Here’s How One Couple Paid $200K Of Debt In 5 Years By First Addressing Their Money Hang-Ups | Forbes

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]here Julien and Kiersten Saunders live in Atlanta, GA, they have multiple options for grocery shopping. There’s the high-end market down the block or the traditional grocery store around the corner. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

Good choices, for sure. But when you’re looking to cut costs in order to reach financial independence, you have to find ways to save. And Julien knew he could make further inroads into his expenses by shopping at a cheaper grocery store about a mile away. It didn’t have the fake rain sprinkling the vegetables or even well lit aisles. “Going into that store gave me shame,” Julien said, because it reminded him of the grocery stores his mother shopped at when his family struggled financially as a child.

For the Saunders, the path to financial independence isn’t one of simply numbers that, over time, add up to enough that will allow the family to live comfortably without the need of a job. It’s also a deep dive and recognition of the psychological impulses or barriers that we all have when it comes to spending.