Adam Baker Story
Hurricanes, whirlpools, the Bermuda Triangle and debt traps are among the few things that must be avoided like the plague. If you are feeling boxed in by debts piling up around you, you need not lose hope, for there are thousands of people out there who have been able to emerge with dignity from debt traps. The only secret of their success is the fact that they genuinely wanted to free themselves of their debts.
Adam Baker, the founder of the website Man Vs. Debt, is also one such success story. To bolster your confidence and faith, you need to wake up to the fact that debt is not something that only happens to you. When a person can worm his way into a trouble, he can very well get out of there if he so wishes. The will and determination to achieve that end are what will drive you to your goal.
Ridding yourself of your mounting debts requires you to push up your sleeves and take action. Take stock of your situation, prioritize the debts to be cleared and draft a systematic plan of action. There are a couple of dos and don’ts you need to be aware of so as to see the task to the end, and Adam Baker is a person who will inspire you to keep at it, as he is working himself towards clearing all his debts even as he enjoys a healthy lifestyle and is happily married.
Adam reveals that he was married for a year with his wife Courtney when he first felt the stirrings of guilt and panic of having accumulated 2 car loans, dues at a jewelry store, a string of credit cards bills to be paid off, an embarrassing collection of student loans, and topping them off were loans taken from their parents.
The debt mounted was cause of much concern for the couple, but push came to shove only when they brought home their daughter Milligan from the hospital. The dynamics had changed and the security of the child became their primary concern. The pressure of clearing dues for self-dignity did not have as much effect on them as the prospect of Milligan being affected by their irresponsible debt crisis. The Bakers then turned over a new leaf and pledged that they would clear all their dues as soon as they could.
They relentlessly worked to achieve this goal, selling their small business and almost all the movables and immovables that had their names on them. Their lifestyle went through a drastic change and they downsized their clutter to just their backpacks. The couple educated themselves of every trick in finance management diaries, and before long they could see for themselves the fruits of their labour.
Adam started off by selling all that the couple owned and paid of about $18,000 of the stunning $80,000 they had amassed in non-mortgage debts. Apart from paying off $18,000, the couple also saved up $17,000 with which they began their world tours. Australia was their primary destination and they intended to live there for a couple of years. Once they hit the road, they proceeded from Australia to New Zealand and Thailand before heading back to Indiana. Adam also went on to clear off another $38,500 of his debts after setting out on his world tour.
Adam Baker’s professional journey with Man Vs. Debt kicked off when his travels taught him that there is a global community out there of people who suffer from debt crises and need some support in taking the plunge and tackling their issues. Man Vs. Debt started off as a platform where he would share his personal experiences and the lessons learnt from his attempts (both successful and not-so-successful ones) to take on his debts. The website has today evolved into a reliable guide for populations seeking to know if a frugal life can give them all that an exorbitant one would.
Adam shares his experiences in leading a frugal yet fulfilling life with his wife and child. He informs his readers about where to look and what to watch out for to be able to travel comfortable yet cheaply to various destinations. Ridding yourself of the clutter in your life has greater benefits than what meets the eye, if Adam’s informative blogs are anything to go by.
The reason Adam has accumulated a respectable reader base and has become a reliable source of inspiration for thousands is quite simple. Being honest and genuine in your efforts are truly the only paths that lead to success. The cynical world easily dissuades you from believing the basic fact that hard work always yields results, and folks like Adam Baker reinforce this belief in oneself and in the universe.
Adam still has to reach his goal of completely paying off his debts, and his transparent finance reports instill trust among readers, assuring that they are not being fed processed trash but the truth. Man Vs. Debt’s tag line of “Sell Your Crap. Pay Off Your Debt. Do What You Love” summarizes the intentions of the site effectively.
Debts and a host of other issues come across as endless mazes with no exit points. What you need to acknowledge is that a path in life is always paved by an individual and no ready-made routes are handed to any person on a silver platter. You need to crack the whip on yourself and set deadlines in stone to give yourself the motivation to meet them. For example, when dealing with debts, you may need to act aggressively in getting rid of the clutter in your life and prioritizing your needs and systematically clearing your dues, and by extension your life.
Another lesson to be learnt here is to differentiate between necessities and luxuries. You may sometimes be unable to tackle a problem head-on because the line between necessity and luxury is blurred, thereby clouding your ability to make sound judgments. Object assessment of yourself and your condition are important tasks.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
