An Arkansas mom secretly cleared $67,676.60 in family debt in 45 days while her husband had no idea; social media followers helped erase their mortgage, truck loan and bakery business debt
For 45 days, Erika Dison carried a secret that could change her family’s financial future. While her husband, Cody, continued their everyday life in central Arkansas, she was quietly working to erase every dollar of their $67,676.60 debt. By the time she finally revealed what she had been doing, the couple’s mortgage, truck loan and bakery business debt had been cleared.In an exclusive report by PEOPLE, the 31-year-old mother revealed how an ambitious personal challenge turned into a social media movement involving thousands of strangers.
A debt-free goal that started quietly
Dison had originally planned to become debt-free by December 31, 2027. The family’s outstanding balances included the remainder of their mortgage, Cody’s truck loan and a business loan Dison had taken to expand her home-based sourdough bakery, Rosie.As the PEOPLE report stated, the family carried no student loans or revolving credit card debt, and Dison’s car was already paid off. Still, seeing the remaining total in one place clarified the scale of the challenge. Her motivation was tied to a larger family dream. She wanted to raise the couple’s three children, ages 7, 3 and 7 months, on a small farm where they could grow up around animals and learn about food and farming. Rather than telling Cody about her accelerated plan, Dison created secret TikTok and Facebook accounts and began documenting her progress.
Turning social media into micropayments
Dison, who has an accounting background and a strong interest in numbers, created a system that linked her social media activity directly to debt payments. Every follower, like, comment, share and save on her videos represented a dollar amount she would put toward the family’s balances. She tracked the numbers in a small red notebook, recording the payments, remaining debt and percentage completed each day.Initially, the challenge was entirely self-funded. Money generated by Rosie’s weekly preorders, farmers markets, events, the Little Pink Bread Shed and stores carrying her products went toward the debt.About a week into the challenge, followers began asking how they could support the effort. Dison responded by opening a Shopify store selling sourdough starter, recipes and merchandise, while supporters could also contribute through GoFundMe, Cash App, PayPal and Venmo.
Strangers become the mountain movers
As her videos attracted more attention, the online community surrounding the challenge adopted the name Mountain Movers, inspired by a biblical passage that had encouraged Dison to take on the financial challenge. The movement also expanded beyond debt repayment. Through a program called Bake It Forward, followers could sponsor bread, cookies and brownies that Dison would distribute locally to people experiencing food insecurity. The purchases generated bakery income while allowing the online community to support a local cause. And behind the scenes, however, Cody remained unaware.Dison continued to manage the challenge while maintaining the family’s normal routines. She reduced spending in subtle ways, planned meals around food already in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry, and kept the children from discovering the secret.
$67,676.60 cleared in 45 days
The pressure intensified as the challenge continued, particularly on Day 35, which was Cody’s birthday. By then, Dison was juggling homeschooling, caring for three young children, running the household and increasing her bakery workload. On Day 45, she finally reached the $67,676.60 target. Around $40,000 came through GoFundMe, Cash App, PayPal and Venmo. Another roughly $10,000 came from Rosie, recipe sales and Mountain Mover merchandise, with the remainder coming from the family’s checking account and bakery income. Dison did not receive an inheritance or unexpected windfall and did not earn money directly from TikTok. She then sat down with Cody after the children went to bed and handed him a letter explaining the entire challenge.The reveal video later reached a much wider audience after it was accidentally posted to her main TikTok account. It surpassed 1 million views within 24 hours and approached 12 million views over five days.With the debt gone, Dison’s focus has shifted toward the family’s next chapter: potentially building a forever home, expanding their farm dreams and helping other families find their own way through financial challenges. The Mountain Movers community that grew around her secret is now turning its attention toward helping others tackle their own financial goals, the exclusive report concludes.Image Courtesy: istock and People
