Nov 21

Nov 21 Why I'm Grateful for Financial Stress

It may sound a bit crazy to think that anyone would ever be thankful for a mountain of oppressing debt or financial nightmares such as a job loss, but I can truthfully say I am 100% grateful for these disastrous events in my life. Before you think I’ve done lost my mind, read on for an unusual perspective on showing gratitude for massive debt and financial stress.

Dealing with Job Loss

Lots of people don’t know this, but we’ve actually done the debt free journey twice. A few years ago, my husband was laid off. During that time, his salary was 2/3 of the household income and supported us fully. My income was really just for fun—and we treated it that way.

But when he lost his job, we had to figure out how to make it work on 2/3 less money. And y’all it was HARD. Even if you live well below your means, how many of us can say we can make it on only 33% of our income? Not many. And definitely not us.

I became a crazy coupon lady, we budgeted and watched every penny, we took our 3-year-old son out of daycare (because who could afford it anyway, plus hubs was home now and could care for him). And then, when we still couldn’t make ends meet because of multiple student loan payments, two car payments, a credit card payment, and regular costs of living, we did something drastic.

We moved in with family.

The lease on the home we were renting was up, and we couldn’t afford that lifestyle on 33% of the income we used to create that life.

What’s more is that to make this new plan work, we had to separate the family. I moved in with my Mom here in Houston—because that’s where my job was. There wasn’t enough room for hubs and baby to move in with us there, plus my mom’s husband worked nights and slept days—all of that would have been a nightmare to manage with a 3-year-old who just couldn’t be kept quiet during the day in such a small space. Add to that, my husband had recently lost his father to cancer, and his mother was not coping well. We made the decision to split the family. I’d move in with Mom in Houston; my husband and my son would move in with my mother-in-law on her farm in a small town approximately 1.5 hours away.

Meanwhile, I worked and budgeted and paid off debt with a fury. All the while hubs continued to job hunt, but could find nothing. Every weekend I drove up to the farm to visit my son and husband. It was an exhausting time, but worth it.

That was in 2014, and during that year, I paid off $48,355.68 in debt before we reunited the family. That debt consisted of two cars, some small student loans, a credit card, medical and dental bills in collections, debt owed to the IRS—you name it.

Job Loss Forced Me to Pay Off Debt

If hubs had not lost his job, we would have just kept mindlessly walking down the path we were on. We made plenty of money then, and we weren’t concerned with debt or minimum payments. Our lives consisted of not budgeting, not prioritizing debt pay off, and not paying attention to finances at all.

It wasn’t until the financial rug was pulled out from under us that we were forced to open our eyes and start learning about personal finance.

We never would have paid off $48K in debt that year if my hubs had continued working. It was just the exact kind of financial disaster we needed to open our eyes to managing money purposefully.

Overwhelming Student Loan Debt Forced Me to Get Smart About Personal Finance

Even after that year of hustle, I still had over six figures in student loan debt. Again, it sounds a little crazy to think anyone would ever be grateful for overwhelming massive student loan debt. But, if I hadn’t had over six figures in student loan debt, and if the monthly payment on that debt didn’t rival a mortgage payment, I never would have started to think about taking my finances seriously.

If my debt were manageable, I would have just kept plugging along, making minimum payments for life, blind to how dumb a plan that truly is.

But because the debt was so outrageous, I had to start learning about personal finance. I started to read blogs and listen to podcasts and soon discovered Dave Ramsey, and the rest, they say, is history.

Now, here I sit, debt free (except for the mortgage) for the first time in my entire adult life. I have no monthly payments. I get to decide what to do with my paychecks—spend them, save them, invest them, give some away—whatever I want to do, I can.

I am well on the path to financial freedom and to becoming an everyday millionaire. I’m not stressed or worried financially, and life feels carefree and light.

And I owe it all to the financial disasters of my life: an unexpected job loss for which we were not financially prepared and an oppressive mountain of overwhelming student loan debt. (Oh, and also to a job I didn’t love. More on that story here).

So, thank you, job loss. Thank you, oppressive student loans. You both put me on the path to financial independence, and for that I am forever grateful.

Your Turn!

Have you had a financial disaster that turned your life around? One that you are truly thankful for because it caused you to wake up and get your financial life in order? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or over on Instagram.