还债标兵一家
Lauren Mochizuki, a mom of two, had a wake-up call several years ago when her husband, Kyle, told her he wanted to pay off the family's more than $260,000 debt.
劳伦·望月是两个孩子的母亲，几年前，当她的丈夫凯尔告诉她，他想要还清家里逾26万美元的债务时，她灵机一现。
"My husband was talking to some friends and he came home one day and he said, 'I think we should, one, go on a budget and, two, become debt free,'" Mochizuki, 34, told us.
34岁的望月在接受采访时说:“我丈夫和几个朋友聊天，有一天他回家后说，'我觉得我们应该，一，进行预算，二，还清债务。’”
"Once I saw [our debt], I was shocked and I felt a little overwhelmed."
“当我看到(我们的债务)时，我很震惊，感觉有点不知所措。”
Mochizuki, an emergency room nurse, and her husband were unaware that their debt had climbed to just over $266,000.
望月是一名急诊室护士，她和丈夫都不知道他们的债务已经攀升到266000美元多一点。
"We both had great jobs but we were just spending and we didn’t know where our money was going," she said.
她说:“我们都有很好的工作，但我们一直在花钱，不知道钱都花到哪里去了。”
"We were just living life without regard to our finances or our future selves."
“我们一直不考虑我们的财务状况和未来的自己的情况下生活。”
Inspired by the idea of having more control over their lives, the Mochizukis started to pay off their debt.
受到对自己生活有更多控制权的想法的启发，望月开始偿还债务。
They focused first on creating a budget that was effective but realistic, and held monthly budget meetings as a couple, which they still hold to this day.
他们首先关注的是制定一个有效但现实的预算，并作为夫妻每月举行一次预算会议，直到今天他们仍然这样做。
"When you do create a budget, you should make it realistic, not idealistic," said Mochizuki.
望月说:“当你制定预算时，你应该让它切合实际，而不是理想化。”
"You have to account for all the things that you do in life. Don’t just cut your grocery budget from $1,000 to $200. That’s not going to work. That’s not realistic."
“你必须对你生活中做的所有事情负责。不要只是把你的购物预算从1000美元削减到200美元。那是行不通的。这是不现实的。”
They also started by paying off their smallest debts, which Mochizuki said gave them momentum and "the grit and the strength to keep it going."
他们也从偿还最小的债务开始，望月说这些债务给了他们动力和“勇气和力量来继续前进”。
Mochizuki, who shares financial tips on her blog, and her husband also looked for ways to make extra money, including picking up extra shifts at their jobs -- Kyle is a firefighter -- and holding garage sales to sell clothes and items from their home.
望月还在她的博客上分享了一些理财建议，她和她的丈夫也在寻找赚外快的方法，包括在他们的工作岗位上加班——凯尔是一名消防员——以及在自家的车库出售衣服和物品。
They also developed new shopping habits.
同时他们还养成了新的购物习惯。
"We gave each other spending money every month but if I wanted to buy an expensive coat that I really wanted, for example, I had to budget for it and save for many months," said Mochizuki.
望月说:“我们每个月都会给对方零花钱，但如果我想买一件自己真正想要的昂贵外套，我就必须做好预算，并为好几个月的开销做准备。”
Just over two years after starting their debt journey, the Mochizukis paid off their $266,000 debt.
在开始债务之旅的两年后，望月就偿还了他们家266,000美元的债务。
Just a few months after becoming debt-free, Mochizuki and her husband welcomed their first child.
在没有负债的几个月后，望月和她的丈夫迎来了他们的第一个孩子。
More recently, they were able to buy their dream home.
而最近，他们终于买上了心仪已久的房子。
"I think of our debt-free journey as more of a marathon than a sprint," said Mochizuki, who said it took her and her husband exactly 33 months to pay off their debt. "Since becoming debt free I feel like a completely different person."
望月说:“我认为我们的无债旅行更像是一场马拉松而不是短跑。”她说她和她的丈夫花了整整33个月才还清了他们的债务。“自从还清债务后，我感觉自己完全变了一个人。”
Here are three more tips to keep in mind on your own debt journey.
在你的债务之旅中，这里还有三条建议要记住。
1. Stop using credit cards. "These are your highest interest rate debts, meaning they are the thing that grows the fastest and make you owe more the fastest."
1. 停止使用信用卡。“这些是你的最高利率债务，意味着它们是增长最快的东西，会让你最快地欠更多的钱。”
2. Create an emergency fund. "This should be enough to cover three to six months of expenses."
2. 建立应急基金。“这应该足够支付三到六个月的费用。”
3. Use any additional money at your disposal to pay down debt. "It never hurts to pay off more debt. The problem is when you don’t pay it off fast enough, then it just accumulates over time."
3.用你可以支配的任何额外的钱来偿还债务。“偿还更多的债务从来都没有坏处。问题是，如果你没有足够快地还清债务，它就会随着时间累积。”
问题
文中提到这个家庭还清了多少债务？
留言回复正确答案，前十名朋友可以获得红包奖励哦，赶快来试试吧！