Paying off Debt: Should You and Your Partner Tackle It Together or Separately?

How This Couple Got Out of Debt Faster—And Built a Stronger Financial Foundation

Many couples approach debt as an individual responsibility, each managing their own balances separately. But what if working together could save money and strengthen their financial partnership?

That’s exactly what Deb and Fred discovered.

With Deb carrying two high-interest credit cards and Fred managing a personal loan, they originally decided to each put $150 toward their own debt separately.

💡 The result? Fred was out of debt in 23 months, but Deb was still stuck paying off debt for another 10 months—dragging their financial progress down, which impacted her feeling like she was contributing to their savings.

When they shifted their strategy and focused on paying off one debt at a time together, they became debt-free in just 28 months, instead of 34.

They save about $700 in interest, and $200 in cash from Fred being able to save after 24 months but the real benefit wasn’t just the numbers—it was the power of teamwork.

Scenario 1: Paying Off Debt Separately ($150 Each Per Month)

At first, Deb and Fred handled their own debts individually—each paying AN additional $150/month toward their balances.

Key Takeaways from Scenario 1:

✔ Fred is debt-free in 23 months, but Deb still has 10 more months of payments.
✔ They pay $3,699 in interest.
✔ Fred can start saving $350/month after month 23, but they aren’t fully debt-free until month 34.

Scenario 2: Paying Off Debt Together ($300/Month)

Instead of splitting their payments, Deb and Fred combined forces—putting $300/month toward one debt at a time, starting with the highest interest rate.

Key Takeaways from Scenario 2:

✔ They BOTH become debt-free in just 28 months instead of 34.
✔ They pay $3,000 in interest—saving $699.
✔ They get to the point where they can start saving faster!

Beyond the Numbers: The Real Power of Teamwork

Saving an extra $900 IS awesome, but that’s not the only benefit.

🚀 They both got out of debt together—faster.
🚀 They strengthened their financial habits as a team.
🚀 They avoided the stress of one person being debt-free while the other still had payments.

Debt stopped being this burden in the relationship and became a beautiful practice of building trust, respect, love, and communication. Download our Financial Transparency Questions.

Another cool milestone for the awesome couple?

💰 Once their debt was gone at month 28, they were able to save the $650 they had been putting toward debt. By month 34, they had built up an $4,050 in savings cushion! Making their total savings $4950.

The Bottom Line: Debt Repayment Is More Than Just Math

Most people think of debt as an individual burden, but when couples work together, the benefits go beyond just saving interest.

✔ They build teamwork and financial alignment.
✔ They eliminate debt faster and start saving sooner.
✔ They remove financial stress from their relationship.

Instead of asking, “How can I pay off my debt?”, start asking “How can WE eliminate OUR debt together?”

Every scenario is different, and every option is always worth looking at. For more guidance, here's our step-by-step process to getting out of debt video demonstration.