056: Marcus Garrett – Understanding D.E.B.T. & How to Dig Yourself Out Of It

Author, speaker and entrepreneur, Marcus Garrett has been through an incredibly impactful financial journey. From surviving the streets of an inner-suburb city in Texas, to obtaining a BA in Business Administration and becoming a certified internal auditor, Marcus has worked through a ton of roadblocks to become an award-winning freelance writer on topics ranging from love and relationships, to debt and personal finance. On the path, he dug himself an enormous debt hole but was able to successfully navigate out of this hole. He detailed it all in his best- selling book, D.E.B.T. Free or Die Trying.

Today, Marcus joins the show to talk about strategies for overcoming debt and how he helps overworked (and underpaid) professionals find easier ways to make more money and avoid the mistakes he made.

📺 Watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/Ew3h13K8yS4

Key Takeaways

00:50 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Marcus Garrett, who joins the show to share early financial lessons imparted on him by his parents, how he dug himself into deep debt and how he climbed out of it

15:40 – Hitting rock bottom and the genesis of ‘Debt Free or Die Trying’

19:31 – Why Marcus beat himself up about his handling of finances and how he managed to dig himself out of an incredible amount of debt

24:37 – The Four Steps of D.E.B.T. and other ways to get out of debt

36:22 – Marcus’ latest project

38:43 – One piece of advice on debt to heed and one thing to completely ignore

42:57 – One thing Marcus wishes others knew about him and the one question he would like to know the answer to

47:25 – Jonathan thanks Marcus for joining the show today and lets listeners know where to connect with him

Tweetable Quotes

“It’s amazing how much in denial you can be when you’re able to make minimum payments. But I didn’t realize the tsunami or the wave was already coming out. That first credit card was the earthquake.” (17:27) (Marcus)

“So, if you’re one of those people who gets paralysis by analysis, and you need a decision, Bankrate.com is still around, and they have an infinite amount of calculators, so still use them. But the point is to come up with a system. How are you going to get out of debt? What does that look like? How much do you actually have to pay each month to truly get out of debt and when do you want to get out of debt? Then build a budget around that, which is ‘B.’ And then, ‘T,’ ‘Trust the Process.’” (26:51) (Marcus)

“Really it’s what works for you and your personality that you’ll be able to successfully stick to. Because I tell people, unless it’s medical or school loans, getting into debt can be fun. My debt story was fun. I spent a whole bunch of money and I had a whole lot of fun. It’s the getting out of it that’s painful.” (30:48) (Marcus)

“I found what I enjoy. I enjoy podcasting. I enjoy blogging. I enjoy writing. I enjoy communicating and connecting with the community.” (33:32) (Marcus)

“You can’t spend your way out of irresponsibility.” (39:24) (Marcus)

“I actually want the freedom that I envision that being – the time that I would get back. And I believe that is invaluable. And currently, that pathway has been shown to me through having the money available to live that lifestyle.” (45:04) (Marcus)