How I Found My Purpose Through Empowering Women
I started blogging several years ago after my divorce as a form of therapy. I wanted to share some of the experiences that I was having as a newly single mother trying to rebuild my life. When I left my husband and the financial dust settled I was consumer debt free and had a plan to pay off my student loans, purchase a house and buy a new car.
I was able to live in this fantasy for approximately 5 months. The car was purchased, an aggressive student loan payment plan was mapped out and I had a decent emergency fund. Then my ex-husband decided to quit his six-figure job and stop paying child support and health insurance for our daughter. My financial world crumbled.
With a new car, apartment rent that was $900/ month, child care that was also $900/month, student loans, and other regular expenses like food, lights, and internet it was not long before I burned through the emergency fund and began living on credit cards just to make ends meet. At that time I made roughly 34k per year and I just wasn’t making money fast enough.
Even with all of these factors, I didn’t qualify for any assistance programs because I was above the poverty level and I had a child support judgment that, even though he was not paying it, counted as income. Even though I got a second job I didn’t have enough time available to work in order for it to really make a difference financially.
I was completely stressed out and didn’t know where to turn or what to do. Thankfully the courts didn’t buy my ex-husband’s story about wanting to work for himself as a compelling reason to stop paying child support. They compelled him to pay a reduced amount however since he was self-employed it took over 6 months before they could gauge how much money he was actually bringing in.
It was at this moment that I realized the depths he was willing to sink in order to make my life as difficult as possible after the divorce. I formulated a plan because I had a child to take care of and I enjoyed eating and having a roof over our heads. I signed up as a ride-share driver, applied for and got a new position at work, and consolidated some debt. Things were slowly looking up.
During this time I also started talking to other women and found that my story was not unique. There were so many women who have been disproportionately affected economically by divorce that I created a financial coaching company named Liberty Financial Services.
Informally I had been coaching friends and family for years about the benefits of budgeting, investing, and retirement savings but I now knew that there was a market for this. I was terrified to begin this process formally because of my limiting belief in myself. I registered the business, held one successful goal-setting seminar then promptly freaked out and put the business aside.
During the next two years while I was hiding my light under a bushel and building and complimenting my own debt freedom plan I started a new job at a new company. I was able to purchase a home and then applied for and received a new role with my company. Things were looking up but I knew that I was ignoring my calling.
A few months ago I finally got out of my own way and officially hung out my shingle for Liberty Financial Services and started talking about my business, created a website, and became more active in the Facebook group that I created.
It was after this that I landed my first paid speaking engagement at a women’s conference and I was able to positively impact the lives of the women in attendance. Now I have a few coaching clients and I am working on building an online course as well. It became clear to me that when we hide our gifts from the world we are simply playing small and when we play small we serve no one.
My mission is to teach women how to manage their finances and build wealth via financial literacy courses and coaching. I am incredibly passionate about this because I know that with the right tools, their lives will be transformed and they will leave a lasting legacy for their families and communities.
Join the journey and subscribe so that you can stay in the loop. I will be sharing strategies and tips for paying down debt, building wealth, and reducing financial stress because I truly believe that when you gain knowledge you gain freedom.