Life has been super challenging lately. I’m recently separated and still trying to adjust to living off of my own income. It’s been a real struggle. I vowed to myself that I’d abolish all of my debts within a year or so. I’m sick of being behind, sick of being in the hole, sick of relying on others to do for me. I’d decided I had enough. Shortly after the split, I started trying to figure out what to do. Cut costs. Try to pay the debts one at a time, biting the bullet on late payments and delinquent accounts. My credit took a major hit, angering me since I was always so careful about taking care of it. I felt defeated, like I wasn’t going to get out of debt on my own.

I knew that I couldn’t make it off of my single income. It just wasn’t going to happen. So, I reached out to my peers from my service industry days… the dread of returning to a restaurant to serve people overcame me. I always told myself I’d never do it again, after spending over two years waiting tables at The Olive Garden (worst serving job ever!). Yet, there I was… trying to see how quickly I could start serving as a part-time gig. Luckily, a former coworker came through for me and hired me quickly.

Let me say this: my mom was not happy. I already work a steady, full-time job with benefits… so, to her: why did I need another job? Everything would be ok! I’m gonna miss quality time with my son… I explained that I didn’t want to be in debt anymore; I didn’t want to feel suffocated by bills; I wanted to take care of it now, so I can enjoy time with my son later. Most importantly, I wanted to set my son up for financial freedom in the future. He’s barely one, so I felt now was the time. It would be harder later. Ignoring the criticism, I took the part-time job, serving on the Riverwalk. I haven’t been there long, but the extra income is definitely helping me chip away at the debt quickly. Yes, I’m tired already. It’s hard working long days at the office, stressing over things that don’t directly affect me, then having to head to job number two on the weekends… I feel the affects on my sleep and my body already. What keeps me going is knowing that I’ve already made progress in this short time. My credit plummeted after the split… it’s now up 30 points in the few weeks that I’ve made the extra income. That’s a huge motivator for me.

I’m quickly seeing the positive results of my new financial journey. Changing my spending habits, minimizing my expenses as best that I can, creating and sticking to a budget. All of these steps are getting me closer to true independence. I will say that I started reading and listening to Dave Ramsey’s books and podcasts. I truly dislike him as a person (he has this covert arrogance about him…well, maybe not so covert), but his methods seem pretty sound to me. I plan to incorporate some things that I’m learning from him little by little. So what’s my plan? Serve for a year, throw all the extra cash at the debt, try to get back on my feet and in my own apartment within twelve months. I’m holding myself accountable by writing this here. You all, readers, need to hold me accountable, too. I’ll need all the support I can get.