If you have read any of my other posts you would know that i have been through a lot financially. I want to share some of my story in the hopes that I can help someone else on their financial journey. In the past 10 years I have went through ups and downs financially and in other aspects of my life. It has been a learning journey for my family and I. If my experiences can help just one person, it will be worth it.
To begin I have never had a lot in my life. I was that person that would eat tomato sandwiches as a child because we did not have food to eat. My mom was a single mom, and she did everything she could to give us what we needed. There were many times that we would have tuna helper or beans for many meals. There were even some neighbors in Louisiana that would bring meals over from time to time. What was crazy is that I never really realized we struggled so much. I would be picked on in school because I did not have the new things, or would wear the same close more than once a week.
As I got older it did not get a lot better. I held jobs from the time I was 12 years old. Whether helping my mom and grandma in their gas station, helping family friends, or picking pecans to make money. Once I turned 15 I was working seven days a week in the evenings and going to school during the day. At 18 I screwed up and got married and bought a house. Within a year I was going through a divorce and moving to Texas.
Up till 10 years ago I stayed in Texas working different management jobs or independent contractor jobs. All where great jobs but I still did not have a lot of extra money. I did always have my own place and a nice car. I was that person that was broke, but all of my bills were paid. Of course during my 20s I spent way too much on going out and doing things I should not do, but never went without paying bills. I learned at an early age to hustle. By hustle I do not mean doing illegal stuff, but did that on occasion when I was younger to make ends meet. By hustle I mean to look at every way you can to earn money. By doing sales like AVON and other independent contract work, or recycling to make a few cents. Everything that you can earn money on, you should learn how to.
In 2011 I had my son with a man I was with for eight years, and he left me pregnant.He left me without a place to live, without insurance, and without a car. That was a hard pill to swallow, but I had to support my son. I worked two jobs up until I had my son, and went back to work about three weeks after having a c-setion. During that time I learned everything I could about saving money and making money. My favorite thing was writing. I wrote a lot of articles online, and that helped me move to Colorado.
In August of 2011 We moved to Colorado. When I say we I mean my two month old son, my disabled sister and her three young kids, and my disabled mom. My sister was very ill, so I was they only one working in the house. I landed a job at a convenience store making about 8.25 an hour. It was not much, but it was the beginning of me changing my life financially. With my job and my side hustles I was making OK money. It was not a lot, and at that point I was having to pay for a large house for everyone to live in, and my money was the only thing coming in.
After a few months my mom and sister were finally able to get disability, and my sister was finally able to get child support. This is not saying it was easy by far, but it was getting a little better. I started a small account for my son and opened a couple of CD's. Nothing much, but it was a start. After only a year or so we hit a hard spot and had to find another place to live. We had to move into a small manufactured home because the rent was really low. It needed a lot of work, and we traded cleaning and repairs for rent for a few months. In addition to this I was also going to school full time, and working full time. But getting the reduction in rent was a life saver.
In 2014 we hit a hard year, probably the hardest year I have ever had in my life. In April, my boyfriend passed away. In October, my sister passed away. Also during that time we lost an aunt, two cousins, and my sons grandfather. It was a hard blow to everyone. In addition to the losses I gained three kids. Unfortunately in January of 2015 my nephew chose to go to his dad, but I kept my two nieces. So now I was a single mom to my son and two nieces. Thank God for my mom. She was my saving grace helping with them so I could get my business degree and worked full time.
Going through all of this I had a place to turn, it was my job. I still worked at the convenience store and had worked my way up to assistant manager. Now, just because I was an assistant manager did not mean that I made a lot of money, but I made it work. I found ways to clip coupons for everything, found money saving apps, and continued to do some writing to earn a little more. I also recycled, found rewards programs, and other ways to hustle and save money.
The end of 2014 I started the process of buying a house through the USDA. Because of my low income and some blimps on my credit, it was a process. Unfortunately around May of 2015 we lost the place we were living and moved into a tent on a friends property. A few weeks after, we moved into their basement because of them being concerned for my kids and mom. They ended up moving In October, so we actually moved in with my boss for a month. November 1st 2015 I signed the papers on our house.
The house I purchased is very small. Total square feet of less than 500 square feet, but it is ours. We still live in the house, but working on options to add on to it, or purchase another one at some point.
In 2017 my sons dad and I tried to work things out. I helped him move from Texas to Colorado and we got back together. I should have known better, but I like to believe in the best of people. I did get an amazing blessing though. I had a baby girl August of 2018. Unfortunately, the father was not around for that one either. He did come around for about a year of her life, after she was born, but left us in the middle of the night without a word. He now manages a fast food place just 15 miles from us, in a very small town, and has not even asked how the kids are in over a year.
So now I have a 9 year old and a 2 year old plus my oldest niece who is 22 and my disabled mom. My youngest niece is going to Baylor University to become a nurse. My oldest niece does work in the same place that I do, but I am hoping she can find her own path in life when she decides what that is.
With all of this it has been a struggle financially, but we have learned to survive. We have went through more ups and downs that most people could imagine, but did our best. Now, even with the crazy stuff that has happened, I am better financially. Actually quite a bit better. We have a 2015 GMC Sierra, a decent house and working on a bigger one, a truck camper, have food in the house without struggling for it, and all of the bills are paid. Also, I have close to $15000 dollars put up for the kids and our future. So how have I done that?
It has not been easy, and even when my finances did get better, I did not change much of my spending habits. An example I have use is I am the poor that shakes the handle at the gas pump so I do not lose a penny. I have always lived by that and still do. I still use everything I can to save money, like this post. I use sites like Ibotta to save money like coupons. I also continue to recycle for money, and pick up change off of the ground when I see it. One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give anyone, even if finances gets better, never change your spending and saving habits. Even if your finances gets better, plan for the worse. Even now I plan for the instance something happens to my mom, then I would have to quit working.
I do not think the kids have had a horrible life, they have gotten most things they have needed and even wanted. They usually have the most advanced technology, but I find it at a discount. They have decent clothes, but I refuse to spend a hundred dollars on shoes or a pair of jeans. We do travel a lot, and even started a blog about our travels (The Traveling Family Adventures). None of the things I do such as blogging or writing online will make us rich, but it keeps us at the comfortable stage, and helps me set all of my kids up for a better financial future.
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