Member Spotlight Throwback Thursday: Amber & Paul Taylor

Ever wonder how some of our members are doing months after implementing what they learned in Roots of Personal Finance? We have an update on Amber and Paul Taylor, but first, let's take a look back.

Amber and Paul Taylor are two of our Canadian members. They decided to join Roots of Personal Finance in September because they were tired of not having money to truly enjoy life. They knew they needed to make a change. 

One of the problems Amber and Paul faced was eating out (like most of us). Now they eat out less and when they do, it's budgeted for. " The biggest thing that we have gotten from the Roots program is a strong feeling of security.  We now know that we are in good shape to do what we want in the future without worrying."

Since starting roots, Amber has "managed to separate our residential finances from my business finances, which is a huge accomplishment." Also, she and Paul have saved their $1,000 emergency fund and, this is huge, paid off a little more than $23,000 of debt!

Amber and Paul are still able to do all of the things that they used to before Roots, but they learned to them without incurring debt. "While it isn't exactly financial advice, just don't give up," says Amber. "You cannot fail at this as long as you keep trying. There may be setbacks, but they just mean you have to try harder to get what you want."

So what have Amber and Paul been up to since then? They have saved another $1,000 to bring their emergency fund total to $2,000. They have paid off another $9,000 of debt. That means they have paid off $32,000 of debt in about a year's time. 

"This process is challenging and just when you think you've got it and everything is going great, slip ups happen," says Amber. "Just trust the process, get back on the horse and keep moving forward; don't beat yourself up about the slip ups."