The journey to financial freedom can be draining, demanding time, perseverance, and determination. It also requires total alignment with your partner. The abundance of tools and ineffective quick fixes don’t make it any easier.

In 21 months, I went from having $17,000 in the bank to being $52,000 in debt and then back to having $20,000 saved up. I was only 22 years old at the time. This is my story, and I hope it offers you some strength.

I’m sharing a guide at the end of this article featuring the top four money tools we used on our financial journey—one of these tools is completely free. So make sure to read all the way to the end.

Let me introduce you to Kevin Shryock, a financial coach, motivational speaker, and founder of InSpiritFinancial.com. His mission is to empower and challenge you with inspirational instruction so you can proactively take control of your life and finances.

I didn’t know much about money back then. Maybe saying I knew nothing is an exaggeration; I did have a checking account in high school and worked several jobs in college. However, when it came to mortgages, mutual funds, and retirement accounts, I was clueless. But I was frugal.

To save money, I started my engineering degree at a local community college. I worked four jobs, gave myself a $2 daily allowance, rode a bike, and saved as much cash as possible for when I transferred to a university. If you’d like the detailed breakdown of how I earned $22,000 while still in college, click here.

When I moved on to university, my parents generously provided a college fund to cover the last two years of tuition ($23,500 per year). By being mindful of my spending, I kept my living expenses low and graduated with my savings intact from my first two years of work.

I graduated with an engineering degree, yet knew little about personal finance. Newly graduated, with a job lined up and a steady girlfriend, I made an ill-advised decision with my hard-earned money: I bought a brand-new Scion FR-S sports car. Without a second thought, I walked away with $20,000 in car debt.

Soon, the excitement of the new car payment, combined with my girlfriend’s student loans, car loans, and credit card debt began to weigh on us. Money lost its fun allure, and I realized our lack of financial knowledge and our multiple debts were jeopardizing our relationship.

So, I did what any engineer would do best: research. I concluded that the best way to be wealthy was to adopt the habits of wealthy people, such as budgeting, getting out of debt, staying out of debt, living below your means, and building an emergency fund.

Our combined debts added up to a staggering $52,000. We cut our spending and started budgeting for the first time. The initial attempts were difficult and caused many arguments. Date nights shifted from restaurant outings to renting movies from Redbox. We even skipped family events to save money on plane tickets. Yet, we persisted. After ten painfully frugal months, we managed to pay off all our debts.

The major battle was won, but the war wasn’t over. My research showed that a solid financial foundation needed an emergency fund. Continuing our thrifty lifestyle for another seven months, we finally moved from financial crisis to stability. We were debt-free with $20,000 (six months of living expenses) in the bank, reserved just for emergencies.

With our finances in order, we increased our entertainment budget and enjoyed some fantastic date nights, one of which ended with me proposing to Becca. It felt incredible to buy the ring with cash.

Now, we’re saving for a house. Reluctant to dive back into debt, we plan to make a substantial down payment on a modest home costing around $100,000. At our current savings rate, we aim to pay off the mortgage within seven years—just in time for Becca’s 35th birthday.

Though we’re young, we’re constantly looking ahead to new challenges. It’s almost like a game now. Because we started early, we’re on track to have more than enough at retirement. We’re also considering early retirement by investing some of our savings into side investments. If everything goes according to plan, we could retire as early as my 47th birthday with no house payment, no debt, and a healthy nest egg of $1.4 million. If we work until conventional retirement age, we could have a whopping $6.5 million.

Starting early has already paid off for us, but we believe it’s possible for anyone. You just need to set your dreams and make the small sacrifices required to achieve them.

If you want to know the top four tools we used to get out of debt, I’m giving them away for free. Just click here to visit my site and choose the guide you want.

Remember, as the Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”