Since 2024, @pamsmoneydiary has been sharing her journey of managing over $20K in debt while working toward financial stability. She tracks her numbers publicly—showing how she splits her paychecks between debt and savings, rebuilds her emergency fund, and adjusts her plan along the way.
After paying off her car, her focus is now on tackling credit card debt and building toward a stronger financial foundation.
In this interview, she shares how she manages competing priorities, her approach to money, the lessons she’s learned, and her long-term goal of becoming debt-free and reaching a $100K net worth.
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1. Hi, Pam! For readers discovering you for the first time, could you introduce yourself and share what inspired you to start @pamsmoneydiary?
Hi! I started Pam’s Money Diary because I wanted to document my journey getting out of debt.
This actually isn’t my first time doing it. I’ve done it MULTIPLE times before.
But this time, it looks like it’s sticking.
2. When you first began documenting your journey, what did your financial situation look like at the time?
I was in a lot of credit card debt and stressed. Living at home with my mom not seeing a way out.
Back during covid times I had a decent savings account and was on my way to being debt free (aside from the money my mom owed me) but I still felt more stress than ever when I started this account a few years ago.
3. Your account openly tracks the realities of your financial journey, including setbacks and progress. What made you decide to share your numbers publicly?
Everybody else was doing it. haha.
I follow a lot of debt-free / finance accounts and I saw them getting out of debt and I told myself, “why not?” Plus, I had gotten out of debt before so I know I could do it.
It’s always fun having people cheering you on.
4. You recently reached a big milestone by paying off your car. What did that moment mean to you personally?
It was surreal.
I’d been paying my car since 2021, I think, but I can’t actually remember. I had gotten into a terrible car accident before I got my Subaru.
I was looking at my budget in August of 2025, and I was thinking “I can totally pay this off before the end of the year.”
The goal was before December 31, 2025 but I paid it off Black Friday 2025. I took the remaining money from my savings account but it was worth it.
5. You often share your budgeting routines and paycheck planning. What budgeting systems or habits help you stay consistent with managing your money?
I’m a google sheets gal all the way.
I’ve customized my budget routine so I could do it from my phone. It’s been a system that I’ve been tweaking since 2022 and I don’t see myself, at least for the foreseeable future, using anything else.
I get paid weekly at my job but I do my budget on a bi-weekly basis because I’m so used to getting paid every two weeks from my previous jobs.
6. Financial journeys can be difficult to navigate alone. Do you have a support system—friends, family, or an online community—that helps keep you motivated?
Everyone in my life supports me. Thank God.
My friends know that I’m on this journey and they support me 100%. They know how much I love to budget.
7. Right now you’re balancing several financial priorities, including credit card debt repayment, rebuilding your emergency fund, and investing. How do you decide where your money should go first?
Right now, I’m doing it by paycheck.
One paycheck goes to debt. The other paycheck goes to savings.
Once I have my 3-month rent emergency fully replenished, I will focus solely on my credit card.
I’m paying off my credit card with the snowball method, which is where you pay your credit card from smallest to largest balance, regardless of interest rate.
I’m currently working on my @capitalone.
8. You’ve continued investing while working on debt repayment. What does your current investment approach or style look like?
I was investing before but I decided to stop that all together at the moment since my priority is debt and my emergency fund.
But before, I was just putting $50 once a month or so. And then investing in ETFs.
I still have a lot to learn from the investing world.
9. Were there any books, creators, or resources that influenced the way you think about personal finance today?
So many!!
My current favorite creators are @itserinconfortini @_ravenwilsonn @daveramsey @overgenpoverty @thefinancialdiet @breakyourbudget @your.richbff @missbehelpful just to name a few.
I’ve been watching and listening to what they’ve been doing since before I started this page.
10. Looking back on your journey so far, what are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned about money and financial habits?
I love budgeting. I like knowing the balances on my credit cards. Seeing the numbers go down brings me immense joy.
I want to get into tracking my money but at the moment I feel like it’s pointless because all my expenses, well the majority of my expenses, goes to food.
But maybe someday.
11. Looking ahead, what is a five-year financial goal you’re currently working toward?
Getting out of debt. Owning property maybe?
But definitely being debt free and on the road to investing.
Getting to a 100K net worth. That’s a goal I’m actively tracking every month.
12. For Americans who want to pursue financial freedom but feel overwhelmed by debt or rising living costs, what advice would you give them?
Take it one step at a time.
If you’re getting out of credit card debt, don’t use them WHILE trying to get out of debt (currently battling this one myself).
Build up that emergency fund.
And if you want to document your journey. Go ahead. It doesn’t matter. People are judging you anyway, whether you know it or not.
You shouldn’t care anyway.
Final Thoughts
A huge thank you to @pamsmoneydiary for sharing her journey so openly with us. It’s not easy to talk about debt, setbacks, and starting over; but her honesty makes her story relatable and real.
Here are three takeaways we loved from this interview:
- Take it one step at a time — focus on what you can control right now
- Build your foundation first — your emergency fund and habits matter
- Stay consistent — even small actions add up over time
You can follow her journey on Instagram @pamsmoneydiary for honest updates, budgeting routines, and real-life progress.
