{"id":5116,"date":"2025-08-05T21:34:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T21:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondfinance.com\/blog\/?p=5116"},"modified":"2025-08-29T15:40:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T15:40:06","slug":"graduate-exclusive-tim-m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondfinance.com\/blog\/graduate-exclusive-tim-m\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Exclusive! Tim M. Retires, Does Tech Projects, and Prepares to Sail the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n

We interviewed Tim \u2014 tech wiz, guitarist, and adventurer \u2014 to hear about his journey and how life\u2019s changed since graduating from his Beyond Finance program in January of 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
    \n
  • Debt Amount: $35,645<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Started: November 2022<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Graduated: January 2024<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Can you tell us a bit about yourself?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m retired and live in Las Vegas. I\u2019ve had a lot of different jobs. I got my first tech sales job in like \u201981, \u201982. I started way back before anybody knew what a computer was.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At a certain point, people started saying, \u201cOh, you never went to college. You don\u2019t have a college degree.\u201d I was like, \u201cWait a minute. I can make just as much money driving a tractor trailer!\u201d So I did the truck thing for a long time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \n

    I realized, I\u2019m either going to be working until I\u2019m 70 to pay off these credit cards, or I need to do something different.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    How did you find yourself in debt?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I stopped working when my father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease. I helped him as his primary caretaker. Then later, my mother had Alzheimer\u2019s and I did it again.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I knew I had a problem \u2014 I was just paying so much money in interest. I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t know how this is ever going to end.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Eventually at some point I was like, \u201cI need help.\u201d<\/em> I realized, I\u2019m either going to be working until I\u2019m 70 to pay off these credit cards, or I need to do something different.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \n

    What was your experience like with Beyond Finance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I got the sense on that initial call that the person was there to help me, that they knew what they were doing, and it was a judgment-free zone. So I figured, let\u2019s go for it. Just take a leap of faith and trust somebody who\u2019s a complete stranger and see what happens. I\u2019m so glad I did.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The difference in my monthly payments was so stark that at the time I thought they were lying to me. I was like, \u201cThere\u2019s no way in hell you can do that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I first saw results, I was just like \u2014 I can\u2019t believe this. This is incredible. I\u2019m so happy I made that call. I can\u2019t believe this is real. I just kept saving and saving. And I got to the point where I was like, \u201cOkay, I can just pay this all off.\u201d So I did.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \"\"
    Tim plans to replicate the thrill he experienced on his previous sailing adventure (pictured here with a fish he caught off the coast of Africa), on a new sailing trip this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    What\u2019s happened since graduation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Before Beyond Finance, I was thinking, \u201cThere\u2019s no way I\u2019m gonna retire anytime soon.\u201d But that\u2019s when I really sat down and contacted the Social Security Administration \u2014 I retired at 62. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \"\"
    Tim monkeying around with a new friend at the Rock of Gibraltar on his trip across the Atlantic. He’s likely to meet some more primate pals on his next sailing trip in the East!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    I like to sail \u2014 before I joined Beyond Finance, I went on a sailing trip from England across the Atlantic Ocean.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now \u2014 if I can get my new passport in time \u2014 I\u2019m planning to join this guy on his boat and sail from Fiji to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and then up to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore. Then finally, across the Indian Ocean and up through the Suez Canal! If I was still deep in debt, I wouldn\u2019t be able to sail around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    When you\u2019re retired you have to develop a schedule \u2014 do things, join clubs or find local activities. I play guitar 3 to 4 hours a day, and I\u2019m doing more computer projects. I run my own mail server, and I\u2019m planning to start a YouTube channel to teach people how to install OpenBSD, my favorite operating system.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You really took me from a place where I thought I was gonna be trapped for the rest of my life \u2014 and completely resolved the situation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now I can look back at it as being history \u2014 not part of my life anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Real client compensated for a real story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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