HI! Welcome to my blog. I’m Michelle and I am so very thankful you stopped by. I figured the best way to begin is to tell you a little about me, what I do, and the passion behind it all.
So, here goes.....
I was born in Philadelphia, PA & moved to Toledo, Ohio when I was 10 with my mom, sister, and brother. I have to admit, I do have middle child syndrome….and I’m overcoming! Anyhow, I cannot even count the number of times I’ve moved over the years (especially from house to house). Growing up, I didn’t understand a lot of things (like most kids) and I found it frustrating that all I ever heard was “get over it” or “just don’t let it bother you” when I was frustrated or didn’t understand why something occurred. On top of that, I watched my mom work and work just to “pay the bills” and never really making any progress. We never talked about money and budgeting wasn’t even a word I knew. Saving? What did that even mean? I’ve lived through utilities being cut off (multiple times), eating only noodles or rice for dinner, going without breakfast, home loss, and very scarce Christmas seasons. Not to mention hand-me-downs…..despite being the oldest girl!
Through years of seeing all this happen, never once did I learn or ask what could be done differently. So, I went into my adult life behaving as I learned. Those habits landed me right in the middle of a pit that I was not sure I’d be able to get out of. From having 5 maxed out credit cards and no savings....to a mortgage that cost more than I could afford, I was literally drowning in debt…..all before the age of 32!
Then, one day back in the fall of 2014, I came face-to-face with my reality. I had to make the very hard choice to let go of a home I worked hard to acquire through the short sale process. While this helped to avoid foreclosure and potential bankruptcy, it certainly was not easy. During this process (and as I began to rebuild my life), I had to face several hard truths about my past and present habits which led me to this pace.
That moment began the day I found myself sitting in a food bank for the first time. With tears streaming down my face, I looked up and asked God why. Why me? What did I do to deserve this? His gentle but direct answer? “You did it to yourself.” Ouch! That hurt! But, it was exactly what was needed to kick my butt in gear and make the necessary changes.
From that time on, I got real serious about my finances and learned how to budget effectively, save, give, and plan for the future while living Financially FREE in the process. Today, I am nearly debt-free (minus student loans and mortgage). Oh yea, I was even able to purchase another home 4 years later!
I cannot tell you in one blog all the things I’ve learned or all the things I’ve experienced. But, if you stick with me, I’ll share as much as time and space allow!
If you would like to know a little more now, you can listen to this video of my interview with my Business Coach (Tamra Andress) for her Fit In Faith Podcast. It’s a good one, promise!
I also wanted to share a bit of info about what I have to offer. So, here goes:
Freebies - choose any of my 4 interactive freebies with over 10 pages of content here https://www.drmichellemarie.com/freebies
Course - check out my 5 Day Budget Building Course here: https://www.drmichellemarie.com/courses
Budgeting Tools - try out these awesome cash envelops (https://amzn.to/3hzsmxd) or the simple budget planner (https://amzn.to/2D7uFsi) for under $10 each.
Rewards - check out this cool rewards app to earn points just by scanning receipts: https://fetchrewards.onelink.me/vvv3/referraltext?code=EK2A9
Until next time, be blessed and live financially free!
Hi Michelle,
Your story hit home.
My kids and I have gone through the same struggles and up to now we still cannot say that we have recovered from our financial challenges. I still cannot focus on our daily budgeting, still have past due bills and loans to pay plus we still do not have a place that we can call home. However, we are still blessed because we are done eating porridge made of rice, garlic, and salt to taste and loan money with such great interest. I also consider it an achievement having three of my kids finish college(one chose to stop due to bullying) and all are content being single(including the three adults with special needs.
Thanks…