Why do we want to get out of debt? What changed? What snapped in our heads and woke us up from our nightmares of falling from the highest rooftop into a pile of bills from our toes to our necks? As Dave Ramsey would ask all of his Debt Free Screamers, "What happened?"
When I became pregnant with our first child, I had no clue how much it would cost us to have a baby. All the visits cost from $60-$200, then the actual birth cost around $7000. I did have to have a C-Section and I stayed in the hospital for an extra night because my daughter had to be treated for jaundice. I was only working part time throughout my pregnancy and everything was super tight. We did not have extra money for anything. I started selling things around the house just to be able to make it. We couldn't pay our large hospital bill so it was given over to a collection agency and we set up a bill payment plan. That was $260/month. Then the minimum payments on some of our credit card bills sky-rocketed because the no interest introductory rate expired. Then, we had to start paying $100/week for daycare. Everything just compounded. I started a little photography business but wasn't getting enough clients. It was nice to have some extra income and it made me feel good to contribute more to our family, but it just wasn't enough. Then, I started working an extra job at Starbucks on the weekends because my part time job kept promising me that they would be making me full time, months and months went by and they never fulfilled their promise so I finally said forget it! I started the Starbucks job in October of 2015 and worked every weekend, plus one night during the week to make ends meet. That means I was working 9-3 Monday through Friday at part time job #1 and then would work 330-9 Tuesday nights, 1030-7 Saturdays, and 230-10 Sundays. That is 51 hours per week. NO THANKS! I had a child at home that I wasn't able to see as much as I would like to. I was exhausted. I was frustrated.
I started searching for a full time job in healthcare since I have a Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration. I failed for many years to be able to find a job in the field even though I always hear how much they needed people. It made no sense. Well, finally I landed a PERFECT job that is full time at a local hospital in Administration. I am so thankful for this. I finally feel like I am able to breathe and I am ready to tackle this mountain of debt.
When I became pregnant with our first child, I had no clue how much it would cost us to have a baby. All the visits cost from $60-$200, then the actual birth cost around $7000. I did have to have a C-Section and I stayed in the hospital for an extra night because my daughter had to be treated for jaundice. I was only working part time throughout my pregnancy and everything was super tight. We did not have extra money for anything. I started selling things around the house just to be able to make it. We couldn't pay our large hospital bill so it was given over to a collection agency and we set up a bill payment plan. That was $260/month. Then the minimum payments on some of our credit card bills sky-rocketed because the no interest introductory rate expired. Then, we had to start paying $100/week for daycare. Everything just compounded. I started a little photography business but wasn't getting enough clients. It was nice to have some extra income and it made me feel good to contribute more to our family, but it just wasn't enough. Then, I started working an extra job at Starbucks on the weekends because my part time job kept promising me that they would be making me full time, months and months went by and they never fulfilled their promise so I finally said forget it! I started the Starbucks job in October of 2015 and worked every weekend, plus one night during the week to make ends meet. That means I was working 9-3 Monday through Friday at part time job #1 and then would work 330-9 Tuesday nights, 1030-7 Saturdays, and 230-10 Sundays. That is 51 hours per week. NO THANKS! I had a child at home that I wasn't able to see as much as I would like to. I was exhausted. I was frustrated.
I started searching for a full time job in healthcare since I have a Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration. I failed for many years to be able to find a job in the field even though I always hear how much they needed people. It made no sense. Well, finally I landed a PERFECT job that is full time at a local hospital in Administration. I am so thankful for this. I finally feel like I am able to breathe and I am ready to tackle this mountain of debt.