Hitting Financial Rock Bottom | How We Stopped Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Girl, you made me cry when you reached out your hand and said "you're gonna make it." Thank you. I needed to hear your story, and I'm sorry to hear how everything piled on you all at once.

My debt wakeup call was when my husband became disabled after brain tumor surgery and we had 3 little kids at that time. Something in my brain switched and I stoped spending money. Payed of credit card and cancelled it. Done. There was no tomorow... No Pay check that would come. My husband never went back to work. He can't.

Everyone who has a partner,a real husband or wife,a real human besides you that has the same mindset is the real treasure!!!!!!

"You can't fight what you can't see." This!! It was so terrifying to go through the process of identifying each and every debt, but it was also empowering, in a way. I wasn't living life with my head buried in the sand, and while confronting the consequences of poor financial decision-making/planning was a humbling experience, I could recognize where I needed to improve my relationship with money (a continual process to this day, even a year or so later), and how I could go about paying off my debt without missing out on living life.

We had single income with four kids and used my husbands 401 k like a bank … every 2/3 years we would pay off a loan to the account and then turn right around to take out another loan ( mostly for credit card debt) too many kids not enough income .. and we never ever budgeted … and we got calls from debt collectors .. it was awful … took me till i was in my 50s and we sold our house of 16 years with substantial increase in worth to get out of debt … and trying DR a couple of times before it stuck … now in our 60s we are completely mortgage and debt free BUT we lost a lot of time and money .. we will be fine but wish so much we could have gotten it together in our 30s not our 50s … glenda

I had about $13000 and my husband had $80000 in student loans…. We had a scorched earth budget for YEARS and we are debt free 9 years later 🎉 it’s painful, but so worth it. Can you please give more info about VA jobs??

When you say in your video “take my hand ..it’s gonna be okay” and you look straight into the camera your incredible compassion and sincerity is so overwhelming I wanted to cry. I have always loved you and your videos and your wise beyond your years wisdom. But this video just shows what an incredibly beautiful soul you have. Thank you for sharing your life’s experiences with us.❤

Thank you for encouraging and empowering people to get out of debt. I see many people in YT comments who feel helpless and hopeless and out of control. They’ve given up. When folks such as yourself share their stories it can really help others take back their power. Being debt free is so important for financial success. The more people who believe in themselves and make it happen, the better and stronger we all become as a nation.

When i am faced with something hard that i dont want to do, i always tell myself - ,,choose your HARD" - there will always be a Hard thing to do. Do you prefer Hard today or Hard tomorrow. I like your journey ...😊

About the vacuum... that is what mom's do.

My 20s were SOOO much better than my 40s have been. I would go back in a heart beat

The only way I'd go back to my 20s is if I had the knowledge I've gained. It was a very scary time, indeed! Great video. Take care, Linda 🦋

I filed for bankruptcy back in 2009. It taught me to have a budget. And then I got Dave Ramsey book which taught me to use the envelope method and zero based budget...which has helped me to pay all CASH for my car..Whooohoo...😅😊😊😊

This is one of my all-time favorite videos of yours! So well done and full of great ideas. It helps hearing other people’s financial journeys, thanks for being so candid!

Thank you for sharing! I think my wake up call came this past year after finishing grad school. It was more of an emotional rock bottom than a financial one. I took inventory & realized that part of the reason I wasn't where I wanted to be was because I was enabling others not to have to improve themselves or be responsible. I started saying no and really setting healthy boundaries. I may not be where I want to be right now but I'm sure as heck of a lot closer than I was a year ago. ❤😊

This was so helpful! I’ve watched your videos/channel for years. Can’t believe you had me tearing in a financial video 🥲👊 Keep up the good work ❤

Love your story, Lydia. I'm having a rough time now. I have credit card debt, student loans, and I just lost my job. I don't have an emergency fund, because i used it last year for car repairs. I'm applying for jobs and getting interviews, but I haven't been hired yet. I just filed for unemployment, but haven't received my first check.

The most meaningful stories are the hardest ones to tell. Thank you for sharing such a personal journey. It will no doubt help others who are struggling with the same issues. ❤😊

Thank you so very much for sharing this. We are a long way from this now but we were certainly there in our 30's.. we got there through our 20's and didn't stop to take the time to see our debt.. we just went along.. we eventually went to the bank and asked for help.. I Hope since you have a YT channel this will help someone else..I will refer this to others if they share their struggle with me.. It was a very scary time.

This is all great advice. Your story sounds like so many people who live on the edge and you are proof that if you want to get out of it, you can. You just have to get off the spending treadmill. Congrats on your success. :)