We Paid Off $250k in Debt – 6 Money Mistakes We Made

We paid off $250,000 in debt as a one-income family in rural Virginia. In this video, we’re sharing the 6 biggest money mistakes in our frugal living and saving money journey that cost us the most.

We’re Julia and Aaron, the Canny Couple — a debt-free family living on one income in rural Southwest Virginia. In this video we’re getting honest about the mistakes that cost us the most money over the years: not budgeting as a team from day one, letting one hobby blow our budget over and over, treating debt like it was normal, skipping the math on ‘small’ purchases (including a $3,000 tool we sent back), cutting retirement savings for two years, and holding onto habits and subscriptions we’d outgrown.

None of these fixed themselves overnight — but naming them is what finally let us change them.