Dan the Budget Man: How I Paid Off $100,000 in Debt One Side Gig at a Time

Although Dan Brigham is now known online as "Dan the Budget Man," that wasn't always the case. In fact, there was a point in Brigham's life when he was $100,000 in debt. However, he tells PEOPLE one moment in his life made him realize that something had to change.

"The mindset that I was raised on was that debt is very normal," Brigham, 34, shares. At the start of his college career, Brigham admits he didn't take school very seriously, so it took him an extra year to graduate, racking up debt along the way. Brigham graduated with student loans and deferred paying them for two years, feeling like he could avoid the hefty payments. Over the years, his loans hit $60,000 due to the interest.

He then moved from Vermont to Boston, only to relocate to Austin shortly after, admitting he "maxed out my credit card moving there" by spending beyond his means and buying a brand-new car. "The worst of it was I got a personal loan to pay my first months and security deposit, because I didn't have the funds after moving and everything," he shares. "I had a super high interest rate on that. I was living paycheck to paycheck, but coming out of college and always feeling broke after I graduated college, that didn't feel unusual."

"I was like, 'Whatever. I've never had money. I guess that's normal,' " he adds.

A Wake-Up Call

However, that mindset shifted when he got earth-shattering news. "My dad got sick, and he called me with stage 4 cancer, and I was like, 'Man, I probably should go out there.' That was this realization for me. I was like, 'Wow, I don't have the money to do that,' " Brigham shares.

It took Brigham three months before he could afford to visit. He then decided that he needed to change. He wrote down all of the bills that he needed to pay, making what he calls a "back of the napkin budget." "When I did that, I was like, 'Wow, even if I didn't spend any money going out to eat or doing anything that I had considered lifestyle spending, I still was in the hole every single month.' "

It was in that moment he realized, "I can't afford to do this." "'If I don't make a change, things are just gonna get even worse,'" he remembers thinking. "Literally that day I went on Craigslist and started looking up different things to maybe just make money that day."

The First Step

Just hours later, he says he sold blood plasma when he realized it would make him $50. It was the first step to paying off his debt. "There was a lot of shame that I felt when I was selling my blood plasma. I was like, 'How did my life come to this?' But that shame also kept me more honest with my finances," he tells PEOPLE. "It all of a sudden switched to this mindset of 'Hey, if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna go work…' I started picking up a bunch of other side gigs."

By spending nearly every moment of free time doing odd jobs, he started to "treat every dollar very differently," knowing "it was delaying my ability to enjoy my free time." Brigham tried to visit his dad whenever he could, but sadly, he died less than a year and a half after the initial diagnosis.

Tackling the Debt

Still, Brigham focused on paying off his various debts, including his personal loan, student loans, car loans and credit card debt. "What's funny is I thought to myself, 'If I can get rid of this personal loan, then I'll be good.' We didn't even care about the credit card debt and the student loan debt and the car loan. So, I started doing gig work, doing events."

Once he got a few events under his belt, he started getting more connected and wound up earning around $20 to $30 an hour. "That was the first thing that I did. I really focused on that. I started being a complete weirdo with what things I'd be willing and not willing to spend money on," Brigham shares, detailing how if he wanted a night out, he would have to bike there and bike home, cutting down on transportation costs.

He was living by himself at the time and paying around $1,300 in rent. Once his lease ended, he moved in with five roommates, cutting his rent down to $500. He put the money he was saving straight into paying his debt. He then got rid of his car, which he says "opened up so much cash flow for me to just start chipping away at the student loans."

A Shift in Mindset

While getting his finances in order, he also noticed a shift in how he was showing up in the world. "When you're focused on self-improvement and doing things that are good for your life, you're gonna just start to elevate your life," he says. "My work performance got better. I got a promotion that increased my pay. I went from making $45,000 a year to $75,000 or $80,000." Despite the pay increase, he shares that he "kept all my expenses flat."

During this time, he also met his now-wife, who was also very money-conscious. He says that, interpersonally, there was a big shift for him around then, admitting they used to have "a ton of money fights" because he was "such a stickler with money that it took a while to undo some of the cheapness."

"There's a balance between being frugal and cheap, and what works for us in the stage that we're at. But if we were in a ton of debt trying to scramble out of that, it does require so many sacrifices," he says. "I do feel for people that are on a debt journey together, because if you have one partner who's not bought into getting rid of that debt, that's really hard to do."

"You both need to be on the same page with getting angry about your debt together," Brigham emphasizes.

A Frugal Wedding

When they started talking about getting married, Brigham explained that he didn't want to go back into debt to pay for a lavish wedding, so they went to Las Vegas and spent a little less than $5,000 on the big day. The couple's commitment to financial responsibility extended to their wedding, a decision that reflected their shared values and their determination to avoid new debt.

The Aftermath

Looking back on his life now, Brigham shares that he has a "little bit of PTSD coming out of the experience." "Now, it's harder for me to let loose of my money, even though I totally make enough to do it," Brigham shares. However, now that he is debt-free, he is less focused on paying for his past and more focused on saving for his future.

Brigham's journey is a testament to the power of discipline, determination, and a willingness to make sacrifices. His story serves as an inspiration to anyone struggling with debt, showing that with the right mindset and a clear plan, it is possible to overcome even the most daunting financial challenges. For Brigham, the experience has not only freed him from debt but has also given him a new perspective on life and the importance of financial responsibility.