By most measures, I’m doing fine.
The financial advisor from Rocket Mortgage sounded very enthusiastic about my credit score and finances when we spoke on the phone today.
I have a career. I live in a nice, albeit small, house. I’ve got retirement accounts and investments. I travel. I save. I pay my credit cards off in full every month.
But my career brought me student loan debt. Like, a ton of it.
My boyfriend pays for the house we live in on his own.
The retirement account? I only started it a year ago, at age thirty-five. I missed more than a decade of saving and growth.
I room with friends for free or in cheap hostels when I travel.
I’ve got $1,776 in my savings account, which isn’t enough to cover a major vet bill (I have 3 dogs) or a serious car repair (my Civic is 16 years old and has 208,000 miles on her).
My dream since I was sixteen was to become a writer. I wanted to write young adult fiction.
So naturally, I became a pilot.
I needed a career that would pay the bills and give me time to write.
So here I am. I’m flying jets at my dream aviation job. I have time to write.
But I can’t focus.
I spend a lot of days poring over my finances, cooped up inside because I don’t want to go out there.
Out there costs money.
Worrying about money kills my creativity. So I don’t write.
Instead, I wonder:
How many more days until payday?
How much do I have left for food and gas?
How many more years left until the student loan debt is gone?
In the grand scheme of things, do I have enough money?
Yes.
And no.
And I want to talk (errr write) about it because I know so many people who feel the same way—burnt out, stressed, drowning in debt or unable to get ahead, unable to afford a family or a house or groceries.
And we all know it’s not the lattes and avocado toast causing this.
I’m not a personal finance guru (though I loveeeee their content).
I’m a millennial girl in the Midwest trying to build a happy, simple, low-stress life. I’m trying to finally follow my passion of writing because that’s what brings me joy.
I think I’ve figured some of this out, and some of it I’m still working on.
So that’s what this is.
Just one person trying to build a life that feels a little less stressful and a little more free.
Some of what I’ve learned has helped. Some of it hasn’t.
Sometimes I’ll share things that have worked for me. Sometimes I’ll share mistakes that cost me money, time, or peace of mind. Sometimes I’ll probably change my mind entirely.
What I can promise is I’ll be honest about this journey.
If you’re trying to pay off debt, buy a home, raise a family, write a book, start over, get ahead, slow down, or simply figure out why life feels so expensive all the time, maybe you’ll find something useful here.
Or maybe you’ll just feel a little less alone.
Either way, I’m going to keep working toward a version of life that feels like enough.
If you’re looking for that too, come along.
We’ll get ahead.
Eventually.