In this issue of The Payoff Challenge:
Community Debt Payoff Snapshot
Submit your debt payoff totals for this week!
Weekly Action: Tell Someone About Your Goal
My Home Payoff Update
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Community Debt Payoff Snapshot
Congrats to the everyone who paid off some debt this week! Let’s put this into a fun comparison.
We paid off a total of $650 last week! This is like buying a month of groceries for a small family. Alright, maybe not the most fun comparison but super relevant. A month of groceries hits the budget hard!
$325 was the average paid off, which is the cost of an entry level Apple Watch. An Apple Watch that can help you track all the workouts you’ll need to burn off the chocolate milk in the next paragraph.
$325 is also the equivalent of 88 gallons of chocolate milk. That’s a lot of calories to burn off with the Apple Watch from the last paragraph. But worrrrrrth iiiiiiitttt.
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
Tell One Person About Your Goal
Accountability really gives you a lot of power for accomplishing something, so set a goal for paying off your debt and go tell someone who cares.
Action: This week, tell someone about your debt-free goal and ask for accountability!
Recently, I’ve been trying to decide if I want to commit to running a full marathon this October. I’ve wanted to do one for years (I know, silly me) but it’s a challenging commitment. I was already signed up for the Columbus Half Marathon, but was considering just going for the full. I even considered signing up then not telling anyone in case I couldn’t pull it off.
Finally, last night I actually signed up for it. And I started telling people about it because I know I’ll try so much harder if people know I’m training for it.
Same with money! That’s why I made this newsletter and post about our goal to pay off our house on YouTube. If people know about the goal, we’re going to try harder. So go tell someone! Push yourself into having more motivation and accountability!
Shoot, let me know about your goal by sending me an email or commenting on a YouTube video! I’d love to hear it.
Member Spotlight
I Want To Celebrate Your Wins!
But I can’t do that if you don’t tell me about it. So fill out this short form about the debt you’ve paid off and your current wins!
Any amount of debt payoff is worth celebrating here in the member spotlight.
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 (less than a year left).
332 days left
Mortgage Balance on January 1st, 2026: $70,000
Current Mortgage Balance: $57,768.78 (▼$200 since last week)
Balance paid off since start of challenge: $12,231.22
Source: Paycheck, savings, interest, Etsy poster sales, selling scrap metal, a bicycle, a TV cabinet, and a laptop
*This includes monthly principal payments as well as additional payments.
Current Mortgage Balance
Just $200 this week from savings! Man, next month I’m supposed to get a bonus and I’m stoked to throw that on the mortgage.
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
