Your best life starts when debt ends.
Hi, I’m Joe Mihalic.
I envision a world where people make decisions based on their values, not their net worth.
However, the reality is that debt traps us in lives that we never imagined for ourselves. I know, because I’ve lived it.
In 2009, I graduated with $101k of student debt and a job I didn’t love. I couldn’t see a way out.
So, I challenged myself to pay off the debt in ten months. By completely rewiring my mindset, emotions, habits, and financial system against a backdrop of radical accountability, I did it in only seven.
Becoming debt-free allowed me to take a pay cut and move to a company that I believed in and a job that I loved. From there, my wife and I paid off our mortgage and fully funded our retirement.
I recently quit Apple after 13 years to focus on my family and my passion for helping others.
Now, I coach others to find that same freedom.
Financial freedom creates space for what matters most: your health, your family, your dreams. You deserve it. You can have it. I’ll show you how.
A few major news outlets covered my student debt story back in 2012, and over time, I heard from countless people who said it inspired them to pay off their debt.
Today, I’m not just an inspiration. I’m a coach.
I’ve codified the system that took me out of debt and into the news—and I’ll teach it to you.
From Inspiration to Coach
Here’s where it all began.
Take the wheel. Live free.
Over 13 years, I built and tested a framework that helped me:
Pay off $90K of debt in seven months
Eliminate our mortgage
Fully fund our retirement
Now it’s a system you can use to do the same.
You should have more choices in your life. The DAD Plan is how.
After 13 years at Apple, I decided to quit—not because I didn’t love the people or the work, but because my daughter barely knew who I was. During paternity leave, I finally bonded with her and realized I could never go back to 60-hour weeks that cost me my family. That wake-up call, combined with the reminder of how my old blog No More Harvard Debt helped thousands, pushed me to start The Drive Away Debt Plan (The DAD Plan)—a new mission to help dads and families break free from debt and financial stress.
When you’re free from money anxiety, you create space for better things: your health, your relationships, your purpose. That’s what I’m chasing—and what I want to help you chase too.