David T. is one of our brave men and women that puts his life on the line for you and me. Like many soldiers, David has a wife and child back home. David and his family had accumulated quite a bit of debt over the last few years, and we’re desperate for a plan to regain control of their financial lives. They had made a very poor housing decision, as many young military families do, and had a great deal of credit card debt. Prior to leaving for his current assignment overseas, David, his wife, and I put together an aggressive plan to help him feel good about his financial life by the time he got back home.

The plan was simple, yet difficult. He and his wife needed to aggressively pay down debt, and start saving serious money. If anyone has an excuse to not stick to a plan, it’s a deployed soldier. Stress is high, and sometimes financial concerns are the last stress to get attention. But David pushed through it all.

Below are a series of tweets that David sent me over the weekend.  Enjoy! I know that I did.

“Adrenaline rush time for Peter Dunn…in 24 hours (my family) will be DEBT FREE!! About to make a $4,000 payment on our car loan.”

“Now we have 6 months left to be super aggressive savers (before I get home). At my calculations, we will save about $8,000-$10,000 in the next 6 months.”

“As of Oct 1, 2011 we were $19,750 in debt. $8,000 Auto, 11,750 Credit card. May 1 its all paid. (My wife) had a job during this time…”

“She has since resigned as of last month. Now we go back to tightening the purse strings again, but this time house is sold and we only pay cash.”

“Even with (my wife) not having a job, we contribute 10% to retirement and 10% to savings. The rest is budgeted and the extra goes towards rainy days.”

“Thanks to your help and guidance. We appreciate you using real life examples. Hopefully we can help someone w/ours.”

I salute you, David. I think your story just helped someone. Be safe. Come home soon.

Pete the Planner®

Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning financial mind and a former comedian. He’s a USA TODAY columnist, author of ten books, and is the host of the popular radio show and podcast, The Pete the Planner Show. Pete is considered one of the foremost experts on financial wellness in the world, but he’s just as likely to talk your ear off about bass fishing.