Hi, welcome! I’m glad you’re here.
I’m Ellen, and I believe that you can build a better life when you build a better budget.
Have you ever done something stupid with your money? Maybe you made an embarrassing or careless mistake that makes your heart sink just to think about? Hi, hello! Can we please be friends? Because I have!
In 2012 I graduated from college with $75,000 in student loan debt and a bachelor’s degree. What kind of job did you get with a $75,000 degree, Ellen? I’m so glad you asked! My job was scooping ice cream for $8.50 an hour.
I knew that I couldn’t carry around the weight of that much debt and the huge monthly payments that came with it. I started to pay it off, but I didn’t have a clear plan and I didn’t think I would ever make progress with such a low income (I did get another job. And another one.) I wasn’t tracking my spending or making proper goals and with every paycheck I was leaving money on the table that I could have used to pay off more debt. I was making decisions out of desperation—not with focus, intention, and hope for the future.
I read a bit on the internet about budgeting and started to play around with a budget. A lot of what I found didn’t work with my unpredictable income and sporadic paychecks, so I made up my own way of doing things. My goals were small and seemed insignificant, but once I realized that I could make headway even though my income was low, I was determined.
I found my stride budgeting and a switch flipped on in my mind when I realized what was possible. I stopped being distracted by everyone else’s business and started really focusing on my own.
I made SO MANY mistakes along the way. If I had started with a clear plan and a better budget I would have paid off my loans sooner—hopefully you can learn something from my mistakes.
Even with those setbacks, on Thanksgiving in 2017 I made the final payment on my last student loan and in November 2018 I had saved $10,000 in an emergency fund, six years after graduating. Now, I have $75,000 saved.
I didn’t have a cushy 9-5 job, health insurance, paid time off, or a 401(k). I worked in restaurants and the most I made was $46,000 dollars in a year, but I still managed to save an emergency fund, take a vacation, pay for health insurance, and put away a downpayment for a house. I didn’t get out of debt because I had a great career or any special benefits. I just learned how to be consistent with my budget. Maybe you have less than I did, maybe more. I want to help you get started either way, things can change along the way.
Once you take inventory of where you are, get a few tools under your belt, and get really good at seeing the big picture, you will start to see a path forward, I promise. That’s the beautiful thing about getting better with money—you don’t need to do it perfectly, you don’t need to wait, you only need to put one foot out and take a step. That’s the secret: just start!
I started this blog to share the things that have worked for me with the hope that they will work for you too. Or, maybe you will learn a few things and then make your own system like I did. I know you can do it!
Drop me a hello and tell me what brought you here. What are your questions? your goals? What’s holding you back?
And don’t forget to sign up here to grab my budget template for a price we can all afford: free.
Cheering you on,
