In about six months, some weeks, and some days I will be the big 3-0. I’m actually pretty excited about it, but it took me a while to get to this place of excitement. I’m all about making goals and figuring out a way to achieve them and my biggest goal these days has been to get my money right. It’s part of the reason why I opted to do travel nursing.
One of my goals with this blog has been to keep you guys up to date on different things going on with my life – whether that’s in the area of love, education, nursing, or even finances. So today is all about the money honey. As always, I tend to share the things I need the most accountability with so sharing what I learn about money as I go along helps to keep me on the straight and narrow. I’ve read quite a few books on money, affiliate marketing, investing, and so on. None of it stuck apparently because I still struggle. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a big Dave Ramsey fan. I love his zero dollar budget and his debt snowball method. So, I guess that’s where I’ll start.
Over the course of this year I’ve made some big financial moves and commitments like purchasing my first home. I also took some big financial risks like quitting my full time job at the drop of a dime with no back up. I’ve been without insurance briefly at some point this year. I went from almost hitting the six-figure mark last year in my staff nurse position to barely making anything with my first agency nurse position. Do I regret leaving my job and taking a serious pay cut? Physically, mentally, and emotionally – no, but financially – heck yes.
I dug myself into a pretty deep financial hole in the first half of 2021 and now I’m taking this last quarter of the year to potentially dig myself out. Where am I choosing to start??? Good ole Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover. So I’m in the process of completely Step One: the $1000 emergency fund, and Step Two: the debt snowball simultaneously. Do I follow Mr. Ramsey to the letter – no, but I do find some his suggestions and lessons incredibly helpful. Eventually I’ll get to the point where I’ll start to list and share the resources I use to help. One of my biggest and best resources right now happens to be my cousin Michaela. She’s going to help me figure out this whole budgeting thing. I know I cannot be the only person out there who truly sucks at budgeting or who gets lost looking at their budget because it says they have all this money left over but your bank account screams a completely different story. I have every intention on sharing with you guys what works for me and what doesn’t. Wish me luck 🤞🏽
Xoxo,
Ash, RN