If you lose yourself you can’t be the mother, wife, sister, business owner, or woman that you truly want to be. You weren’t put on this Earth on accident. Your heart has a mission + your life has a purpose. You weren’t born to merely survive. We have to start by showing up for ourselves first.

In this episode, I’m sharing some transparent details of my mental health journey. I’m sharing my experiences in hopes of encouraging + helping you on your own journey. I’m sharing to remind you that you’re not broken or crazy…and that you are worth fighting for.

If you’ve ever screwed up with money you know about the mental scars and PTSD that it can leave you with. Looking back on your financial mistakes can feel like a strong punch in the stomach, especially if you’ve ever rolled change to buy milk, had your electricity cut off, or charged fast food…all of which I’ve done, by the way. These harsh memories don’t leave you, even after you’re debt-free with a 5-figure savings account.

In this episode, I’m sharing a few of my rock-bottom money moments that are still haunting me nearly 10 years later, and what I learned from all of those experiences.

Is a ‘September Slump’ a thing? If not, I just made it one. After a Summer full of activities, a huge new course launch, and the seemingly never-ending Texas heat…I’m feeling a little blah.

When these seasons of no motivation roll around we can’t just bury our heads in the sand and do nothing until we recuperate; we have responsibilities and big goals. There is a happy medium; there is a balance between anxiety-filled overachieving and wasting your life. There are still ways that you can live an intentional and productive life during these “slumps” and “seasons of blah”. In this episode, I’m sharing how to handle your own “September Slump” with grace and still show up whole-heartedly for your life.

Anyone else a recovering perfectionist? I know I’m not alone in the battle to feel “good enough” to achieve the dream life that I have pictured in my head.

We think that if we’re a budgeting family that we’re never allowed to get an overdraft fee again…and if we do, all financial progress has been lost. We think that if housework sometimes stresses us out that we must have failed in our attempt to be a Minimalist. We think that if we slip up and don’t hit a goal on time that we just must not be a good goal setter. False, false, and false.

Perfectionism is not a requirement for progress. Let me say it louder for the ladies in the back… YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.”. We end up hearing this and repeating this so many times that we actually start to believe this lie. …yes, I said it’s a lie!

No, money isn’t everything, and I wouldn’t value it above my soul, myself, or my family, but we have to acknowledge the fact that money can make some pretty awesome things possible. I don’t know about you, but I personally love traveling, going to Major League Baseball games, eating yummy food, and having enough money in savings that I can sleep soundly at night. Oh, guess what? Money bought all of those things. Thus, money CAN buy some sort of happiness, and believing otherwise will do nothing but repel money from your life.

Money funds my experiences, money brings me freedom, money provides for my family, money allows me to put my soul’s purpose into action…money buys happiness.

Every journey has a beginning, if you’re ready for today to be your day one then this workshop is for you! In this recorded live workshop I’ll walk you through starting solutions for positive thinking, goal setting, minimalism, budgeting, and time management.

I had slowly broken free from survival mode…key word being “slowly”. This didn’t happen overnight, it wasn’t a magical quick fix, but it worked. I put one foot in front of the other, day-after-day, for 5 years to get to the place I am today; a debt-free, minimalist, business-owner, homeschooler, personal-development obsessed, happy soul.

In this week’s episode, I’m sharing my story, plus what I wish someone would have told me at the beginning of my journey.

Rachel Hollis + her Rise Weekends have become world-renowned and I recently had the opportunity to attend the conference for myself. I learned so much during my couple of days in Dallas and I couldn’t wait to share my light-bulb moments, the quotes I wrote down in my notebook, and the exercises that made me cry. In the first part of this episode I dug into everything we worked on during “Day One: Owning Your Past”, and now this week I’m continuing this conversation with “Day Two: Owning Your Future”.

Rachel Hollis + her Rise Weekends have become world-renowned and I recently had the opportunity to attend the conference for myself. I learned so much during my couple of days in Dallas and I couldn’t wait to share my light-bulb moments, the quotes I wrote down in my notebook, and the exercises that made me cry. In the first part of this episode I’m digging into everything we worked on during “Day One: Owning Your Past”, and next week we’ll continue this conversation with “Day Two: Owning Your Future”.

So many questions surround the topic of homeschooling, especially for families who are already on a strict budget or a debt-free journey. The thought of taking on such a big life change can be overwhelming enough, but then add unknown costs, and it can be enough to completely scare off newbies.

You don’t need an entire extra room as a designated classroom. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on curriculum. Homeschooling can be done on a super frugal budget!

I’ll share how my family has been able to homeschool throughout our entire debt-free journey…from $490k in debt, all the way to 100% debt free!

The reality of living an intentional goal-oriented life is that we sometimes get burnt out. And in order to actually achieve our goals, we have to invest time in ourselves, break the mindset that busy equals productive, and learn to find contentment along the way.

I recorded this episode as I was leaving my monthly counseling session so I could share my biggest takeaways on this topic with you!

Brene Brown, through her “Call To Courage” special on Netflix and her best-selling book “Rising Strong”, has brought a new perspective to my view on succeeding on a debt-free journey. She quotes Teddy Roosevelt who said, “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly.”.

Brene interrupts that quote into battling for success + whole-hearted living in the arena of life. Being vulnerable and going against the grain of society, being willing to fight our way to our goals, and being willing to have dust and sweat on our faces along the way. When we live this way we are being brave and are daring greatly with their lives. We are going to battle for what matters most to us.

When you’re on a big life-changing journey like becoming debt free, community can play a huge role in your success. Although there can be negatives to being involved in an online community, like dealing with other people’s opinions, the pros definitely out-weigh the cons. Having people who understand, support, and encourage you can often be the thing that keeps you going when times get hard.

This week, I’m joined by Amanda from Debt Free in Sunny CA to talk about how and why she started The Debt-Free Community, how it’s grown over the years, and a little bit about her own personal journey to financial freedom.

I get asked so many great questions and there’s not always enough time for me to answer every single email or DM, which is why I wanted to share this Part 1 of a Frequently Asked Questions series. I got asked some great questions for this first episode, questions that I think will apply to most people on a debt-free journey, and I hope that they’re helpful to you as well.

Positivity is a learned behavior, it’s a muscle that can be grown over time through intentional habits and practices. Kelsey Henry from Positively Delighted is sharing her best tips for creating more positivity in your own life. She’s talking about her favorite affirmations, hobbies, books, and life lessons that have helped her transform her life.

The idea behind a “Fresh Start Weekend” is about preparing for the week ahead, instead of feeling like you’re catching up from the previous week.

By adopting this mindset and taking care of these 5 main tasks you’ll be setting yourself up for success for the next 7 days.

Note that this doesn’t have to be done on Saturdays and Sundays. Whatever days of the week that work for you can be your “fresh start”. Look at what day or days you could plan to do these tasks and commit to it, prioritize it, and grow the habit.

Mental health and money are arguably two of the most taboo topics of discussion in our society. However, so many people are struggling with not just one, but both, depression and debt. It's important to recognize that while on a debt free journey, you may struggle with a depressive dip - or experience anxiety surrounding money. This journey is not always easy, and your brain may try to sabotage your financial goals and dreams.

Thankfully, there are people in this community like Vee Weir from Vee Frugal Fox, who are open about their own journeys. Through her openness, Vee is helping to eliminate the stigma surrounding both subjects in our culture, and is sharing her best tips with us!

Starting a business has so many amazing benefits that have helped me on my positive living journey in the form of self-care, a productive hobby, a creative outlet, giving me something to be excited about, + most importantly a way to help other women by sharing my story.

But I know that starting your own business or blog…whether it be a part-time, full-time, a side hustle, multi-level marketing, or a hobby…can seem a little overwhelming at first, especially if you’re brand new to the online business world. So, for all my ladies who are thinking about launching their own brand, business, or blog, I’m sharing my best pieces of advice + my favorite digital resources with you!

A common thought in our society is that if you have children you’ll automatically have to struggle financially. It’s far too common for the average young family to be drowning in debt and feeling like that’s their only choice. However, Merliee from Easy Budget + her family are here to show others that getting out of $71k worth of debt, while having little kids, is not only possible…it’s actually pretty easy!

When you first start out on your debt-free journey you’re probably going to need to find some extra cash to kick your budget into high gear. One of the best things you can do is to start selling things to make some quick extra money!

I’m sharing my best tips for taking all of the random clutter laying around your house and turning it into some extra cash to speed up your debt-free journey!