A Way Out Of Debt (By Way Of Iraq)

Posted on September 12, 2007 
Filed Under Solutions

Last week an article by John Leland appeared in the NY Times titled, “A Way Out of Debt by Way of Iraq: Volunteering for Duty to Pay Off the Bills“. Great article about Captain Nick Sloan of the U.S. Air Force.

In early 2006, Capt. Sloan had over $68,000 in debt when he decided he needed a change. According to the article, Capt. Sloan came to the realization that he needed to do something radical and drastic to alter the financial path he was on. (I’d say going to Iraq qualifies for radical and drastic.)

But by volunteering for duty in Iraq, Capt. Sloan was able to:

  1. Earn extra money, including hazardous duty bonuses. In addition, all of his income is tax-free per the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion.
  2. Minimize living expenses. He eats at the chow hall instead of Pizza Hut, and uses a Sony Reader to read free books from the Internet.

As of this writing, Capt. Sloan is almost debt free.

Obviously going to Iraq to earn extra money and minimize your expenses is not possible for most people. But the important point to learn from Capt. Sloan’s story is that there almost always is a way out of debt. It all boils down to (A) How bad do want it? … and, (B) Are you prepared to temporarily leave your comfort zone to dramatically change your future?

For more information, check out Capt. Sloan’s blog