Growing up without much with a single mom who sacrificed her life for us, I just wanted to make enough money to buy my mom a nice house, take the financial burden from her, and give her a GOOD LIFE, whatever that meant. SO at 17, off to college I went, with this BIG DREAM of being a neurosurgeon because they made a ton of money, and I was pretty good at science. Or so I thought. I was a broke college kid who worked three jobs to put myself through college. I served, I was a nanny, and I worked at Victoria Secret for a period. No judgement friends! I worked countless jobs during my college years, BUT I had no financial guidance or idea what to do with the money I made. So I spent it, and gave it to people. And shopped and gave it away. And went into debt and gave money to people. I put other people’s bills on credit cards as a college student and felt like I was doing a good work by doing so… by helping. I always knew I wanted to help people. I was drowning myself and could barely support myself. BUT helping people was more important to me. Even at the expense of my credit which I had no idea about. I just wanted to make money to help people. Namely. My mom. She was my superhero. And I just wanted to make her proud AND buy her a big house. I saw my mom work 3 jobs, put herself through school, and work tirelessly to provide for us, and I just wanted a better life for HER….for all of us! I wanted to NOT struggle. There had to be more to life than struggling. I wanted more for MY FAMILY!

So let’s back up a bit. I got a credit card at 19 to get a free t-shirt on my college campus UNC-Chapel Hill! Go HEELS! I loved free things back then, being a broke college student. I was working 3 jobs, and my dad sent a monthly stipend of $400 a month to help. However, I don’t even remember what I used that $400 a month for y’all! I had NO concept of budgeting. So I spent whatever I earned and whatever my dad sent on God knows what! The idea of saving, budgeting, being wise with money was never something I saw so I spent and gave the rest away. So by getting a credit card and making minimum payments for 6 months or so, I was able to buy my first car! I went into that bank with my pay stubs and was able to get my first auto loan! I remember that day like it was yesterday! I was so proud that I had built my credit to 626! :) That was a big deal to me even though I no idea what credit even was or meant. Buying my first car was huge, and over the years, I worked hard to pay for that car, insurance, and all the things that came with it. Working and making money was never an issue. Saving and not spending, and not going into debt, NOW that was a completely different story. And that started my debt journey! A credit card, and a car loan!

That 1997 White Honda Accord, my first car, meant everything to me. I felt like I had accomplished such a huge goal, BUT I had no idea how to balance money, so even though I made enough to cover my car note and insurance, sometimes I made late payments. It got worse when I moved off campus into off campus apartments. A one bedroom at that, fully furnished apartment. I think my rent was $725 per month. I worked almost full-time, went to school full-time, and looking back on it, I should have stayed on campus. But I didn’t. And I worked hard to pay my bills, and apartment, and car, and all of the things, but without a budget and a plan, I failed miserably. I was late on rent. I was late on car payments. I barely made ends meet or had money for food. I lived off Ramen noodles and cheap cereal. Fruity pebbles was my favorite. I worked hard. But I was struggling. Struggling to stay afloat, and I definitely didn’t want to go to my family who was so proud of me for going to a major university. I couldn’t tell them that I needed help. Or so I felt. So I struggled silently. I worked 3 jobs, and I had nothing to show for it. Sound familiar? For me, this vicious cycle continued my entire college career and beyond. Work. Spend. Give. Struggle. Work. Spend. Give. Struggle to make ends meet. I was tired of struggling. I had struggled my entire life, and I wanted more. I desperately wanted more. But unfortunately for me. That more did not come for MANY YEARS!

I believe God was preparing for this moment. He uses our struggles for our good, and I’m so thankful to be beyond that now, BUT it took so many years to get there friend! And if you are there now, please know! There IS HOPE! You will get through this!

Tune in to Part 2 coming soon!

Until next time friends,

Shelly

PS If you need budgeting tools, head to the shop now and grab our DEBT FREE VISION SHEETS! They are life changing, and what I used when I started making financial changes! Or wait for our new DEBT CRUSHING WORKBOOK coming soon!

And don’t forget to tune into our PODCAST the Revive Podcast! Every Monday we have a new episode!