Episode 381: Life After Becoming Debt Free With Josie Espinoza REWIND

Jamila Souffrant 0:02

I am sitting down with money launch club member Josie to hear about her story and all that she's been doing with her money.

Intro 0:13

Welcome to the journey. To launch podcast with your host Jamila souffrant as a money expert who walks her talk she helps brave journeyers like you, get out of debt, save, invest and build real wealth. Join her on the journey to launch to financial freedom. 54321,

Jamila Souffrant 0:42

hey, hey, hey, journeyers, welcome to the journey to launch podcast. I'm your host. Jamila souffrant, I hope you've been enjoying these episodes. I've been toying around in basically doing a summer rewind episode. So these were episodes that were previously aired on the podcast, but that were mentioned as case studies or references in my book, Your journey to financial freedom, we had episodes based on debt payoff, financial independence, and now I'm just going to sprinkle in some fan favorite episodes and some of my personal faves, so you're going to hear some of those episodes for the next couple of weeks. I really hope you've been enjoying what you've been listening to. If you want to check out my book, which I hope you've already gotten, but if not, that's fine. You can pick it up now. Head over to your journey to financial freedom.com. To see where you can find it. It's available everywhere, Amazon, Walmart, Target, Barnes and Noble, your local book store, basically everywhere. Head over to your journey, to financial freedom.com to pick up the book now. Happy

listening, and I hope you enjoy these episodes. If you want the episode show notes for this episode, go to journey, to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this episode. In the show notes, you'll get the transcribed version of the conversation, the links that we mentioned, and so much more also, whether you are an OG journeyer or brand new to the podcast, I've created a free jumpstart guide to help you on your financial freedom journey. It includes the top episodes to listen to, stages to go through to reach financial freedom resources and so much more you can go to journey to launch.com/jumpstart

to get your guide right now. Okay, let's hop into the episode. I wanted to bring on another amazing money launch club member Josie, because I figured, what better way to one profile people who are on the journey, right? Just profiling people who are on the journey, just like yourself and what they're doing and what they have overcome and are still overcoming. I know you love hearing stories like that, so I wanted to be able to provide that to you. And then what better way to hear it from an actual member who's in the money launch club and like, just basically showing firsthand how they're gaining benefits. So no matter what, you're going to gain something from this interview, is my hope. But I'm really excited to have Josie on the show. Now you'll hear Josie comes from a family of nine, and she's from Mexico. Her family's from Mexico, and you'll hear about her journey to bettering her finances, getting on the right track, and all she's done and what she can help also instill in you on your journey. Don't forget, if you're on social media, make sure you're following me. I'm on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. At journey to launch, say hello, make sure you're following me. I love interacting with you. All right, without further ado, let's hop into this conversation with Josie. Hey, journeyers, so I am back with a special type of interview. This is one where I am talking to someone in the thick of the journey, like yourself, because I think it's really important to showcase like what this looks like in real time for someone going through the debt journey stage, and then where you are actually, Josie, and I'm going to introduce you soon, is like you're a little bit further ahead because you are debt free, besides the mortgage, which is where a lot of people want to get to. So thank you, Josie Espinosa, for coming on the podcast to share your story.

Josie Espinoza 4:15

Hi, Jamila. I'm very excited to be here. Yeah, a little bit nervous.

Jamila Souffrant 4:19

And I was saying, Before we press record, don't be nervous. So Josie is also a launch Club member, and you are one of my star members. In terms of, everyone's a star member, so don't get jealous Any other members listening. But you do show up like you I think, I don't think you missed a class or virtual meeting, like it's amazing. Yeah, I'm always

Josie Espinoza 4:39

there. I think I had to cut one half because of my daughter, but I'm always there,

Jamila Souffrant 4:44

yeah, and so it's amazing. So I think that's reflected in kind of the progress you made since you joined the launch club, and just in general, with your finances. But what I really want this to be about is you're sharing your story, how you got to where you are now, and really as like a testimonial to people who. Are also in the thick of the journey, too. So first, let's just kind of get into like where you live, your profession, and where you are financially right now.

Josie Espinoza 5:07

So I live in the Central Valley of California, in a tiny city in the middle of nowhere. This is mostly agricultural areas, so most of the people work in the fields, picking fruit, and that's where I started working. I would go with my parents to pick oranges or grapes, and at that time, I felt like I was just going with them to go because I didn't have a babysitter. But now, as I'm older, I understand it was because they actually did need my help, and financially, I am a teacher, and I am currently, we're debt free, just our mortgage and we're saving,

Jamila Souffrant 5:49

yeah, yeah, no. So all right, let's go back. I find that fascinating, so I didn't know that about your kind of like backstory. So you were born in Mexico, right?

Josie Espinoza 5:56

Yes, I was born in Mexico. My parents migrated to California when I was eight, so I started school in the fourth grade here, and my parents would take me to work in the fields, like Saturdays or vacation time, like summer or winter break. I would go to the fields like I thought everybody would do that. I thought they would all go with their parents. I didn't know any different. I didn't even know like about babysitters existed, because I would go with him, and it was actually legal for them to take me. So when the bosses would come by, I would hide under like the orange trees. And it was the worst experience, because there were snails. And I hated snails. Oh my gosh, I don't know. I have so many stories, like working in the grapes and the 110 degree weather. It was hard, but at that time, I didn't even know about temperatures or it didn't affect me. I was just there with my parents. And it was actually not always bad. It was fun. My brother would make it fun, and we would play games and work and all at the same time. So I went to the field, so to when I came back for the summer, I still went and picked grapes to be able to afford, like my housing, and I got a car because of the fields, and I bought my first computer. My parents didn't have money to buy me a computer, so they said they made a deal. They told me, you need to go pick grapes for a whole summer, and we'll give you the last check. Because they never gave me checks like it all just went to the family. So that year, I worked the whole summer, and they gave me my last check, and I was able to buy my first computer. And I think I value work now, because for them, they just wanted me to work at a like a store, they said, somewhere where you have heat or AC like so you don't have to be in the fields. And for my family, I'm the youngest of nine, and the first one that went to college, and I left to college an hour away, and that was the end of the world for them, because I was the youngest and I was away from my family. But now that they see me that I'm working and I'm a teacher and I have a profession, and like profession, then they are thankful that I did that, that I rebelled against them, kind of, yeah, well, so

Jamila Souffrant 8:06

I'm just, I mean, wow. Like, you know your story, like, I'm like, listening to it, and I'm just like, what made you want more so you could have followed in their footsteps, which would be fine, right? Like they made, like, a noble living, like they took care of you, but what made you feel like, okay, wait, there's something else I want to do. What prompted you to, kind of, like, go against what they kind of wanted you to do.

Josie Espinoza 8:26

I was in the AVID program in high school, and one of my teachers was the way Abbott program Abbott, I don't even know what it stands for, but I know it gets you ready for college. Like in high school, it's a special class. It was, like my elective. So in that class, we would learn about college and how to apply, and we would go visit colleges and all that stuff. So my teacher was the one that encouraged me to apply, so I didn't know about money, so we went to, like the college fairs, and I was talking to one of the teachers, and she said, Oh, the application. It's 100 and something dollars. And I was like, wait, I have to pay for this. Like it's actual money. I don't remember where I got the money from to apply, but I applied to everything my teacher told me to at that time. I don't even remember wanting a career. I just wanted to go to college because my teacher told me that I should go to college. And then once I started getting the acceptance letters, I actually kind of hit them from my parents, and I didn't tell them. I accepted to go to Fresno State, which is an hour away from here, and my parents found out that I was going because I was preparing to go, but I didn't tell them. And my parents actually found out that I was going to college because we were at a school event, and one of the teachers came up to my mom and said, Oh, congratulations. You're letting your daughter go to college. I'm so proud of her and all the stuff. And my I was like, what? She's going to college? So that, because my that teacher came up to my mom, she's like, okay, so then I guess College is a good thing. So. It was really hard for me being away. It was an hour away. But for my mom, it was really bad. But after all, I think they got used to it. Did

Jamila Souffrant 10:07

you have, like, a lot of debt when you graduated? Like, what was your state financially, when you started intentionally, like, on this financial freedom journey?

Josie Espinoza 10:15

Well, in college, I had two jobs with 13,000 of student loans, because at that time, I still didn't know anything about, like, finance. I just went to college and grants and loans, okay, anything that's going to pay for it, and it wasn't thinking ahead. So I ended up with about 13 of student loans, and I came back and I got a teacher job right away, and I started making money, but I started spending money, because my mom always would say, like, oh, money is to be spent. So I she never told me about savings account or not being in debt or anything. So I started spending all my money. I would say I didn't save anything. I did buy a house, and then I got married. And when we got married with my well, with my husband, we still spent a lot of money. Everything we made, we've had zero savings. I kind of found Dave Ramsey on Pinterest accidentally the steps, and I was like, Oh, wait, there's a life without debt. So that kind of got my attention, and I started paying the little, the small credit cards, but I didn't stop using them. So I was paying and paying and just kept using them until, I think my breaking point was when we came back for our vacation from a vacation, and it was July. We went for Fourth of July, and we came back at that time. We had three credit cards, and they were all maxed out. And I still had a few weeks for my next paycheck, because I'm on salary, so I get it every month, and it's very consistent. So I was relying on that one, but we still had, like, a few weeks without money, and we didn't have any savings, and it was, I think, the worst feeling ever, and that's what made me change. From then on, I went back and found Dave Ramsey, and I started paying off debt.

Jamila Souffrant 12:01

Now, how much debt Did you pay off to become debt free, like where you are today? Do you know

Josie Espinoza 12:05

we paid almost, like, 50,000 Wow, wow. Because it was like almost 20 in credit cards, and then we have a truck that was 30 that I think if at that time, I think if I would have known now we wouldn't have bought the truck, right? I didn't have, like, a sense of money.

Jamila Souffrant 12:26

What did you actually do differently? Well, when

Josie Espinoza 12:30

I came back from the location, I started selling all the stuff. I had a lot of name brand stuff that I would not even use. So I sold a lot. Thanks. Today I became inspiring minimalist, kind of like I had to, because I had to sell all my stuff. I sold. We stopped using the credit cards since that time. We haven't used it since. And I found a community on Instagram, like the debt free community that I started following that hashtag. I don't even know how I found it, and then I found podcast, and then I've been obsessed with podcasts ever since,

Jamila Souffrant 13:08

and which is probably how you found me, right? Yes,

Josie Espinoza 13:11

I was trying to think, I think I found you through clever girl

Jamila Souffrant 13:15

I oh yes, bola, clever girl finance.

Josie Espinoza 13:17

I think that's how I found you, because then I just listened to some podcasts, and they have guests, so then I follow them, and now I don't even listen to music, it's all podcasts, and I remember you mentioning something about you make your own reality. So now I feel that finance is my own reality. Now, like I feel awkward talking to other friends because I don't know what to talk about, because all I want to talk about finance

Jamila Souffrant 13:41

Well, and that's the thing. Like, when you are sucked into this world, like, you realize this world exists, right? It's almost like, I'm like, my gosh, like, because there have been people online talking about money and having podcasts about money before I came along, long time. It's just amazing when you can, like, open up your like world to that. And so the fact that you and your husband, and so I have to ask, like, your husband was on board with this? Because there are some people who who know that they need to change, but it's like them and a partner, and so it how did that happen? Was he on board right away, to take some conversation and say, Listen, we got to change things.

Josie Espinoza 14:16

He was on board right away. And he's actually like, my accountability partner when I go to the store and he's like, Oh, is that in the budget? Would Dave Ramsey approve of that? Or I'm going to tell Dave Ramsey kind of thing. So I'm lucky that he is on board and I am the spender in the relationship, so he always keeps me on check, on the spending, and he's always willing to support like, he just hands over the check, and I get to I'm the bookkeeper, so I get to decide to just pass information along, right?

Jamila Souffrant 14:46

That's awesome. Yeah, yeah, no. That's so great that you guys are on the same page like that. Hey, journeyers, if you are loving this podcast, then you will love my book. Book your journey to financial freedom, a step by step guide to achieving wealth and happiness. I wrote this book for you. This book is for you if you want a clear and enjoyable path to having more money options and a rich life. This book is for you if you hate your commute and the fact that you need to seek approval or permission from a boss. I hated that when I worked this book is for you. If you weren't born into wealth, you didn't marry rich or won the lottery, but you still want freedom. This book is for you. If you're at a crossroads, a major decision or event is imminent, maybe a career change, marriage, starting a family, pressures are reaching a tipping point, and the discomfort and the desire for more can no longer be ignored, and this book is for you. If you find yourself zoned out at meetings, looking out the window or daydreaming about the life you truly want, so go pick up your journey to financial freedom.com. So I can show you how to map out how to get from where you are today to where you ultimately want to be and enjoy the journey. While you're on the path, head over to your journey to financial freedom.com. To see where you can pick the book up. It's available on Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, your local bookstore everywhere. Go to your journey to financialfreedom.com. To get the book now you amazing. So their journey of levels, you know, before, I used to kind of just simplify it, which it still can you can identify as beginner, intermediate or advanced, in terms of, like, where you are stages to reach financial independence, and you are more, you know, you're at a different stage. You're at the stage where you're not focused on debt payoff because you're already out of debt, and it's about building and wealth at this point, like saving and investing to reach some of your goals. So, and I identify that as like an aviator level stage. Don't worry, listeners, you kind of get a breakdown of what that all means soon. But for you, how long do you get to kind of your next step? What's your ultimate goal?

Josie Espinoza 17:02

My ultimate goal is to be able to travel right now that we're saving our three to six months emergency fund, and I think it's even harder than paying off debt, because now that we have the money, there's so many other things that we can cash flow because we have the money, and then next month, we'll, um, add it up. Don't worry, we'll recuperate it. So I think for me, this is harder. This step is it's harder because the money's there. And I don't know that's

Jamila Souffrant 17:31

actually a good perspective. I mean, I've actually feel like I haven't heard that kind of detail in terms of why it's a little harder for this level. Because you think, for some people's like, oh, like, this is easier, because now it's like, I have all this money, but on the other end, you have all this money that not going to debt anymore. So you have to consciously make the decision, okay, I choose that, like, this is still my goal, and to get to that goal, I need to keep saving and investing. All right. So one of the things that you did since joining the launch club, and kind of making all the strides, which, when you mentioned it, when you announced it in the launch club, I was like, Oh my gosh. Like, I definitely had to talk to Josie about this. But you recently designed.

Josie Espinoza 18:09

I did. I did resign my job because, thanks to our emergency fund, I was working in a an environment that was affecting my mental health. And thanks to the finance and knowledge that I have gained, I was able to comfortably resign, because I knew that there was things I could fall back to if things didn't work out. I was really thankful where, as soon as I resigned, I started applying, and I got several job offers somewhere else. And I think right now I feel like freedom, like I almost made it to even though it's not my ultimate goal. I am thankful that I was able to do that thanks to

Jamila Souffrant 18:50

all your help. Oh, well. So here's the thing, and this is what I just love. Like this even excites me more than when people like reach the ultimate goal, right? Because I feel like this level of freedom, this level where you can walk away from a job that is not serving you, that is taking a toll on your mental health, that you just soul sucking, or whatever it was, or just, it's just, you know, it doesn't fit, like, you know you want to try something new, or you want to travel, or you want to take some time off, but the fact that you worked your way up to this level, it's like you're, you're getting the benefits of almost financial freedom, independence now, obviously, you know, it's not like, you know, there is a limit probably to how long you can be out of work and whatever, but you have the opportunity to, like, live that life of freedom today. That's why I wish for everyone, and I think everyone can at least get to that stage where they have the option to walk away or to take a break if they need to. Yeah.

Josie Espinoza 19:42

And I feel like I've learned all like, Okay, if I don't get a job, there's a lot of side hustles I can do. I can keep myself busy with something else, yeah.

Jamila Souffrant 19:51

And I think too, what happens is, like you're taught, right? And I get it like, it's the safety net of like a job. And again, I'm not against where. Working. You know, it's just like working, doing something you want to work and do or love, or at least that you feel like you're bringing value into it. And sometimes, when you're on the journey, you're just like, the ultimate like goal is just like, maybe to travel all the time. But what about right now? What can I do right now to make these changes, you can do these things too.

Josie Espinoza 20:23

Yeah. And what we learned while we were preparing, we were like, Okay, we're gonna try to see if we can live on only my husband's income for one month, just to practice in case you don't get a job. And we learned that, yeah, we can only live with only my husband's income, so we're gonna keep it up, and that should speed up our savings. So, yeah, something else, something positive that came out of that too. Yeah,

Jamila Souffrant 20:47

and like, the worst case is that for most people, especially if you get to a point where the House of Cards is not going to fall because you you built it on a stable foundation financially, is that you can go back and get a job, you can do a side hustle, you could do all these things that maybe before you'd be afraid to do, or you don't think it's possible. But because you're surrounded, even virtually, right, just like virtually by people who are, like, talking about doing these things, you're listening to people on podcast doing it, and it's just like, wait a second, there's an option out there. Like, it doesn't have to just be this one way. Yeah, and I guess the other thing is, like, you know, you also are a mom. So I think for you know, that adds another layer of like, for some people, where it's like, All right, that's even more reason why I should stay and kind of tough it out. But did also being a mom really also make you feel like, all right, this is actually pushing me to, like, take the leap, because I know what this means. Yes,

Josie Espinoza 21:41

I have a lot of mom guilt when leaving my daughter and that job that was affecting my mental health. I think it was affecting the relationship with my daughter and how I came home to her. So I think being a mom kind of also gave me that little push like, oh, it's not fair for her that you feel this way. I think that kind of did help me move forward with resigning.

Jamila Souffrant 22:04

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So what advice do you have for journeys who are listening to this and they're like, yes, Josie, like, this is kind of what I want to do. Like this is what I'm working towards. What advice you have for them that they can start applying to their life and they can look forward to,

Josie Espinoza 22:19

I think it's just being patient and keep keep going no matter what. And I think me resigning. I kept there was a quote, something about, if you want to do something, do it afraid. Or if you're afraid to do something, do it afraid. I kept that in my mind as I was walking through my boss's office. I'm like, I really want to do this. I'm scared to do it, but I'm going to do it scared, or something like that. So I think just being confident and knowing that small steps still take you forward kind of thing

Jamila Souffrant 22:49

now you are one to like, not only like you invest in yourself. It's evident just because, like, I know like, you show up, like, not just investing money, but just like time to learn and to be a part of the communities and to get to education like, you need to move forward. Another thing that I want people to understand, how like, how important that is to reaching their goals. It's not just investing in the markets and outside of yourself, is investing in yourself in terms of, like, an investment you made in yourself, or something you gain education, like, like, more of like, not something you can actually measure. What's something that you feel like has been like, the biggest contributor to helping you reach your goals,

Josie Espinoza 23:29

the confidence, I think, from other people, like, oh, like, in your episode, when you quit your job, and I was like, Oh, my God, I'm so proud. I was only crying. I think that has inspired me to move forward, and has really changed my mindset to know that there's a whole different world out there in finance. And

Jamila Souffrant 23:49

one of the things that you mentioned as kind of, like the pre curse of test talking, was, you know, it's not if you can't, right, like, there are some people who maybe don't have the means to pay for anything or resource, even, like buy a book that's not necessarily most people's stories, but we live in the age of the internet, and so many things are free, like the podcast is free that you're listening to and you can Google. So I want to make people understand like there's so many levels to how you can invest in yourself and you keep on going, no matter what your background, like working in the fields, like coming here from Mexico, like, and you still managed to, like, set yourself up with a pretty great life,

Josie Espinoza 24:30

yeah, and I think now that, like with the internet, my hairstylist, I quote her all the time, she said, like, not knowing, it's not an excuse anymore, because you have the internet, the technology. So I think all this information is just a matter of wanting and doing and moving forward with it. Now that I know all this, I like I said, I want to talk finance to everybody, my nieces and nephews who are going to college. I'm like, Wait, you don't want student loans here. Start a job and all this. Stuff, right, right?

Jamila Souffrant 25:00

And that's that trickle down effect, where it's like, when you're now more aware you're equipped to help the future generations and people around you do better. All right, so just before we wrap up, I do want to just like, kind of ask you about, like, your experience with the launch club, and how you feel like it's helped you on your journey. I

Josie Espinoza 25:19

am a love for the launch club. I think I love all the classes, because I am learning so many neat things that I didn't even know I needed to know, like when I was the investing investing class the retirement I was able to go and make better decisions, or more informed decisions about my retirement accounts. And I love talking to other people who have the same mindset, like me, and seeing how some people are ahead of me, and some people are like, I can encourage them and move forward. I love the Friday when you get to put in your win of the week, and I love reading everybody else's win. And I'm through the week, I'm already thinking, Okay, what am I doing right this week that I'm going to share? So it kind of Yeah, in a positive mindset,

Jamila Souffrant 26:04

right, right? And that's like, we do that every Wednesday. It's a win and lesson. So I don't like to call anything like a loss. So it's like, what's your win and lesson for the week? And yeah, it's fun when we do that, because you really get to see kind of like, the weekly progress that people are making. It's like, those wins that we need to celebrate, because this is a lot, if this can be a long journey for some and so don't forget to, like, give yourself some credit, encourage yourself along the way, because that's what it's all about. Like, it's not just the end goal, it's like all these little milestones and lessons that you're learning along the way. I really hope you enjoyed that conversation with Josie. You see the correlation between how much progress she's made in her finances. You heard that she quit her job, so she's in the work flexibility stage, and I'm just loving it. I love seeing the kind of progress that money launch club members are making. All right. Journeyers, until next week, keep on journeying. You.

Speaker 1 27:05

Don't forget, you can get the episode show notes for this episode by going to journey to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this and you can still grab your jumpstart guide for free to help you on your journey to financial freedom by going to journey to launch.com/jumpstart if you want to support me and the podcast and love the free content and information that you get here, here are four ways that you can support me in the show. One, make sure you're subscribed to the podcast wherever you listen, whether that's Apple podcast, that purple app on your phone, your Android device, YouTube, Spotify, wherever it is that you happen to listen, just subscribe so you are not missing an episode. And if you're happening to listen to this in Apple podcasts, rate review and subscribe there. I appreciate and read every single review. Number two, follow me on my social media accounts. I'm at journey to launch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and I love, love, love interacting with journeyers. There three support and check out the sponsors of this show. If you hear something that interests you, sponsors are the main ways we keep the podcast lights on here, so show them some love for supporting your girl four. And last but not least, share this episode, this podcast, with a friend or family member or co worker, so that we can spread the message of Journey to launch. All right, that's it until next week. Keep on journeying. Journeyers. You.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai