About Dustin

Welcome to Dream Crushing Debt and my story of how I survived my student loans and started to rebuild my dreams.

History

The Road I’ve Traveled

College (2008 - 2012)

I attended BYU-Idaho where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Web Design and Development with emphasis in photography, and public relations.

Boise, ID (2012 - 2016)

I moved to Boise as soon as I graduated from BYU-Idaho for my first real job. I didn’t know anyone here, except for my roommate and a few other people.

Salt Lake City, UT (2016 - Present)

I grew up in this area. Moving here wasn’t as “new” or “fresh” as it was when I moved to Boise. I moved back largely because it felt like opportunity in Boise ran out.
agsdi-sun-cloud

Photographer, WordPress Guru, and more...

BOISE, ID – I was working for a blog teaching photography, blogging, and doing a ton of work to the website. I was laid off in September 2013.

Digital Media Manager

BOISE, ID – I was working for a blueprint shop hired to run their website and take care of anything digital that came through. I was laid off in September 2015.

Front-end Web Developer

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – I worked on the Customer Support team doing front-end website work for various clients. I quit in October 2017.

Self-Employed

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Today I am self-employed building WordPress sites. I’m still debt free, and truly happier than I’ve been in a really long time!

Details

About Dustin Olsen

I grew up in small town in Utah. After graduating high school, I went off to college at Brigham Young University – Idaho. There I studied Web Design, Graphic Design, Photography, and Public Relations. I loved combining the techical with the creative to really expand my skill set. A skillset that landed me my first job right out of college working for a photography blog that allowed me to fill several rolls. I was a photographer, instructor, and WordPress guru. It was awesome! Then I was laid off after a year.

From there, I moved onto a blueprint shop that hired me to manage their website and take care of all things digital and creative. This job was much less awesome compared to my last one, but it was a paycheck. I was laid off after 2 years of working there. After being unemployed for a few months and nothing working out, the decision was made to move to Utah for more and better opportunities. I loved Boise, and a piece of my heart will always be there, but all signs seemed to point south.

After a few months in Utah, I accepted a job offer at a software company on their customer support team doing Front-end web design work. This was a good job to have and what I needed at the time. After a year and a half… I quit. It was my first time being able to walk away on my own, rather than being asked to walk away. 

In the midst of being let go twice, moving to a different state, having gone from making $48,000/year to $33,000/year to $348/week… I managed to pay off $50,000 worth of student debt.

From where I’m at today… looking back… it has been one of the craziest rides of my life! I could not be more humbled by the countless tender mercies, a loving family, and supportive friends that made putting one foot in front of the other at all possible.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to Become Debt Free

Follow these steps and start to take control of your future and discover your dreams again.

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