Debtris: the Tetris of paying off debt
I have a mountain of consumer debt. About $140,000 USD in federal student loans, $5,000 in home repair loans, $3,000 in credit card debt, and a couple small personal loans from family and friends. All in all, I owe other people about $150,000.
It's not great. In fact, it's pretty terrible. I also work in the public sector so I make less than my corporate counterparts. I'm enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgivess (which exists for now) but I have very little faith that it'll actually come through in 7.5 years when I hit my 120th payment. If I keep making only minimum payments and forgiveness doesn't come through, my student loans will have ballooned by about $100,000 leaving me with almost $250,000 in non-bankruptable debt before I'm even 40 years old. That's a pretty big gamble.
So instead of putting my life in the hands of the government, I'm taking control. I'm going to pay off all of the debt myself. Every last penny. It's going to suck and take a long time, but it's the best option I have. Waiting and wishing could leave me high and dry. It's too big of a risk to take.
I want to stay motivated on this long journey, so I found a fun debt payoff tracker called Debtris (like Tetris). I printed it, bought colored pencils, and bought a fun frame so I can hang it up above my dresser. And I created a whole backstory for this game, Debtris: Quest for Freedom. The total debt amount is the final boss's total HP and each payment knocks it down. And when I finally defeat the boss, I gain the ultimate prize: freedom. Freedom from banks, lenders, monthly minimum payments, the stress of worrying about money because I owe so much of my income to other people. That's a pretty awesome prize for defeating the final boss.
It's going to be a long fight, but it's time I act like I'm in charge of my life instead of just bobbing around in the ocean, taking whatever happens to me. It's time I start commanding the ship and heading towards a destination.
I made my first payment on April 1, 2026 and filled in one Tetris block. I started heading towards a destination and it felt REALLY good!! I'm reminded of a quote from Sahil Bloom: "life is about direction, not speed." I'm finally headed in the right direction.