Some days at Rachel Jordan start at 5 am and don’t end until midnight – sometimes several days in a row.
“I’m just tired, to be honest,” he said in the interview.
Jordan, 43, is one of the millions of Americans working two jobs to make ends meet as they try to pay off debt they incurred when they were young. With about $75,000 in student loan debt outstanding, Jordan often works 70 hours a week to pay it off.
Although she doesn’t have to make payments as her loan is forgiving, Jordan said she usually aims to pay at least $1,600 a month while working toward a monthly payment goal of $2,000.
Living in Tampa, Florida, Jordan lives in a one-bedroom apartment with his French bulldog and generally tries to keep his living expenses low so he can focus on his mortgage. His first job involved real estate lending. When that shift is over, she’ll take a short break to take care of her dog before heading to Target, where she works in the children’s clothing department.
It is a habit that he started last year, when he realized that his debt was not standing. And to keep himself accountable to his goals, Jordan often posts videos on YouTube and TikTok documenting his debt-free journey.
“I felt like if I didn’t do this, if I didn’t do this now, it would end up being what I was after in life,” she said.
Debt business
During the pandemic, Jordan said he has racked up nearly six figures in debt between his student loans, car loan and credit card.
“I used to spend some on my groceries, gas, things that I would get each week, but I would also spend on trips to Target to get clothes or stupid things that I didn’t need to buy,” she said. “I used credit cards and spending money to give me that dopamine hit and get me through that time.”
And he’s not alone in his debt: America’s total household debt — from mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, student loans and more — jumped to $18.8 trillion at the end of last year. The rising cost of living has forced many consumers to look for other sources of payment, such as buy now, pay later, to pay for everyday goods.
In an effort to get out of debt, Jordan started making payments and officially became credit card debt free last year. He said it is still the same today.
“It’s hard for me to think beyond a lot because I feel like if I put more pressure on myself than I am, it’s like I’m literally breaking down,” she said.
Letting go of this aspect of his debt changed the way Jordan looked at his finances. Now, she said she treats her credit card like a debit card, pays it off every week, and only uses what she has set aside.
Having never been taught about finance growing up, Jordan said “it was all learning as I went along.”
“When I first started being on TikTok that’s when I first — at about age 40 — heard about a Roth IRA,” he said. “You learn a lot by seeing what other people do, but I also learn as I go and make my mistakes and learn by myself.”
To keep himself going, Jordan set a short-term goal to pay off $25,000 of his student loan debt by October of this year. Looking to the future, he has his eye on saving his first $100,000 between retirement and a high-yield savings account. To date, Jordan has managed to put away more than $13,000 combined in savings and retirement.
Accounting and accountability
Posting videos online detailing his travels has given Jordan a bump in cash every few months, but even more so it’s become an important place for him to process his debt.
“[It] He really pushed me forward, kept me healthy and gave me a chance to get out,” he said.
While social media has helped Jordan keep track of his progress, it has also helped him find a community with other people struggling with debt.
“A lot of people have left comments on the YouTube video, where I have a lot of viewers, saying ‘You inspired me’ or ‘I never knew this’ or ‘It’s the reason I started paying off all my student loans,'” she said.
“When I was in the times of Covid, I had a lot of debt,” he continued. “I felt like I was left out. Even though I’m obviously not the only one in the world in this situation, it felt like I was. But putting the video online and realizing that I don’t have it has really motivated me to keep going and keep going.”
“I used to get dopamine hits from Target, and now I get dopamine hits from every checkout,” Jordan said.
Loans in limbo
Jordan’s student loan debt comes from two accounting degrees, one from the University of Phoenix and the other from Western Carolina University.
In 2022, Jordan decided to apply for student loan forgiveness for his first accounting degree. After applying, he said he received a notice of receipt of his application, but he hasn’t heard anything since: “No news, no updates, nothing really.”
He said his loan is on hold as he waits for a decision, but is struggling with the unknown future of his credit.
“It was difficult because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she said. “[The] the times I’ve reached out to the Ed Department, it’s been like, ‘Oh, your application is still active.'”
And it appears to be: Jordan said every time he checks the status of his application through his account, it says it’s still being updated.
Living in “crisis” has made it difficult for Jordan to make a decision on how to ultimately deal with his looming student debt. He said he is always torn between whether he should pay a small amount and wait for forgiveness or just pay off the rest of his debt.
But the fear that other administrations might come in and “change the rules” motivates him to seek debt relief, he said.
However, even if he was able to pay off all of his loans, Jordan said he feels like he “will still need to work hard because I feel like I’m very far behind in my retirement efforts.”
Jordan told NBC News that he tries not to think about his current financial situation because he feels so far behind: “When I think about the whole truth, it’s so big.
“I’m doing everything I can and I’m giving every dollar I can to my savings and credit,” she said. “There’s really nothing I can do.”
