying off this debt for their family’s sake.
Christine thinks their biggest win has been their budget and reining in their spending, especially amidst increasing expenses like groceries. She’s sharing her journey on Instagram if you want to follow along.
If you want to be featured in the Payoff Challenge Newsletter or related videos on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, this is your chance! Any amount of debt payoff is worth celebrating here in the member spotlight.
Personal Financial News
AI Budgeting is Taking Over
1. Is AI really better for budgeting?
This article was all about how AI is the new tool for budgeting successfully. It lays out all the pros associated with AI tools in budgeting apps today. I found this fascinating because I agree on one hand. Yes, AI is absolutely a powerful tool for managing your money. It’s very good at predictive budgeting. However, I don’t like how it takes away a lot of your need to have hands-on management of your money. The more YOU make the decisions in your budget, the more YOU control your money. I believe that is powerful. There’s pros and cons of both sides. Read more here.
2. Four Stories to Kick You Into Gear
This article was really fun to read because of how encouraging it was for people paying off debt. This breaks down four individuals who reined in their money and paid off a lot of debt. Check it out! Read more here.
Caleb’s Challenge Update
Progress We Made Towards Our Payoff
Goal: Pay off our remaining mortgage ($70k) by our 10-year anniversary on June 17, 2027.
458 days left
Mortgage Balance on January 1st, 2026: $70,000
Current Mortgage Balance: $65,645.36 (▼$1028.40 since last week)
Balance paid off since start of challenge: $4354.64
Source: Paycheck, Savings, Interest, Etsy Sales
*This includes monthly principal payments as well as additional payments.
Current Mortgage Balance
This week’s progress was a combination of our mortgage payment hitting for the month of March along with interest from our high-yield savings account and two sales on Etsy!
If you’re trying to replace credit cards with debit cards, check out the video I just posted!
Refer a friend and receive my quick-start guide for saving money TODAY on your existing expenses.
That’s it for this week! I already can’t wait for next couple week’s editions as we start getting numbers to include. If you have any feedback, respond to this email or drop me a line at [email protected].
Till next week!
Caleb
