I’m 41 and plan to retire at 65. My first step was paying off over $55,000 in credit card debt — here’s how I did it.0

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• September 22, 2026

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michelle Gudiño Prestamo, a 41-year-old human resources manager at a major footwear company in Mississippi. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I’m the distribution center human resources manager at a major footwear company. I started at the company in 2019. Before this job,