How I went from Bankruptcy to
Financial Freedom
Every ‘About Me’ page I’ve ever read talks about either talks about a person’s hobbies or about how amazing they are. So to get that out of the way I will say that I love bacon, the beach, Harry Potter, Disney World, and the Dallas Cowboys.
Did you just yawn? I wouldn’t blame you if so.
I don’t mind telling you all the great things about me but I’m just another person who has had my own struggles and successes. I have fought postpartum and separation anxiety, been divorced, filed for bankruptcy, had fertility issues, and have done everything I could to make my husband’s life a little easier while he battles severe Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
We all have our struggles and those have been mine.
I’ve also been very fortunate though.
I was able to become a nurse right out of high school after earning a full ride scholarship which allowed me to live out my dream of helping to deliver babies. I met an amazing man who could not be a better husband or father. I have two amazingly adorable and smart little kiddos who never fail to amaze me and one of the most supportive families you will ever find.
From Nurse to Mom
I became a Labor & Delivery nurse directly out of college and did that for five years before deciding to leave. I love helping women bring their children into this world but I didn’t like how medicalized it was in a hospital. So, when my (then) boyfriend came back from deployment and had to move to Ohio I decided to switch gears and do something else for a bit.
I went to work for a plastic surgeon and after a year was fortunate enough to find a job as an Obstetric Case Manager which was the best thing that could’ve happened to me because right at the end of my first pregnancy I got laid off by the company.
Why was this such a good thing? Because I ended up with postpartum anxiety and could barely leave my house. The thought of leaving my daughter left me short of breathe and in tears. I was extremely fortunate that they gave me the opportunity to work from home which was great but still hard.
My daughter was a Type A clingy baby so even working from home was stressful and hard. When my husband and I decided to try for baby number two we also decided I wouldn’t go back to work afterwards. We cut corners where necessary including going down to one car and growing some of our own food but we made it work.
For awhile at least.
Staying home was amazing until my husband had the worst RA flare of his life and could barely walk, let alone work, and was forced into medical retirement. All of a sudden we went from one income to no income until his benefits kicked in which could take up to a year.
Of course our first thought was I needed to work but with two young children, separation anxiety, and no childcare this wasn’t as easy as it sounded. We ended up living off of our savings and I worked from home (making a fraction of what I used to). We were able to limp along until my husband’s retirement kicked in but we managed to rack up a ton of debt in the meantime so our lawyer suggested we file for bankruptcy.
From Mom to Blogger
It was around this time that I was looking for other flexible work-from-home opportunities and my husband suggested blogging. At first I dismissed the idea. After all, who would care what I had to say? But the idea grew on me and I started my first blog about organic and non-toxic living.
I spent months working on it and growing it until one day I purchased the Genius Blogger’s Toolkit which had TONS of amazing resources and courses in it. It was like buying myself an early Christmas gift and I dived in immediately and couldn’t get enough of the resources.
Unfortunately, some of my fellow bloggers weren’t so thrilled. They loved having so many resources but they had no idea how to take advantage of the toolkit. Many were overwhelmed and some were just confused so I decided to write a road map of sorts for how to work through the resources found in the toolkit and even started a small Facebook group where I was able to work one-on-one with people and help them sort out what should be the next step in their blogging journey.
I loved every minute of it.
Talking and writing about blogging was so easy and fun that I decided I would rather blog about blogging. Helping others succeed with their blogs is so fun and learning about new ways to be successful in blogging is a natural high for me.
So I completely switched gears and haven’t looked back. I started my second blog in early April and less than 6 weeks later I have over 1,213 subscribers and followers and counting and I have already started helping others create their own blogs with my first post about starting a blog.
Blogging may not be my first passion but it has been an amazing journey. It has allowed me to continue to stay home with my family and has helped to lessen the financial stress. Life has taken me far from where I expected but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.
Every week I get a couple emails letting me know how my story has inspired others to either start a blog or continue growing their blog. This has lead to several great relationships with my readers that mean the world to me. I would love to hear from you and chat about where you are with your blog so feel free to contact me and let’s get to know each other a little better.
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Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a bit better and I wish you the best in your blogging journey!
