I’ve spent the last week staring at a spreadsheet.

Most people keep their bank accounts locked away like a dark secret. But if I’m going to help you escape the rat race, I have to be willing to show you my own shackles first.

I just finished reading The Richest Man in Babylon for the third time, and it gave me the clarity to stop hiding. Today, I’m showing you the two numbers that define my life right now: The number that weighs me down, and the number that sets me free.

When I was 7 years old, I was pulled out of class because my tuition wasn't paid. I stood by the cashier, sobbing, promising myself I’d never be in that position again.

But life is rarely a straight line. Between an international move during a pandemic, tax obligations, and real estate investments, we found ourselves standing at the foot of a mountain.

To be radically honest, here is our starting line:

Most people would see ₱7.3 Million and panic. They would see it as a life sentence. But because of my “life” training, values, beliefs, and determination—going from an ₱800/month dorm to making ₱500,000 a month—I don't see a tragedy. I see a math problem.

Why am I not panicking? Because I discovered the FIRE Community (Financial Independence, Retire Early). I started reading Mr. Money Mustache and devouring BiggerPockets podcasts.

I learned that retirement isn't an age; it's a number. Once you hit your number, work becomes optional. For my family, we used the 25x Rule.

So, here is the "Gap": We are currently negative ₱7.3 Million, and we are aiming for positive ₱100Million. My husband and I have a runway that we can use when shit hits the fan. I can consider that as our liquid asset but I think it is better to pretend it doesn’t exist. Let’s just say it is sitting around ₱2.5M slowly growing.

That being said, It’s a ₱107.3 Million journey. And we are going to do it in 3 to 5 years. Whatever it takes.

To bridge that gap, we are strictly following the "Seven Cures" from Arkad, the Richest Man in Babylon. Here is how we are applying them to our ₱7.3M debt mountain:

Even with ₱7.3M in debt, we pay ourselves first. 10% of every peso we earn stays in our "Fat Purse." Most "gurus" say to pay the debt first. I disagree. If you don't save, you keep the "broke mindset." By saving 10%, we are training our brains for the abundance we’ll have when the debt is gone.

I live and breathe our budget. We audit our ₱215k monthly burn rate every week. We distinguish between "Needs" and "Wants." As a family from two different cultures, this is a daily conversation. We are stripping away the "First World" excess to fuel our "Third World" grit. We try to make it into a game. Where can we cut down that would still enable us to live the life we have now? And that’s where we cut.

Our 10% savings isn't sitting under a mattress. It’s in index funds, real estate, and assets. We need our money to "have babies" even while we are paying off the past. We’ll go deeper on what we do to make our gold multiply in the future content.

We avoid "get-rich-quick" schemes. No "moon" coins or risky bets. We trust the 22% appreciation we’ve seen in our real estate. We stay the boring, consistent course.

This is our top priority. We planted 800 dragonfruit plants, installing solar power, and collecting our own water. This will eventually crush our ₱215k monthly expenses, which effectively lowers our ₱100M retirement number.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous newsletters, my dad has apartment units where he is collecting monthly positive cash flow. In addition to that, he is also leasing the raw land my grandma left them to generate more income. We are intending to follow his footsteps.

We are building buckets for "Future Mr and Mrs Debt Free." Whether it's the farm, the rentals, or the stock portfolio, we are ensuring that we never have to rely on anyone else again.

I’ve already proven I can increase my income. To kill ₱7.3M in 5 years, we are keeping our foot on the gas. We are sharpening our skills and scaling our value.

I started my own company during the height of the pandemic. It blew up. We grew to fast and I got burn out, especially that I just gave birth to my first kid during that time.

Currently, I’m working with bigger agencies in the same niche so I can learn what I did wrong. With this hand-on experience I am getting, I am confident that when I decide to start my own company again, I’ll be able to handle it better. Build it and grow it so I can sell in the future.

So, how do we actually pay the bills? We follow the story of Dabasir, the Camel Trader. He was a man in debt who regained his soul by using a specific ratio:

• 70% for Living: We aim to live on 70% of our income. We are not there yet. But we are working hard to get there. Our goal is to be able to live off less than 50% of our income and have passive income to cover our monthly expenses.

• 20% for the Debt: 20% of every cent we earn goes directly to the ₱7.3M monster—starting with the smallest balances and the highest-interest taxes. This is the most challenging part but I am sticking to it.

• 10% for the Future: 10% goes to our wealth building.

This is the only way to stay sane. If you put 100% of your extra cash into debt, you feel like a slave. By using the 70/20/10 split, we honor our past (the debt), respect our present (the living expenses), and build our future (the savings).

I’m sharing these massive, scary numbers because I want you to realize that no matter how deep your hole is, there is a ladder.

If a girl who used one pencil until it was a stub can build a plan to move ₱71 Million in 5 years, you can handle your credit card bill.

I want you to do two things today:

1. Total your debt. Name the monster.

2. Find your Freedom Number. Take your monthly expenses, multiply by 12, then multiply by 25.

Hit reply and tell me: What is the "Gap" you are trying to bridge? I read every single reply, and I’m right here in the trenches with you.

To freedom,

Mrs Almost Debt Free