With virtually no expenses and making a decent salary for a 21-year old I started spending recklessly. I was dining out every meal, going to expensive and frequent happy hours with my co-workers, and it was a normal practice for me to go shopping on my lunch break to "decompress" from a stressful morning at work. I always told myself "It's fine... I have the money sitting in my checking account so I'm not spending any money I don't have".

then came the spending...

MY MONEY JOURNEY

Six months after graduation I started getting letters from Nelnet and Sallie Mae telling me "Congrats on graduating! But it's time to start making payments on your student loans." Uhhhhh, what student loans? I had gone through four years of college not even being aware that it was being paid for with loans. So you can imagine my surprise when I realized I had $40,000 of student loan debt I needed to pay off from my undergrad degree.

then came the debt...

MY MONEY JOURNEY

A year after starting my job it was time to move out. I started to think about having to pay rent, utilities, and needing to furnish an apartment. I sat down one day to take a look at all the money I had in my checking account from working for an entire year with very few expenses. To my surprise, there was none. I remember staring at my bank account in disbelief and saying "I know I make good money, but I don't have any. Where did it all go?" That was the day that I reached my financial breaking point. When I realized that not only was I $40,000 in student loan debt but I had managed to blow through an entire year's salary impulse spending.

then came the BREAKING POINT...

MY MONEY JOURNEY

I realized that no one was coming to save me. If I didn't start to take control of my money, no one would. That was the day that I sat down and simply started to pay attention to my money and take note of everything flowing in and going out. I started budgeting and made an intentional plan for my finances. I created a road map for paying off my student loans, building up savings, and cash-flowing major expenses that I knew were waiting for me down the road. After the plan was made, it was time to go out and execute. I knew it wouldn't be a quick or comfortable journey, but I knew it would be a worth-while one, so I took the first step and started to move forward under my new normal.

then came the plan...

MY MONEY JOURNEY

It wasn't an overnight process, but I started to make progress. I was working along-side my husband (fiance at the time) Ryan and we were able to pay of my student loans along with his... $98,000 total. Next we were able to save up for and cash flow major expenses that came our way like my MBA, our wedding & honeymoon, and even the down payment to our first time. All this time I was also putting money away each month into a retirement account through work. It didn't seem like much at first but saving money out of each paycheck for years built up into a six-figure investment portfolio by the time I was 29. My twenties was truly a time of going from financial hot mess to financial success and establishing a solid financial future to build upon.

then came the comeback...

MY MONEY JOURNEY

Which brings us to present day. A bi-product of my financial journey was discovering my love and passion for personal finance. I realized that so many women are facing the same struggles that I did, and it became my mission to give them the tools and resources to navigate their own financial transformation. I realized that this journey begins with a transformation of the mind, which is when I decided to obtain a life-coaching certification through The Life Coach School. My time at The Life Coach School has shown me that everything you want to accomplish in life comes from managing your mind and emotions, which is where all your actions stem from. When you transform you mind, you can transform your money and transform your life, which is what I'm here to help you achieve. Let's go.

and here we are today...

MY MONEY JOURNEY