Money Date No. 7: A fresh start on my financial journey

Freelancing, dealing with debt and rethinking how I spend money

In this moment, I feel a bit like the personal finance bloggers of yore (i.e. 2010). I’m launching into a freelance career, sitting on a pile of debt and rethinking my relationship to consumption. Am I about to post a debt payoff thermometer on Instagram…?? Don’t worry; that’s not my journey.

Still, the moment is humbling and empowering. The wild business ride I’ve been on for the past year has come to an end, and I feel like myself again — but, not just my old self, a grown self who benefits from all of the experience and wisdom gained from a winding detour and two years of creating a book. I’ll have a lot to discover and a lot to reflect on as I move forward.

Last week, Stefan and I closed out our lease on the print shop, and this was my first full week as just a writer (again). I have clarity and peace for the first time in a long time. I’m reminded of my own mantra: Work should be fun. The stress of running the shop was a clear and constant message that it wasn’t the right work for us, and the peace and joy I feel now tells me what I’m doing now is the right work for me.

(The second half of that mantra is and money should be easy — the ease with which I’ve been able to right our finances through writing is another loud, blaring message that this is my work.)

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💡 Inspired by a Healthy Rich contributor, a money date is an exercise I crafted for You Don’t Need a Budget. Subscribers can follow along in a private space after the paywall, and I encourage you to steal my questions to guide your own reflections!

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