God Wants Me to Ball!

I remember it clear as day. It was the dead of winter, and I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and binge on the latest most popular Netflix series, but mommy duty called and I had to bear the cold for Pampers and baby wipes. While making a mental list of everything I needed to pick up, I logged on to my Navy-Fed app to see just how much money I had to work with. Staring at the balance shown, my stomach sunk. With three days left until pay day and no emergency savings, I had $3.89 to my name.

UNACCEPTABLE! How can someone who earns a six-figure income have less than $5 to her name? I didn't live a flashy lifestyle or drive some fancy car. Where did my money go? I knew none of those questions would pay for diapers and wipes, but it was all I could think after seeing my balance. After having a few conversations with some of my peers and reading articles on personal finance, I soon learned that I wasn’t alone. According to a 2015 Lending Tree Survey, I was one of the 44% of Millennials earning 100K–149K and living paycheck to paycheck. Another article went on to say that living off of $200,000 in an expensive city, was just an average lifestyle. Well, I barely cleared $110,000 before taxes, and I lived in the DC Metropolitan area where the cost of living is the 3rd highest in the US. Did that mean I was living a below average lifestyle? I was a two-time college grad who landed what most would consider “a good job” with the federal government, and I was drowning in the cost of basic necessities. Fed up, I decided something had to be done.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION, HERE IS WHERE I TELL YOU WHAT I DID TO ENSURE I WOULD NEVER BE BROKE AGAIN.

1) Right away, I put my house (that I no longer could afford) on the market, and once it was sold I downsized to decrease my overhead. Some may not agree with this choice, but it was the best option for me at the time.

2) I started picking up side hustles, such as freelance writing gigs, and joining cash-back referral programs, like GetUpside, to save on everyday purchases and generate more income.

3) As for my regular paycheck, I committed to the 50/30/20 rule, allotting 50% of my pay to necessities, 30% to discretionary items (gym memberships, etc...), and 20% to savings.

4) Because I was downsizing, I had to get rid of a lot of furniture and random items. I sold what I could, and donated the rest, which I later claimed on my taxes.

5) Lastly, and probably most importantly, I realized I would never reach my full wealth potential working in a cubicle, so I began to work a plan of entrepreneurship. Being "my own boss" became a goal of mine for several of the reasons everyone chooses entrepreneurship, but for some less superficial ones as well; namely a looming possibility of being "let go" from my full-time job for reasons beyond my control.

Fast forward one year, I am still working to reach my goals, but from a way better position than that winter day. I still work full-time, only now I run my own wedding and event planning agency as well. I moved further away from the city, so I have more disposable income and I have an emergency savings. All in all I am well on my way to reaching my financial goals and although it took being HELLA uncomfortable for a while, the end goal and my baby boy was enough motivation to keep going.

Now, there’s no stopping me and to any reader out there who feels the way I once felt, I want you to know that once you embrace the idea that “being broke is not an option” there would be no stopping you either. A few lifestyle changes, like the ones listed previously, can turn things around for the better. I would also suggest investing in a financial advisor if possible. A lot of times you can receive free financial advice from your bank or an employee benefits program with your employer. Finally, make sure your mindset and the way you view money is more positive than negative. Instead of thinking about the money you don’t have (a mindset focused on lack), shift your thinking to one of abundance and ways you can generate money. Only when I started repeatedly telling myself “I’m supposed to be wealthy” did I actually begin to believe it.