Episode introduction
Steve Rhode: Hey, you’re back with the Get Out of Debt guy. I’m Steve Rhode, the old balding old Get Out of Debt guy. And with me as always is the always cheerful Damon Day, the new Get Out of Debt man. Damon, do your thing. Say hello.
Damon Day: Well, now you’ve set the bar very high. I’m going to be cheerful today. It’s the last day of the year as we record this.
Steve Rhode: Well, it’s going to be a happy new year tomorrow. And I know our listeners have said this many times before – every year they say, “This year I’m going to do better.” February is coming and guess what? Nothing has changed. So why should this year be any different?
Well, here’s why: because this year you got us, you got a plan. You must be subscribed. You have to keep listening. This is not a resolution, not a vague intention to do better with money. This is your year to have a real strategy. And over the next 90 days we’re going to show you exactly what’s possible.
Why resolutions fail
Steve Rhode: You know, it’s funny. We usually talk about New Year’s resolutions, namely people who want to lose weight or get out of debt. The funny thing is that both things are so similar.
Damon Day: I mean, how many times have you known someone who went on to lose weight and gained it back? Oh dude, it’s me. I was watching a funny video yesterday – a guy running with his camera saying, “Five days left in the year to reach my weight loss goal. I wanted to lose 10 pounds. I have five days left and I only have 16 pounds to go.”
Steve Rhode: I think it’s easier to lose weight than to stick to a budget.
Damon Day: Oh, hell, yeah. The funny thing is that nowadays there are all kinds of miracle drugs that you can use to lose weight. And you can’t use that to lose debt.
Why your solution won’t work
Steve Rhode: The problem with resolutions is that they are emotional and not strategic. It’s not a plan. If you go to the GetOutOfDebt.org website on the right side of most pages, you will find a link to the Money Personality Test where you can determine what your Money Personality is.
What most people don’t realize is that we all have our own money personalities. And some of us aren’t into meticulous penny trackers. And that’s me and that’s you.
Damon Day: No, I’m not.
Steve Rhode: So your money personality and your ability to manage it is informative because it tells you where you stand emotionally, not strategically. And that’s so important because when people panic and want to get out of debt, what’s the first thing they do?
Damon Day: They make a budget.
Steve Rhode: And then what’s the second thing they do?
Damon Day: They fail within their budget.
Steve Rhode: And then the third thing they do is: fuck it.
Different approaches work for different people
Damon Day: You know, I have clients who – with some clients, their personality is, “Here, fix it. Give me the broad strokes of what the strategy is. That sounds good. Okay, what do you need from me? Boom, boom, boom. Okay, fix it.” And they don’t really want to be involved.
Then I have other clients who would really like to be involved. They want to know exactly how we are going to do this in detail and they have spreadsheets and everything is tracked. And both customers can be successful. There is no right or wrong. It’s about identifying how you feel about it and then putting together a strategy that works for you.
A wish is not a plan
Steve Rhode: So if it is the beginning of the year, the desire to pay off debts is not a plan. It’s just a wish. And Damon, you and I have talked for so long about the need to have a plan when getting out of debt. It doesn’t have to be a strategic plan, but there has to be at least some kind of awareness.
I always say: when you travel, you should at least know where you will end up. How you get there is up to you.
What is possible in 90 days
Steve Rhode: Let’s say you have $80,000 in credit card debt and you earn about $10,000 per month in income. Good money, but it’s never enough. This is what is possible in 90 days.
Suppose you continue your current approach and pay approximately $9,000 in minimum payments over 90 days. You could reduce the principal by maybe 1,500, two thousand, or something like that. Most credit card rates have increased because the Fed has raised rates. Many credit cards are now above 30%.
Damon Day: You’re just not going to make any progress.
Explore your options
Steve Rhode: One thing you could do is if you talked to Damon and came up with a plan. Maybe it’s a strategic approach where you strategically default, stop paying those bills and try to raise money to pay off those debts. What do you think of a strategic settlement for the right person?
Damon Day: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! You talked about strategic default, people are panicking. But it is an option and it is a strategy that works extremely well under the right circumstances.
When I talk to a new client, our focus is first to determine the strategy. You call all these places – debt settlement company, credit counseling agency, bankruptcy attorneys – everyone skips the strategy conversation because they already have their own strategy. They immediately jump to “this is what we want to sell you.”
The first thing is to be open minded. Don’t just shy away from the thought of bankruptcy. Don’t shy away from the thought of not paying. Just be open to saying, “Okay, let’s talk about all these different approaches based on your current circumstances.”
The credit score question
Damon Day: The first accusation I always get is: “I can’t strategically default – it’s going to hurt my credit.” That is a valid concern. But let me ask you: how much is your credit score worth? Put a dollar value on your credit score.
If you’re spending $3,000 a month that you can’t afford just to maintain a 650 credit score that wouldn’t even really allow you to get another loan anyway – does that make any sense?
If I had $150,000 cash in one hand and a mediocre credit score of 675 in the other, which would you choose? No one chooses the 650 credit score and remains in debt. Take the 150 in cash, man.
Steve Rhode: People just don’t understand how easily good credit can be built and how quickly.
Your income is your leverage
Steve Rhode: But the most important thing to remember is that your income is your leverage. So let’s use it for the right person.
Damon and I absolutely hate budgets. Budgets are nothing more than a page full of lies. But all you can do is instead of writing down a wish list of how you want to spend your money, we can actually start tracking how much money you actually spend.
You need a piece of paper and a pen. At the end of the day, just write down what it was for and how much you spent. You don’t have to add anything. We will do that at the end of the month. And then we’ll figure out where exactly the money goes.
The reality of today’s economy
Damon Day: We’re also looking at a situation where a lot of this is out of our control in terms of how expensive everything is. The advice people should be getting today is so different from ten years ago, even five years ago, when prices were rising as fast as the market is changing. AI is coming on board, wages are flat.
People who thought, “There’s no way I’m going to lose my job, I’m very intelligent, I make good money” – suddenly, oh, AI can replace you or at least part of what you do.
Steve Rhode: 2026 is the year you simply have to get out of debt. I don’t care if you file bankruptcy or settle it. You need to get out of debt and start building. Now if you have a good job, earn good money and spend it all, you will get into trouble.
Your 90 Day Plan
Steve Rhode: So before April 1st – tomorrow is January 1st – before April 1st we will help you get started on a plan. Just play along with us. And you accidentally get out of debt.
Our podcast comes out every Thursday. Next week it’s all about the January audit – knowing what your real numbers are. Why ‘just pay more’ the following week is bad advice in most situations. Then you will learn how that $10,000 monthly income will be your absolute greatest asset.
At the end of January you will know exactly where you stand and what the plan will look like.
Your homework
Steve Rhode: Here’s a useful item. Now, before this episode ends, open your notes app on your phone and write “My 90 Day Goal.” Just put it at the top and leave it blank for now. By the end of January you will know exactly what to put there. But start taking the note today.
This is your damn year. 2026 is my fucking year. Not because January 1 is magical, but because you are finally going to try something that really works.
Damon Day: See you next Thursday. You’re a financial badass. Peace.
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