Hi There,
I want to thank you for helping me spread the word about my new book, Unmarried and Debt-Free. My Facebook page has grown to over 3,000 followers, and without you (and God), none of this would be possible!
Like most people, I never learned much about managing my finances until I experienced adversity in my life. This is why I’m passionate about inspiring others, in particular, unmarried people on how to best manage their money. If you’re struggling to manage spending, I hope my story will empower you to start taking control of your money.
My Twenties: All about Me and Material Things
After finishing college, I became a flight attendant with a major airline. This had been my goal since my freshman year of high school. During this decade, I became a compulsive purchaser, racking up $20,000 in debt between three maxed-out credit cards and a car loan. My wake-up call came after the Persian Gulf War, which triggered a recession in America and a decline in airline passenger traffic. The airline I worked for laid off thousands of workers and implemented large pay cuts to the remaining employees.
After learning about the pay cut, I made a commitment to start making smarter financial decisions. I also realized that the airline industry is highly competitive and cyclical and can be affected by several external factors, such as volatile jet fuel prices and economic uncertainty.
I started looking for ways to replace the income I had lost. A colleague introduced me to a home-based business opportunity with a top global cosmetics company. This enticed me, and within a few days, I became an independent beauty consultant. At the time, I was in my mid-twenties.
Within thirty months of starting my business, I earned my first career car and sold my old car. This, coupled with my commissions, allowed me to pay off all my debt and replace the income I was losing due to the pay cut. By the time I was twenty-nine years old, I had purchased my first home.
My Thirties: The Title-and-Status Years
Along with continuing to work as a flight attendant, I earned the title of independent sales director, where I recruited and trained hundreds of women and men in brand marketing and sales, as well as overseeing the planning and budgeting of weekly, monthly, and quarterly events. A highlight of my career was when I was recognized for ten consecutive years as one of the top independent sales directors in the nation for personal sales. I earned the use of four more career cars as well.
After purchasing my new home, I started to accumulate debt again. Around this time, I attended a leadership conference for independent sales directors, where I had the opportunity to be trained by a nationally known financial adviser and motivational speaker. After attending the conference, I made the decision to stop living paycheck to paycheck and to develop the money management skills that would keep me out of debt for good. I started reading information on managing money, and I applied the necessary steps to live a life free of debt.
In my mid-thirties, the airline industry and world were rocked by September 11, 2001, now known worldwide as 9/11. At the time, I was out of debt and saving money, which often allowed me to take company convenience leaves from flying. On September 11, 2001, I was in the middle of a three-month leave. As a result of 9/11, the airline industry saw massive financial losses due to lack of passenger demand, canceled flights, and increased expenditures for security. Most airlines were forced to renegotiate labor contracts, offer voluntary furloughs, and lay off high numbers of employees with no guarantee they would be recalled. My original three-month leave was extended to a five-year voluntary furlough.
I stayed out of debt the remainder of the decade while living on commission from my home-based business.
My Forties: The Years I Learned to Be Still and Listen to God
To my surprise, the airline recalled me to return to work as a flight attendant. I was surprised because the airline had filed bankruptcy a few months earlier to restructure. However, the timing was just right; after ten years of working very hard as an independent sales director, I was losing the passion that I once had. Also, I began to feel God directing my steps to resign. I returned to flying, and after a few months, I decided to resign from my sales position. Two months later, the world was affected by the Great Recession.
There are times in our lives when it may seem that God is silent, but he is never silent. What seems like silence and inactivity to us is God allowing us the opportunity to listen and to see the provisions that he has made for us by faith. God is involved in every area of our lives. However, there are times when we must be still and stop chasing after titles, status, or material things.
My mid- to late forties brought some challenges that I had never experienced in my lifetime. Up to this point, I had been very healthy; I enjoyed running and participating in other fitness activities.
Within a five-year period, I experienced two unrelated health conditions requiring surgery, physical therapy, and recovery. I was off work for an extended period of time. I am thankful and grateful to God and his word for bringing me through as he restored my strength and healed my body. As a result of these life events, I developed a much stronger relationship with him. I will be forever grateful to my team of health professionals who provided exceptional care, and to my family, friends, and church, who prayed for my healing, and accompanied me during my appointments and surgery and gave me ongoing encouragement.
Looking back, I am truly blessed that as an unmarried person, I had developed the practice of managing my money and was able to remain debt-free during and after these events.
My forties were filled with life events that reinforced the importance of budgeting, having emergency savings, being familiar with my health-care plan and other insurance, and having the right documents in place for my loved ones in case something happened to me. In my twenties and thirties, I learned to manage things on my own, but during this season, I had to listen to the whisper from God for direction. For those readers who are not believers in Christ, please understand that I do not hear some audible voice from above when I speak of a whisper from God. Rather, it is having a feeling of peace after I have prayed and asked God for wisdom and direction in any given area of my life. This is what believers in Christ know as the Holy Spirit. I have learned when it’s God’s will for me to pursue something in my life, then I have peace regarding the decision. In other words, God gives direction without doubt. My forties were the years that God used to draw me closer to him.
My Fifties: Which I’m Calling My Fabulous Fifties
Today as an unmarried person in my early fifties, I am living a healthy and happy life free of debt. Like most fiftysomethings, I am building my retirement savings. My life experiences through the decades have allowed me to gain wisdom in all areas of my life, especially in regard to my finances.
The Benefits of Living a Debt-Free Life
There are many reasons to want to live a life free of debt. Debt leads to stress, and stress contributes to illness, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. If you aren’t in control of your finances, your stress could build toward dangerous, unhealthy levels and could even contribute to death.
Many people enjoy the feeling of achievement that creating and sticking with a budget brings, not to mention the freedom of accomplishing other goals when they're not burdened with debt.
Living a life free of debt won’t ever mean getting rid of all your bills. Each month you’ll still need to pay for expenses, such as your utilities, shelter, and transportation. However, living a life free of debt means that you’ll be on time and up to date with all your monthly expenses and will not owe any money over and above those expenditures.
You may be asking yourself if it is really possible to live a life free of debt as an unmarried person. I know from experience that you can achieve this if you are willing to do the work to be in control of your finances and spending. When I decided to live a life free of debt, I had to learn to set clear goals and to keep things simple and attainable.
Taking responsibility for what’s happening in your life is one of the most empowering things you can do. To succeed, you must stay focused on what’s important and pursue your goals without wavering or hesitating. It can be intimidating to take charge of your finances, but you’ll be amazed at the joy and freedom it brings. Beginning is usually the hard part. The journey starts with a single step; after that, it gets easier.
If you want to get serious about taking control of your money, then my book, Unmarried and Debt-Free, can show you how. Just click on the HOME button at the top of this page to learn more.