Graduate Exclusive! Steve S. Travels the World, Puts Family First, and Lives Off What’s in the Bank
We interviewed Steve — registered nurse, family man, Dallas Cowboys fan, and gamer — to learn how a “swiping” mentality can put even high-earners in debt, and how he turned everything around with his Beyond Finance program.
- Debt Amount: $26,166
- Started: April 2022
- Graduated: February 2025
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a registered nurse in Maryland. I’ve been doing it for 24 years now. We get people coming in with heart attacks, and you get instant gratification when you’re like, “Oh man, I just saved a life today!”
My wife and I have a blended family — six kids together. She has four, I have two and they all get along. My wife is my best friend, so whenever I’m not working, I’m always hanging with her!
We are living life to the fullest. Date nights. Family vacations. We travel a lot. And we’re still able to save money and be frugal.
How did you find yourself in debt?
My marriage with my wife is my second marriage. Getting remarried — I had some money stashed and I was able to pay for that.
Then we ended up buying a house and all of a sudden you start swiping credit cards.
You try to work, work, work, but the bills don’t catch up so fast, and sometimes they come quicker than expected. You’re like, “Wait a minute, I need to stop swiping — the interest rates are killing me. As much money as I’m putting on there, it’s still not making anything up.” It was an eye-opener. I didn’t think I’d racked up all of that debt.
A lot of people assume high earners don’t struggle with debt. What was your experience?
I’m one of those — I make six figures. Between me and my wife, we make really good money. And you’re paying these bills, paying these bills, and you’re like, “Why can’t we catch up? What in the world?”
Same as anyone else, you’re doing the credit card swiping and you’re like, “Oh, I can pay it,” but then the car breaks down or you have to do something with the house. And then you’re snowballing.
What was your experience like with Beyond Finance?
I think I heard an ad on the radio. The representative I talked to was so sincere. “We can help you every step of the way… don’t feel embarrassed. A lot of people in America find themselves in the same hole and they don’t know how to get out, but we’re here to help.” I was hesitant — we probably had three or four calls — then I said, “Alright, let’s just go ahead and do this.”
The lower payments gave me breathing room. I was able to do a little more stuff and see more money getting saved in the bank.
And I’m a tech person so I liked seeing my progress on the app: which bill they’re working on, how much debt is being paid off.
It felt good to see that first account get paid off! “Okay, I don’t owe this credit card.” Cut it up. That makes you feel even better.
What was graduation like and what’s happened since?
It felt really good. I just wish I had the graduation theme song playing! You pay that last bill off and now you’re like, “We have some extra money to spare now!” The money you were making toward your debts — that’s back in your pocket. You can actually see the savings you’re building.
We are living life to the fullest. Date nights. Family vacations. We travel a lot. And we’re still able to save money and be frugal. We’ve been to Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, and Punta Cana. Even during the program, we were able to go to Italy.
These days I’m living off what’s in the bank: gas on my debit card, grocery shopping, maybe that’s all I can do this week. Next week, if we both got paid, “Oh, we could go out to dinner today.” I’m learning to spend what I have instead of “future” — because that’s what credit cards are: “future,” because you still have to pay it back.
Now, I’m trying to get my wife to join Beyond Finance for her debt. Now that I’m finished, she’s thinking about it.
Beyond Finance definitely made me learn more financial responsibility, and it helped me get some financial freedom back into my life!
Real client compensated for a real story.